I was having a Zoom chat last week with James Deakin, Founder of North Wales Recovery Communities (NWRC) based in Bangor, North Wales. It was meant to be another interview for a book I am writing about recovery and recovery communities. However, James had experienced a tough, frustrating week and so he downloaded some of his frustration towards me. And I’m glad he did.
I am just amazed how people like James, Marcus Fair (Founder of Eternal Media in Wrexham, North Wales) and Gary Rutherford (Founder of ARC Fitness, Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland)—and all the others who run peer-led recovery communities—keep going given all the day-to-day battles they face, particularly in regards to attracting funding to keep their initiatives going. It really frustrates and angers me given all the amazing work they and their teams are doing. I wish I could do more to help.
I am so glad I visited each of these communities for the first time in April and May this year. Right now, I want to shout out loud to James, Marcus and Gary on the other side of the world: ‘You are your teams are SO SPECIAL! Thank you for all you do. Stay strong, my good friends!’
Here is a film from my second interview with James Deakin about NWRC.
James and his colleagues tried to ensure that North Wales Recovery Communities [NWRC] was a broad a church as possible at the beginning of its development. They wanted to create as many recovery pathways as possible. James says that one way to describe NWRC is that it is a residential rehab that is also open to the wider community. NWRC does not limit itself to using one form of mutual aid, such as the 12-Step Fellowship. He points out that many people with a substance use problem can’t relate to some of the principles of the 12-Step approach, such as the concept of a Higher Power.
James emphasises that a lot of people who go through addiction have been traumatised from a young age. He believes that one of the most common misconceptions about addiction is that it is a choice. It is not, he argues. ‘For the vast majority of us it is self-management of an underlying condition, it’s self-medication, or it’s just using any drink or drug to move away from a set of feeling[s] for a period of time.’
At a very early stage, James and colleagues realised that they needed to ‘cover all the bases’ in relation to mutual aid. People were given a variety of options. If the person couldn’t relate to the 12-Step approach, they could try SMART Recovery, and if that didn’t work they could try CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) or ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Theory). James argues that no two addictions are the same, as are no two recoveries. He wants to provide the best opportunity for people to get well by giving them a whole variety of choices.
However, he and his colleagues tell people when they first arrive at Penrhyn House (NWRC’s residence) that they must do all the options (groups) for the first 12 weeks, so that they will be able to make an informed choice of what works best for them. People find their group, their ‘tribe’, that best suits them.