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Tag: giving back

  • 5 Ways To Practice Compassion Among Your Family and Friends Through the Holidays

    5 Ways To Practice Compassion Among Your Family and Friends Through the Holidays

    No matter how you give and give back this holiday season and beyond, stay mindful about those in need.

    The holidays are a time when families come together to celebrate the season of gratitude and while the season is often marked by abundance, it can also be a time of great need.

    It can be easy to assume that everyone is doing well during the holidays, but even in seemingly stable families, there exist struggling college students, extended family who may be going to the food bank for the first time, moms who are secretly going through a divorce and wondering how to get by during the coming year, and family members facing a diagnosis that will require hospitalization.

    Why not use this time together to look for and help your friends and family that could use an extra hand this holiday season?

    Here are five ways to weave compassion – for yourself and others – into the coming holidays.

    1. Check In: Don’t Assume It’s All Okay

    Do you have a friend or family member that you think might be going through something? Check in and ask. Offer to take them out to lunch, send them a card or a text. Make a phone call. You don’t have to pry into their life but be there and listen to what they have to say. The holidays can trigger all kinds of feelings and are a good time to touch base, especially amid the flurry of holiday cards and photos.

    2. Listen to Understand

    There’s a difference between “listen to talk” and “listen to understand.” Listening to understand means you’re actively listening to the other person. You’re not in the “problem solving mindset,” you’re in the “exploration” mindset. Your friend may simply need to talk. Or they might need advice or a second opinion. Whatever it is, you won’t know unless you practice listening to understand. Creating space for those story-telling family members is a great place to start – studies show that recounting stories improves self-esteem in seniors.

    3. Care for Yourself

    Maybe you’re the one who is always there for everyone and always showing up when people need it most, and maybe this year, you’re going through struggles of your own. Tell someone you need to talk and make the time to do it, whether it’s a friend, a family member, a therapist, or counselor. Your needs are valid and important and your family and friends will respect that you know how to ask for and get the help you need to live your best life. Make it the gift you give yourself this year.

    4. Find Causes That Speak To You

    Find nonprofits and causes that you can make an ongoing part of your life. Why? Because when a cause speaks to you, you’re more likely to look for creative ways to help it. When you’re actively involved with a cause you believe in, you’re more likely to talk about it with your friends and encourage them to give back in ways that are meaningful in their lives. Giving Tuesday is just one day, but a great day to start.

    5. Get Organized

    When you know someone who is going through a hardship, like a loved one in the hospital, the birth of a new baby, a sick child, or the death of a loved one, organize your friends and family to help them. This can be done with online tools like Give InKind that help you coordinate financial contributions, calendar tasks, chores, and more on a dedicated page that helps the person in need get exactly what they need. Time spent with family is a great time to pull together and make a plan for supporting someone you love.

    No matter how you give and give back this holiday season and beyond, stay mindful about those in need. May we all be lucky enough to not need, but when we do, may we all have the support of our loved ones and community to help us through.

    Laura Malcolm is the CEO and Founder of the social support network, Give InKind.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Woman Gives Back To Recovery Community With Chicken Lunches 

    Woman Gives Back To Recovery Community With Chicken Lunches 

    The lunches are served at the “recovery cafe,” which houses a memorial book with the names of those lost to addiction, including the woman’s husband. 

    Elaine Bradley, a 61-year-old English woman in recovery, chooses to help others walking the same path—but not through traditional means. 

    Instead, Bradley serves up chicken. 

    According to The Guardian, Bradley lost her husband to alcohol use disorder 11 years ago and battled it herself before getting sober six years ago. 

    She now volunteers at a local recovery center, where she runs a Thursday chicken lunch club which provides a space for those in recovery or who are seeking recovery to discuss what they are experiencing. She also heads up the peer-mentoring group meetings. 

    “You’ve got to talk to each other,” Bradley tells the Guardian. “They all sit and chat about this, that and the other and they open up a bit more.”

    The Recovery Cafe

    The space where Bradley serves her well-loved chicken is referred to as the “recovery cafe.” It houses a memorial book with the names of those lost to substance use disorder, including Bradley’s husband. 

