Reaching Out to Those People Who Wish to Support the Recovery Movement

It’s a beautiful winter day outside, without a cloud in the sky, and I want to head off into Perth to enjoy the day and meet up with a close school friend. However, I just wanted to prepare something for the Blog I’ve been meaning to say for a little while now.

When Lucie, Kevin and I were in the North West of England two weeks ago, someone described to a colleague that Wired In was leading a new Recovery Movement in the UK. I pointed out to them that this was not strictly the case. 

Wired In is facilitating the growth of a new Recovery Movement in the UK (and beyond), a movement that has no leader or national headquarters. We are helping individuals and organisations who support recovery and recovery advocacy to recognise the existence of each other and come together as a collective ‘we’.

This Recovery Movement aims to facilitate the development of a culture of recovery in the drug and alcohol addictions field. This culture of recovery will facilitate the efforts of individuals and families to overcome problems caused by substance use. It will also improve the way that organisations, communities and the nation as a whole help people find their personal path to recovery from addiction. 

In facilitating the growth of a new Recovery Movement, it is important to learn from others who have undertaken a similar journey. William L White and colleagues have developed a New Recovery Movement in America.  The history of this Movement, key underlying principals, and many other facets, are described in the seminal writings of Bill White.

There is little point in the UK drug and alcohol field reinventing the wheel when we have such excellent guidance as a starting point. Of course, we will end up taking different journeys in developing the recovery culture due to cultural differences between the UK and America. In the years to come, it will be interesting to compare the historical development of the recovery in both countries.

At this stage of our development, Wired In is trying to reach out and bring together people in recovery, and organisations and individuals who are helping people find recovery, in order to facilitate growth of the Recovery Movement. Therefore, please pass on details of our Blogs to anyone who you feel might be interested.

Wired In is also passing on the message that there are a multitude of different pathways that people have used to find their recovery from addiction. We want to provide hope to those affected by serious substance use problems, and show the diversity of recovery solutions, by providing living role models. We are therefore looking for people who are recovering or are in recovery, to write about their experiences and views so that they can be published on our website and/or Blogs. If you would like to do this, or discuss the matter, please contact us at lucie@wiredin.org.uk.

Now, it is time for me to head out into the sun and remind myself of the beauty of the city of Perth. This weekend I head up to Broome in the North West of Australia to catch the sun for 10 days. And a much needed rest. 

PS. Have gotten back 'home' from the city since writing this and it really was a lovely day.