In my last blog post, I described the exciting initiative Moving On In My Recovery (MOIMR), the recovery- and acceptance-based intervention programme developed by clinical psychologist Dr. Lee Hogan, in collaboration with people in recovery from addiction and treatment professionals.
In late 2015, Marcus Fair, the Founder of Eternal Media, was approached by Kevin Fisher, Chief Executive of Helping Groups to Grow, about making a film focused on MOIMR. Kevin and his colleagues had obtained funding from various sources, including the Area Planning Board and Welsh Government, to roll out MOIMR. The programme was being used very successfully, and still is, by North Wales Recovery Communities (NWRC) at Penrhyn House in Bangor.
The Eternal Media film Moving On involved interviewing two residents at Penrhyn House, and two people supported by Recovery Cymru, the latter being filmed in a church in Cardiff. In addition, James Deakin and Sarah Flynn of NWRC and two facilitators from South Wales talked about MOIMR.
Marcus had not heard about NWRC before he started filming there in February 2016. He had been homeless and living on the streets of Bangor just two years before filming began. On his first visit to Penrhyn House, he fell in love with the place and the underlying concepts behind the development of NWRC. He had never met people in recovery who hadn’t had to wait for large amounts of funding from councils, or borrow money from their parents, to access help.
He hadn’t previously interacted with people in recovery other than those in the 12-Step Fellowship. It was a novelty for him to see people engaged in a variety of activities to facilitate their recovery. Marcus was really interested in asking people how they were recovering and how MOIMR had helped. He believed that his genuine interest in recovery played a key role in the high quality of the film.
This was one of the first Eternal Media films I watched and I was really impressed with its quality. Some of what the people being interviewed had to say, and the background music, had a strong emotional impact on me. The film put over its messages very well.
The four recovering participants talked briefly about their journey into addiction; their continuing journey towards crisis; their decision to change, and how MOIMR helped them find recovery. Given the high quality of the film, I was surprised to hear Marcus point out they had no decent lighting, just an old theatre light. And a good deal of film was shot on a GoPro camera. It must have been special for the NWRC community that a BAFTA-winning filmmaker, Peter Norrey, was involved in the filming. Peter is now one of the Eternal Media Directors.
Eternal Media made a follow-up film Keep On Moving On! two year later. Marc Yates and Lynda Owen were in early recovery when they appeared in the first film and by now were both Facilitators of MOIMR groups, as were some of the others (Donna, Gareth and John) who were interviewed. The film is again very powerful and this time contains some stunning drone shots of North Wales.
Writing can be a challenging process, with many ups and downs; particularly when writing the book about recovery on which I am working. In this case, I am piecing together the lives of a variety of people in recovery (and their friends) into what can be likened as a tapestry showcasing the power of recovery and recovery communities in North Wales. When I find myself in a ‘down’ period, questioning whether I have the ability to tell the overall story in the powerful way I wish, my spirits are always lifted by viewing these films, listening to the moving words and music. I then once again feel so proud to be working in this field. Here is a quote I love; Catrin’s words are all the more magical when viewed in the film Keep On Moving On!:
This last ten years I hardly laughed, I had no emotions. Just to be able to laugh again, it’s a nice feeling. Just being happy. Just the people I’ve got around me today, I know they are my friends. They will always be there if ever there was any problem. I am lucky today to have all these people around me. I never wanted to look to the future, but now I can say that I am looking forward to moving on and getting my life back on track. Just living happy…. My family are so happy for me. I’ve put them through so much. In the end, them being able to see me happy now, clean, they couldn’t ask for anything more. They keep saying, “Aah, we’ve got our Catrin back.”’