    For Bradley, the space is a homey one. “It’s a nice feel when you walk in here, although it’s blooming hot,” Bradley said. “You know everyone by first names and they all know us. They know that they can trust us.”

    The need for such services in Essex is greater now than ever, as there were recently six fatalities in three days due to suspected drug use. Additionally, Public Health England statistics indicate that the area sees higher-than-average death rates from illicit substances.

    “It’s sad, but what can you do? The help is here if they want it,” Bradley said. 

    Dr. Ahmad Muhamed, an addiction psychiatry specialist, tells the Guardian that he treats patients struggling with a variety of substances. Often, he says, they’re prescribed medications like methadone to help them taper off the drugs. 

    “It varies from one patient to another because you have to take into account a lot of factors: their physical health, their mental health, their socioeconomic status,” he said. “Even if they have been on it for years, the end goal is for them to come off it.”

    According to Bradley, the area could benefit from spaces like the recovery cafe. 

    “To be honest, I think Southend needs a lot more of these places because the work we do here, I think, is amazing,” she said. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Mobile Recovery Clinic Provides Vivitrol To Those With Opioid Addiction

    Mobile Recovery Clinic Provides Vivitrol To Those With Opioid Addiction

    The clinic is the brainchild of a registered nurse who has been sober for 13 years. 

    For many who are living with addiction, it can be difficult to get access to help, and in some rural areas, it can require extensive traveling. Now, a mobile recovery clinic travels to these people who need help.

    As CNN reports, the company behind the roving clinic—Positive Recovery Solutions—has been traveling throughout Pennsylvania in an RV, helping and treating people suffering from opioid addiction. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, overdose deaths in Pennsylvania have gone up 65% from 2015 and 2017.

    In 2017 alone, there were 5,456 overdose deaths in the state, or 43 overdoses for every 100,000 people.

    Positive Recovery Solutions was created by a woman named Amanda Cope, who is recovering from alcoholism. She told CNN, “I ended up being 27 years old, drinking two fifths of vodka a day to not be sick.”

    Cope hit bottom when she had a blackout seizure in a bar, and she finally went into rehab at the age of 28. “Once I got there, I realized how sick I was,” she continues. “My denial was thick.”

    Having the right nurse taking care of her made all the difference. “That was the first time that somebody saw me for what I was and showed me compassion and empathy… I said, ‘I’m going to be that for someone one day.’”

    Cope is now a registered nurse herself, and has been sober for 13 years. She founded Positive Recovery Solutions with her cousins, who also battled opioid addiction.

    Cope was aware that some of her patients had to travel far to get help, which is one of the reasons why she started the company.

    Patients make their way to Positive Recovery Solutions through referrals, and they use Vivitrol in their treatment program. Cope feels that the recovery process “comes from the behavioral health piece. The medication is meant, by our philosophy, to be a safety net… This safety net will keep this patient craving-free while they do the work of recovery, which is developing healthy coping mechanisms, changing behavior patterns and changing people, places and things.”

    Stuart Masula, who was addicted to painkillers and got clean with the help of Vivitrol, is now driving for Positive Recovery Solutions.

    As he told CNN, “I literally probably have the best job you could ever have. I get to go to work and see people who are trying to change their lives every single day for the better.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Man Founds Non-Profit Yoga Recovery Group

    Man Founds Non-Profit Yoga Recovery Group

    “I knew that financially a lot of people in recovery couldn’t afford yoga, and I felt that was unacceptable. So I started the foundation…”

    There are many roads to recovery, and for Taylor Hunt, yoga has been a profound piece of his path. Yoga was so instrumental for Hunt that he founded the Trini Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing Ashtanga yoga to the lives of those working for addiction recovery.

    Hunt spent 10 years addicted to drugs and alcohol. He was in rehab four times, and in an interview with The Columbus Dispatch, Hunt says, “I was emotionally, physically, spiritually and financially bankrupt. Physically, I was maybe 130 pounds, and I’m 6 foot 3. I wasn’t eating. Spiritually, I was no longer connected to anyone, and I felt like I’d left God. Everyone gave up on me. I was clinically depressed and struggled with anxiety. I had switched from alcohol and pills, and I was using black tar heroin, literally putting needles in my arms.”

