For those of you who haven’t checked out one of the recovery communities we have focused on, Towards Recovery, or want to learn more about this inspiring initiative, I thought I’d highlight it in today’s blog post.
Towards Recovery offers a Recovery Cafe in Henley-on-Thames, as well as an online Recovery Cafe, where people recovering from addiction can get support and encouragement. It aims to help people connect with others, re-connect with themselves and the world around them, and make sustainable changes to create a life of their own choosing.
Towards Recovery shows that people in recovery are community assets who can positively contribute to the wellbeing of those around them. The recovery community was founded in 2012 by Huseyin Djemil, who is in long-term recovery from an addiction to Class A drugs.
In the three film clips below, we learn that Towards Recovery is about bringing people together in order to help each other and themselves. Some people are in long-term recovery, others in the early stages of recovery, whilst others are thinking of moving on from their addiction. There is a good deal of empathy in the community and people connect through various activities.
1. What Towards Recovery is About [8’55″]
Huseyin emphasises that Towards Recovery is about bringing people together. Members are meeting people who have experienced similar problems to their own, and have overcome them. There is a good deal of empathy in the community. People connect within the cafe, and via other activities, e.g. WhatsApp, or on Strava (which connects people through their sporting activities). David asks what he would experience if he turned up to the cafe in Henley. Huseyin also explains what happens with the online gatherings. Towards Recovery is NOT treatment.
2. Attending our Recovery Cafe [4’44″]
Huseyin provides examples of the sorts of people who visit the recovery cafe. He relates two stories of people who attended. In one, he describes a person who had dropped in on a quiet night, a Narcotics Anonymous Chair who had been put on a pedestal by other group members, but was struggling because he didn’t think he deserved this status. Huseyin believes that cafe members helped him process some of what he was going through.
3. What’s the Magic at Towards Recovery? [6’26”]
Huseyin says the magic at Towards Recovery is the connection. Members of Towards Recovery have connectedness and a shared sense of purpose. They support other people’s autonomy and agency. It’s about ‘… being visible, being connected, having a relationship.’