September National Recovery Month 2021

Source: Recovery is For Everyone - National Recovery Month (facesandvoicesofrecovery.org)

RECOVERY IS FOR EVERYONE

2021 National Recovery Month Observance

Recovery is for everyone because it benefits everyone. In recovery, we build new connections to ourselves, our families, and our communities. The 2021 National Recovery Month theme, “Recovery is for Everyone: Every Person, Every Family, Every Community” reminds people in recovery and those who support them, that recovery belongs to all of us. We are all called to end gatekeeping and welcome everyone to recovery by lowering barriers to recovery support, creating inclusive spaces and programs, and broadening our understanding of what recovery means for people with different experiences.

While it may be tempting to characterize recovery as a universal experience or single journey, our community is proof that there are as many pathways to and of recovery as there are people. Our strength is our diversity and because of who we are, the recovery community has unique opportunities to learn, challenge, grow, and dream. By expanding traditional, limited conceptions of recovery, which center white, heterosexual, cisgender, religious, wealthy perspectives, we enrich everyone’s experience. Mental health and substance use disorder are not one-size-fit all conditions, nor do they affect everyone equally. Culturally competent multilingual resources and gender-expansive programs acknowledge and include LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning), BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color), and other historically marginalized community members.

Looking beyond our individual experiences strengthens and supports recovery in all its forms. The recovery community has a powerful foundation of mutual aid, peer support, and adaptability. As we grow in empathy and understanding, we save lives by adding protective factors and building resiliency. We honor the incredible contributions from communities within recovery as groups connect and implement resources that serve their unique needs. The powerful bonds built in recovery are life-altering. To honor those bonds, in every form they take, is a significant factor in sustaining recovery as well as building bridges between our communities. When we connect with open minds and hearts, we learn from one another and create life-saving opportunities.

To heal ourselves, our communities must also heal. Recovery Research Institute conducted a nuanced, five-year study that explored the ways in which substance use disorder impacted families, communities, and cultures, and how recovery in those spaces created opportunities to rebuild. The study affirmed that people in distressed communities need opportunities to share their experiences, therefore, personal recovery can translate into collaborative recovery when the individual begins to see their story as part of a larger story. The shift from “I” to “we” is transformative. We call to nurture this “we.” We find new ways of connecting the recovery community. We call to rejuvenate struggling communities and families. At the same time, we