    He is now 37 years old and 12 years sober, and the founder and a teacher with the Trini Foundation. This organization has given 100 people in recovery scholarships for yoga classes around the country.

    In The Columbus Dispatch, Hunt outlined the history behind the Trini Foundation. Hunt had been clean and working in a 12-step program with a sponsor for six months when a woman in a meeting approached him and offered to teach him yoga. He declined, and she persisted in offering, until Hunt’s sponsor said it seemed like Hunt was going to do yoga after all.

    Hunt found that yoga affected a deep change in his experience of life. After his first class, he recalled, “I remember having this feeling like I was just a human trying to do the best that I could, and I felt like I had some value as a person. And that was the first time I’d felt like that. And from that day I never stopped doing it. It has given me clarity. I get a clear picture of who I am, in the present moment.”

    Hunt said, “I became an Ashtanga yoga teacher 10 years ago. I wanted to make sure other people could do the 12 steps and take yoga, do them together, because it can give you a completely different equation. I began believing that I didn’t have to live in this pattern of addiction and relapse that a lot of people in the 12-step program struggle with.

    But I knew that financially a lot of people in recovery couldn’t afford yoga, and I felt that was unacceptable. So I started the foundation in 2016 because I wanted to be able to give the addict who might not ever have an opportunity to go to yoga a good excuse to go. It’s a tool to save lives. So we raise money so we can provide scholarships to people who are addicts.”

    The Trini Foundation is working to reach an impressively wide and diverse group and includes programs dedicated to working with those in prison and in underserved communities, as well as working in conjunction with rehabilitation centers to provide the therapeutic value of Ashtanga yoga to those who would accept it. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Aaron Neville's Son Details Getting Sober, Helping Others

    Aaron Neville's Son Details Getting Sober, Helping Others

    “Keith [Richards] hated that I was smoking crack,” Neville recalled. “He’d look at me like, ‘What’s wrong with you? Get it together.’”

    Ivan Neville, the son of singer Aaron Neville, grew up with music in his blood in New Orleans. A prolific musician, Neville has played in Keith Richards’ band the X-Pensive Winos and The Spin Doctors. Sober for over 20 years, Neville is speaking out about his recovery as well as helping other musicians.

    According to the Miami Herald, Neville recently shared his journey to sobriety at Imagine Recovery, a treatment center in New Orleans. The event was sponsored by Send Me a Friend, an organization launched by guitarist Anders Obsorne to help other musicians in recovery.

    Neville said he first smoked a joint was when he was 11 and by the time he turned 18, he was regularly drinking and using drugs. Neville ended up playing on the Rolling Stones album Voodoo Lounge and even had a shot at joining the band. The Winos opened for the Stones at Giants Stadium, and if Neville played well, he could have landed a lucrative gig playing with Mick and Keith.

    Instead, he passed out backstage from drinking and abusing cocaine, and missed the gig.

    “It was a big blunder,” he confessed. “I blew it.” At the Imagine Recovery event, Neville shared a photograph that was taken backstage before he passed out. “I look green. So out of it.”

    Neville’s drug use even worried Keith Richards.

    “Keith hated that I was smoking crack,” Neville recalled. “He’d look at me like, ‘What’s wrong with you? Get it together.’”

    It took several rehab stints before Neville finally got clean at a program in Pasadena, CA. He checked in on August 14, 1998, did 28 days, and has been sober ever since.

    “I’ve never had nothing stronger than a Tylenol or Advil,” he says today. “It was what they call the Big Surrender.”

    Neville was afraid to re-enter the music business when he got sober, and it’s an issue that Send Me a Friend helps other artists with as well. (Send Me a Friend is a network of sober people that watch over musicians to keep them away from temptation when they play gigs.) Initially, Neville was scared he wouldn’t be creative without drugs and alcohol, a common fear for musicians in recovery.

    “After first getting sober, I was like, ‘How am I going to play? How am I going to be able to write songs?’ Then I got a clear mind and I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s how you do it. I can think and feel (stuff). It’s all there. It’s always been there.’”

    And when Neville went on the road with The Spin Doctors, he mapped out where the 12-step meetings were on the tour itinerary.

