Recovery is contagious. It passes from one person to another person. People in long-term recovery, and their stories, inspire other people, who then take their own journey recovery… and then inspire others.
Sometimes, the inspiration takes another form, as in the case described below taken from an interview I had with James Deakin, Founder of North Wales Recovery Communities. James was already in long-term recovery and working in the treatment system. However, he had become disillusioned with this system and was thinking about doing something on his own. And then this happened:
‘By 2010, I was full of passion and enthusiasm, and was thinking about setting up a recovery group of my own, as I was so disillusioned with the treatment system. A pivotal moment occurred that year when I attended the first Recovery Academy conference in Glasgow. I was totally inspired by what I saw and heard. Two guys in particular helped crystallise in my mind what I wanted to do career-wise, and set me on a journey of following my dream of building North Wales Recovery Communities (NWRC).
The first person was the late Rowdy Yates. I already knew that many people held Rowdy in high esteem for being involved in the development of Lifeline and then in promoting the important role of therapeutic communities. He was a strong recovery advocate and is still greatly missed. The person who had the biggest impact on me was Mark Gilman. ‘Mr Gilman’—he has reverential status for me—talked about Asset Based Community Development (ABCD), and this was a massive light bulb moment for me.
I had always seen treatment services operating from a ‘weakness or deficits’ point of view: ‘What’s wrong with that person?’ And it was always: ‘You can’t do this. You can’t do that.’ The ABCD-based approach was focused on a person or a community’s assets and strengths. ‘Don’t focus on the stuff you can’t do in that community, focus on the skills and assets that you have in the community and build upon, and connect, them.’ Mark had his audience eating out his hand. I realised that the ABCD approach had to be the foundation of the recovery community I wanted to build.
The other thing I loved about Mark Gilman was the fact that he was an ordinary guy, but full of street smarts—desperately needed in places like Manchester—and he possessed plenty of character and enthusiasm. He also had a great sense of humour. All the other people giving talks that day were ‘straight-laced’ academics and doctors. Seeing Mark at this conference, and listening to what he had to say, made me realise that you don’t have to be an academic or doctor to make a difference in the field. I could contribute something meaningful. This realisation was really important to me, as I needed to know that I could make things happen, rather than just be a ‘passenger’ in the field. Mark was a powerful recovery carrier.
Things got even better on the way home. Soon after we left Glasgow on a train, I walked through the next carriage to visit the toilet. And there was Mark Gilman sitting all on his own. I charged back to the group I was travelling with, which included Wulf Livingston, and told them what I had seen. We got up straight away and joined Mark. What a trip!
That train journey probably saved us three or four years of work in developing the recovery community in North Wales. We pumped Mark dry, asking question after question, and he responded with so much helpful information and advice. He emphasised to us that recovery was an organic experience, not something that could be commissioned through treatment services. He stressed the importance of building strong bridges between treatment services and mutual aid.
Instead of trying to build all things for all people, treatment services should concentrate on doing what they do best. Being a set of stabilisers, getting people clean and sober, giving them a detox and offering them counselling. Once they are clean and sober, treatment services should pass on their ‘clients’ to people in recovery who will help them on their onward recovery journey. Treatment services help people get off drugs, whilst the hard stuff of helping people keep off drugs is done in the community by peers and the person’s family and friends.’
The photograph of Mark (Left) and Rowdy was taken when Mark and I visited Rowdy in Stirling on 25 March 2009.