    “I was prepared,” he says. “I knew the kind of situations I might be walking into.”

    Neville was helped in his sobriety by Harold Owens, the senior director of MusiCares. Owens and Neville then helped guide Anders Osborne when he was ready to get sober himself.

    As Osborne confessed, “In the last year or so of my use, I kept reaching out to people. When you’re coming down or you’re feeling really depressed, you isolate a lot, but you also throw out these little calls for help. Ivan was one of my calls pretty regularly….He took a couple of my calls while he was standing onstage. That shows you the dedication to helping each other that the program has.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Homelessness and Mental Health: On the Front Lines

    Homelessness and Mental Health: On the Front Lines

    Officers Armond and Dodson, whose personal histories uniquely qualify them for this outreach effort, have personally gotten 49 people off the streets and into drug and alcohol treatment.

    As someone with an extensive rap sheet, it was strange for me to be voluntarily climbing in the back seat of a police vehicle with two officers sitting up front. Twenty-five years sober, and I still don’t recognize my own life at times. For example, I work for my son’s non-profit, an organization that gives out quality tennis shoes to those in need. Who would have ever thought that this could be me? Certainly not me.

    The seed for Hav A Sole was planted in the early nineties when I was getting sober. Rikki and I were living in a women and children’s shelter as I was on welfare and could barely make ends meet. Becky, a former shelter resident, offered to buy Rikki new shoes because his had huge holes in the soles. I was not someone who accepted handouts but, leveled by circumstances and my son’s needs, I relinquished my pride and said “Yes!” Becky bought Rikki two pairs of shoes that very same day. I never forgot her kindness, and neither would my son, though it would take another 30 years for that one act of kindness to inspire Hav A Sole, an organization that has given out more than 13,000 pairs of shoes to those in need.

    On this particular day as I sit in the police car, Rikki and I have joined forces with the Quality of Life Division of Long Beach Police Department, and the officers are taking us to local homeless encampments. I was sitting in the back seat with two other volunteers while Rikki followed behind in his SUV filled with Nikes.

    I leaned up to the diamond-shaped divider, watching Officer Dodson’s mustache in the rear-view mirror as he talked.

    “Three years ago, a lot of complaints were coming in from residents who wanted the police to address the growing homeless situation,” he said. “When I saw the position for The Quality of Life posted I decided to apply for it. Up until then no one in the department knew I had once lived on the streets myself, but seeing how I had, it made me uniquely qualified for the job.” He shrugged. “But, it was a new concept and without a protocol in place, my commander told me to go out there and figure out what the police department could do to alleviate some of the challenges the homeless faced.”

    “What did you do then?” I asked.

    “At first, I would walk up and down the riverbed trying to engage people in conversations. But seeing how everyone is afraid of the police no one wanted to talk to me. So, I started bringing bottles of water and other items to pass out as a peace offering and it worked. Over time, people came out of the bushes and I got to know them on a first name basis and hear some of their stories.”

    Officer Dodson made a hard right and pulled down a narrow asphalt road with the river on one side and a dirt embankment with bushes, tents, and piles of trash on the other. Suddenly, a long haired, bearded man appeared out of nowhere and waved. Officer Dodson stopped the car and we all got out. Within minutes, men and women were climbing up the embankment, greeting the officers like old friends. I watched as both officers caught up with everyone and passed out everything from water, socks, snacks, and even Zantac for indigestion.


    Officers on the riverbed (image via author)

    At one point, I was introduced to Doug, a dark haired, good looking guy who told us his story: “I used to be a cop a long time ago,” he said, “but after a bout of depression and drugs, I lost everything and live on the streets now.” He stared into the distance as if he was recalling another time. “Someday I’m going to get out of here and get my life back on track.”

    As Doug walked away with his water and new pair of black Nikes, I was struck, once again, with the realization that homelessness can happen to anyone.

    After passing out several pairs of shoes, it was time to move on. I crawled in the back seat and started my own interrogation of sorts based on my own experience.

    I leaned forward and asked, “So, Officer Armond, what makes you want to do this kind of job?”

    “I suppose one of the reasons came from losing my teen age daughter, Ashlee, in an alcohol-involved car accident a few years ago. That changed my perception on a whole lot of things.”

    “Oh. I’m so sorry…” I didn’t know what else to say.

    Officer Armond talked about how Ashlee went missing and how he was waiting for her to get home while his colleagues were out there looking for her. Twenty-four hours later, and no sign of her, he went to search himself. As he retraced the way she might have driven home that night, he saw skid marks leading towards a downed chain link fence. Officer Armond crawled over the broken fence, and discovered his daughter’s car had plunged into the riverbed below.

    With a somber tone, he said, “Part of me felt responsible as a police officer. I felt like I should have been able to help her. But I was drinking back then and felt incredible guilt. So, in many ways, helping the people out here who are struggling gives me a reason to go on.”

    I found myself deeply moved by his tragic story, and it was becoming clear how these two officers’ life experiences made them uniquely qualified for a difficult job.


    Officer Dodson hands out water (image via author)

    As we drove towards the beach, Officer Dodson continued, “What we discovered is a lot of these people out here have substance abuse issues. Over time, as we started to build trust with them, many began asking us for help. That’s when I thought to myself, ‘Great, now we’ll actually be able to do some good out here.’ But when I started cold calling treatment centers, the people in charge were suspicious and couldn’t understand why a police officer was trying to help a homeless person. After explaining the Quality of Life’s mission, their next question was: did the person have insurance or money to pay for treatment? Honestly, I couldn’t believe it. We had someone who was desperate enough to ask the police for assistance and we were unable to provide it.”

    I scooted closer, “So what did you do after that?”

    “Persistence. In the last six months, the community has stepped up. We now have ten scholarship beds donated by Social Model Recovery. Redgate Hospital will detox people if needed and we have other treatment centers that help us out as well. But our work doesn’t just stop there. We also facilitate a meeting with a social worker to start the paperwork for housing so they have a place to live when they get out. If they complete their treatment and have any old warrants or cases pending, we’ll even go to court on their behalf.”

    Officer Dodson went on to describe Ronnie, a man who had been in and out of prison for most of his life. When the officers first met him in the park, Ronnie told them that he had two boys and wanted to prove to them he could turn his life around. The officers immediately found a bed and got him into treatment. Six months later, Ronnie is still sober and working at the Salvation Army.

    After the Hav A Sole team distributed shoes at the beach, we drove to a park. While we were there, a woman in her late twenties, with obvious mental health issues, told the officers she wanted to get help. Within five minutes, the health department arrived to take her to a local resource center where they would further assess her needs.

    I later learned that Armond and Dodson have personally gotten 49 people off the streets and into drug and alcohol treatment. As a counselor myself for nearly two decades, it was clear that they were not only doing front line interventions, but had also created a multi-disciplinary approach in assisting individuals living on the streets.

    At a time when so many of our homeless are suffering from addiction and mental health-related issues, we need to bring our compassion and our resources to the street. Rikki and I and the Hav A Sole team were honored to ride along with Officer Armond and Officer Dodson who go above and beyond the call of duty, protecting and serving the homeless who are part of our communities.


    L-R: Elizabeth Kelley Erickson, Officer Dodson, Wendy Adamson, Officer Armond, Rikki Mendias and Dash Penland of Have A Sol, and Greg Moul (volunteer)

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • 4 Important Reasons to "Keep Coming Back" to AA, Even When We Don't Need To

    4 Important Reasons to "Keep Coming Back" to AA, Even When We Don't Need To

    Don’t underestimate just how powerful your presence at a 12-step meeting can be for another person’s recovery.

    More than I care to admit, my usual 12-step meeting times will pop up on my calendar and I’ll think to myself, “Can I get away with skipping this one?”

    A lot of folks in the rooms will tell you that you shouldn’t skip meetings because relapse happens when we get lax in recovery. You get out of recovery what you invest into it, and the practice of consistently showing up makes your program stronger.

    I don’t disagree with that. But even so, when I’m having a good day, going to a meeting sounds like a drag — and one meeting, I figure, is not going to make or break my sobriety.

    Besides, I’ve earned a break, haven’t I?

    There are four simple words that snap me back into reality, though: It’s not about you.

    Put another way, we show up to these meetings because we’re building a community of support. But when we feel the temptation to not show up, it’s easy to forget the bigger picture.

    So why go to that meeting, even when your recovery doesn’t depend on it? It’s pretty simple: recovery is about so much more than not picking up a drink. The next time you’re thinking about missing out on a meeting, consider these four reasons why showing up still matters.

    1. Someone might need your presence or your story.

    You might be the one familiar face in the room that reminds someone that they’re in the right place. Something that you share might be exactly what someone else needs to hear. You never know what your presence is bringing to the table — and how valuable it might be to someone else.

    When I finally went back to AA after two years of relapses and denial, I can’t express just how comforting it was to see people I could remember. They were still there (and amazingly, still sober) and genuinely happy to see me again.

    Their presence was a reminder that AA wasn’t just a gathering place for sad drunks — it was a community. It was a place where warmth, compassion, and laughter could always be found. At times, it was really the only place where I could laugh.

    Many of us arrive at our first meetings unsure of what we’ll find and afraid to speak up. And often times it was hearing “our story” — seeing ourselves and our struggles in someone else’s share — that gave us the strength to keep coming back and truly commit to our recovery.

    Despite numerous therapists, social workers, and loved ones urging me to get help, the only thing that pulled me from my deep state of denial was listening to other alcoholics. As one old-timer explained to me, “This fellowship is the only mirror in which I can see myself clearly.”

    To this day, I can remember those people’s stories, even if they never noticed me hiding in the back of the room. They may have spoken casually without any thought of reaching anyone, but their words had an unforgettable impact on me.

    Tonight, someone might show up to the rooms, not sure if they belong or if they want to stay. Your smile, your energy, or your words could be the anchor that grounds them. Don’t underestimate just how powerful your presence can be for another person’s recovery.

    2. 12-step meetings can only thrive if everyone commits to showing up.

    Think about it: if we only showed up when we were feeling terrible, what would meetings look like, exactly? They’d be pretty dismal places. There’d be experiences to share — but where would the strength and hope come from?

    On chip nights, when I saw members getting their chips for five, ten, even twenty years, I used to wonder why they bothered to show up. “Do they really think they’re going to slip up at this point?” It’s true, they might, but when I listened to the responsibility statement, I realized that it wasn’t just for them. They showed up for the fellowship, and for the alcoholic who still suffers. Their presence was an act of gratitude.

    Members who show up consistently, even and especially when they don’t “need” to, are the heart and soul of 12-step meetings. The program only truly works when people are willing to build a lasting community together.

    AA isn’t just the couch you crash on when you’re down on your luck; these rooms represent a safe haven that should always be there, and will be — as long as we keep coming back.

    3. Sobriety is an ongoing practice — not a destination.

    I’ve often joked that alcoholism is a form of amnesia, but there’s some truth to that, too. Without a consistent practice — in which we repeatedly confront, accept, and reflect on our condition, while building up the coping skills needed to manage our lives — it’s all too easy to return to our old ways.

    I don’t know about you, but my old ways weren’t exactly charming.

    I could be resentful, self-centered, and impulsive. Like many alcoholics, I’ve fooled myself into thinking I had more power over situations than I actually did. I’ve been the bull in the china shop, barreling my way through life. I much prefer the acceptance, grace, and warmth that I work hard to embody today.

    Left to my own devices, though? I fall out of the routine that helps me sustain my recovery and keeps me accountable. The resentments start to pile up. My stubbornness comes to the surface. My sense of gratitude diminishes.

    Sobriety is not a point at which you arrive. Personal growth is a direction we move in — not a finish line we cross. Think of a fellowship, then, as your compass, helping to direct that growth.

    Sobriety is a practice, and when we regularly attend meetings, we flex the muscles needed to strengthen and maintain our coping skills. The more we flex those muscles, the more intuitive those skills become. And as the Ninth Step Promises state, we “intuitively know how to deal with situations that used to baffle us.”

    Developing that intuition means reinforcing it, and meetings are a consistent and reliable way of doing this, with a community that supports you unconditionally through that process.

    4. Joy is an incredible contribution.

    I’m an optimist and an extrovert by nature. When I first started attending meetings, I very seriously wondered if my personality would be “too much” for a space like AA. Was I too happy? Would my upbeat nature be grating in such an emotionally-vulnerable space?

    But each time I shared my experiences, there was a chorus of gratitude that followed — the energy that I brought to the rooms was appreciated and seen. That’s when I finally understood something: authentic joy is an amazing gift to bring to my community.

    So when I’m especially happy on any given day? I make an extra effort to show up to meetings. I let my smile signal to others that there is joy in sobriety. I let my laugh remind newcomers that there are better days ahead.

    And I let my excitement and enthusiasm lift up those around me, especially those who might be wondering if there is a place for them in AA. When I show up authentically, it allows others to do the same. It makes those rooms a more welcoming place.

    I may not feel motivated on a given day to show up to a meeting. But when I can’t show up for myself, I do it for my community.

    And inevitably, when I do, my joy only seems to multiply. It seems that — at least in 12-step programs — what you give to others always comes back to you in spades.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Woman Uses Creative Writing To Help Ex-Offenders In Recovery

    Woman Uses Creative Writing To Help Ex-Offenders In Recovery

    “I learned how to live again, how to feel comfortable in my own skin. She’s a Godsend,” says one of Rebecca Conviser’s students.

    It was a cancer diagnosis that first got Rebecca Conviser interested in the power of words. If the Morristown, New Jersey woman didn’t make it through, she wanted to leave behind words for her husband and children. 

    But Conviser did make it through, and now she is using the power of words for something else—helping those in recovery from substance use disorder. 

    According to NJ.com, for the past six years, 79-year-old Conviser as has been volunteering her time by teaching the “Creative Positive Expression Program” to ex-offenders. Rather than jail time, these individuals have been recommended to the drug court programs in Morris and Sussex counties in New Jersey. 

    Thomas Brodhecker, 27, of Sussex County, has been in the program for two years. Since he first entered the program, his opinion of the role of writing in recovery has changed drastically. He says that through writing he has been able to peel back emotional aspects of his life that played into his use of drugs. 

    “I learned how to live again, how to feel comfortable in my own skin,” Brodhecker said. “She’s a Godsend.”

    Conviser fell into her role teaching the writing course after overhearing a conversation at a local coffee shop about the obstacles ex-offenders face when trying to find employment.

    She engaged with the group, which led to her meeting Charles Johnson Jr., the drug court director of Morris County. Johnson thought the writing program would be beneficial for ex-offenders when it came to writing resumes and cover letters. 

    However, the program goes beyond writing employment materials. For Anthony Justo, 27, of Morristown, Conviser’s passion for the program led him to be more accepting of his past. 

    “She presented these assignments with a fiery passion,” Justo told NJ.com. “She was lit up about helping people become better writers and better people.”

    In addition to the writing course, Conviser has helped ex-offenders with public speaking and telling their stories. She has headed up a jail cell presentation, in which school students stand in a 4×6 area designed to resemble a jail cell for 90 seconds to get a taste of what confinement is like for inmates. 

    Conviser says that when it comes to helping people change their lives, persistence is key. “I’m not one of these people who say, ‘oh well, it didn’t work.’ My feeling is well, it didn’t work, we have to move on,” she said.

    Despite her own personal challenges, including two cancer diagnoses and a recent Parkinson’s diagnosis, Conviser says she plans to continue to volunteer, though she has had to slow down a bit. 

    “I’m a person who gives back,” Conviser said. “As long as I can help people, I’m going to continue to do this.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • MyPillow CEO's Past Addiction Battle Inspires Him to Help Employees

    MyPillow CEO's Past Addiction Battle Inspires Him to Help Employees

    “Addicts are hard workers. Addiction’s a lot of work… I’m all about second chances. When people come to me, that’s their past.”

    Mike Lindell, CEO of the popular MyPillow line of bedding, understands how substance use disorder can derail a person’s ability to pursue their dreams or even maintain basic quality of life.

    He struggled with years of addiction to cocaine and crack cocaine while attempting to launch MyPillow before gaining sobriety in 2009, two years before his company became an as-seen-on-TV sensation and a multimillion-dollar business.

    Lindell now uses his success to provide employees and prospective workers who may be struggling with similar dependencies with the support they need to gain recovery, including direct connection with him for guidance and assistance.

    Lindell estimated that 10 to 20% of his employees have “had struggles,” as he told the Daily Caller, and said that he makes a point to hire people who have made recovery a priority. “Addicts are hard workers,” he explained. “Addiction’s a lot of work… I’m all about second chances. When people come to me, that’s their past.”

    Of his 1,600 employees, Lindell estimates that 500 have his direct phone number, which with he said “they can tell me what’s going on. We get them help. We’re all about helping people.”

    The Daily Caller cited an example of Lindell’s efforts in Patrick, a MyPillow employee whom the site chose to identify by first name only. The thirty-something had been drinking what he described as a bottle a night, which eventually impacted his work performance. Eventually, Patrick found himself on the phone with Lindell.

    “I called him up and basically put myself where I was at 28 or 29 so I could connect with him,” said the CEO. “I said, ‘Here’s your best help.’”

    Though reluctant to enter rehab, Lindell’s promise that a job at MyPillow would be waiting for him when he completed treatment convinced him to seek help.

    “I’ve worked multiple other jobs with the same problem, and I’ve never had this,” said Patrick. 

    Lindell subscribes to the notion that addiction is less of a disease than learned behavior as a coping mechanism. “It’s a mask for pain that usually comes from childhood and fatherlessness,” he opined, noting that he believed that the root of his addiction came from his parents’ divorce when he was 7 years of age.

    But he also understands that recovery requires support and understanding, which is what he hopes to give to employees, both current and prospective.

    “I’m giving people hope because I just put it all out there,” he said.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Sober Cleveland Police Officer Gives Back To Local Recovery Community

    Sober Cleveland Police Officer Gives Back To Local Recovery Community

    After a lengthy battle with alcoholism, a Cleveland detective got sober and inspired those around him to change their lives.

    Today, Cleveland police detective Chris Gibbons puts the bad guys in jail cells, but in 1992 he was on the other side of the law, sitting in a jail cell soaking wet and shivering after being brought in for public intoxication. After seven years of battling alcoholism, Gibbons had hit rock bottom. 

    “How did the son of a policeman end up here?” Gibbons said to News 5 Cleveland. 

    After that night, Gibbons was determined to turn his life around. He became a police officer just like his father and grandfather had been. And he inspired his sister, Erin Becker, to start her own path to sobriety. 

    “Most of my struggle was internal,” Becker said. “I just got to a point of hopelessness.”

    Gibbons has been sober for 26 years and Becker has been in recovery for 17 years. Now, the siblings run a sober house together, helping women start their lives in recovery. Becker co-founded the Edna House, which has grown over the years, helping woman with limited means get sober. 

    “It started with three women. Now we have 40 women,” Becker said. “The women that come in, they see that the people that are here helping them, the staff, the woman that runs the program, we’re all in recovery. That catches their attention. Nothing is asked of them here. When they come to Edna and the only thing that is asked is, ‘Do you have a willingness to work on your own recovery?’ They know something is different.”

    Gibbons is on the board of directors for Edna House and volunteers with men’s recovery programs though the area. He enjoys seeing the transformation of the 300 women who have graduated from Edna House.

    “They’re almost unrecognizable when they’re done. They look so much better. They feel so much better,” Gibbons said. “You can actually see the happiness and the glow on their face whereas when they came in they were totally broken.”

    In addition, Gibbons serves on the Cleveland Police Department’s Employee Assistance Unit, which helps officers navigate traumatic and stressful situations.

    “It gives you a little credibility,” Gibbons said. “When I approach an officer or someone in the community who is struggling with it, I can say I’ve been there and I have a good life today because of my decision not to drink.”

    Gibbons has prompted other law enforcement officials to become involved in the recovery community and sponsor events. Some of the people in recovery have even followed Gibbons’ footsteps and started a law enforcement career. 

    “Several dispatchers who actually went through this house are sober to this day because of their involvement here,” Becker said. 

    View the original article at thefix.com