UK Recovery Walk Charity The 6th UK Recovery Walk

September 2014 Greater Manchester

UK Recovery Walk Charity

1. Who we are 2. Where we stand 3. What the charity aims are4. Free resources 5. How we meet our aims6. How you can help using this Checklist 7. The future

Who we areTrustees (L to R)

• John Royle• Annemarie Ward• Annemarie Heath• Joe Adshead• James McInally• Dot Turton• Kerry Stewart• Yaina Samuels• Kevin Jaffrey• Louise Dempsey Smith• Simon Jenkins• You?

Where we stand

• Good quality opioid substitute treatment can play an essential role in recovery

• Active promotion of mutual aid networks is essential • Support and advocate for innovative and evidence based

initiatives to prevent, intervene early, expand treatment and promote recovery from alcohol and other drug use.

• PHE - We’re moving from an “addiction treatment” system to a “substance-use disorders intervention” system. This is a very very very, did I say very? - good thing!

What the charity aims are

• Policy advocacy taking on issues of discrimination, social justice and service access.

• Public and professional education movement, intent on challenging stigma.

Recovery Messaging Training

• Helps people, families and staff to learn how to tell their recovery story in the most positive, informative and influential way.

• It includes how to use recovery messages in all parts of your life, including representing the Recovery Community in the media and other public arenas.

“Give It Back”• Is an opportunity to shape public

policy & reduce stigma by highlighting the fact that every day in the UK people in long term recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs freely volunteer their time to help others and make their communities better places to live. Giving something back to others is one of the defining features of Recovery from addiction and one of the common denominators of the different pathways to Recovery.

• Coordinated national and regional media campaigns

• http://www.ukrecoverywalk.org/give-back/

Association of Recovery Community Organisations

• We know from the great social movements that precede ours, the public, policy makers and the media can easily ignore individual voices.

• Building strong Recovery Community Organisations (RCOs) is one way to tackle feelings of isolation and shame, build strong relationships and advocate for the solutions that we know work.

• Toolkit looks at how to go about setting up an RCO – from the core principles that inform it to the practicalities of creating and sustaining an organisation.

• http://www.ukrecoverywalk.org/association-of-community-recovery-organisations-a-c-r-o/

Resources • Please see our Free Recovery Advocacy messaging

training Our Stories have power

• If you are or work with members of the 12 step fellowships, please see our Advocacy with Anonymity Leaflet and our in depth Advocacy with Anonymity Guide

• If you are using your story to talk with different groups of people about addiction, recovery, stigma and discrimination, please see our Using Your Story Booklet

• Speaking with or want to speak with the media, our Top Tips For Media Booklet will be invaluable.

• Setting up or are already part of a Recovery organisation group or network, our Recovery Community Organisations toolkit will help and support you to develop and build.

• Some hard won experience and guidance from Our Stories Have Power training on how to answer and deal with questions about our recovery with advocacy in mind, here in our Questions and Answers Booklet

Public Health England (PHE) Mutual Aid Resources

There is a strong evidence base for the effectiveness of mutual aid in supporting people’s recovery and PHE has published a briefing on the guidance based on this evidence alongside the resources.

• Partnerships audit tool • Operations guide for keyworkers • A brief guide for commissioners • A brief guide for service managers

Find out more at:

http://www.ukrecoverywalk.org/recovery-resources/

How we are we doing it?By delivering messages of hope to the cultures of addictionwithin our systems and treatment.

1. There is viable and varied recovery solutions for alcohol and other drug problems.

2. We are examples of real people who illustrate the diversity of those recovery solutions.

3. We can challenge any public attempt to dehumanise, objectify and demonise those with alcohol and other drug problems.

4. Advocate for variety, availability, and quality of local/regional treatment and recovery support services.

5. Advocate for barriers to recovery, including the promotion of laws and social policies that reduce alcohol and other drug problems and support recovery for those suffering from alcohol and other drug problems.

Self audit checklist for everyone• Are keyworkers/ clinicians aware of the full range of mutual aid meetings in their

area?• Are they aware of the benefits of patient’s attendance at these groups? • Are they assertively encouraging people to attend? • Do patients have access to people in recovery from mutual aid communities at all

stages in their treatment journey? • Do the keyworker/clinicians have access to people who will take service users to

mutual aid meetings? • Have clinicians/keyworkers taken the opportunity to attend an open mutual aid

meeting themselves? • Could mutual aid meetings be held at the surgery or within the services premises?

If not this is where you need recovery advocates like us to help you!

By speaking, writing or supporting advocacyefforts, members of the recovery communitycan make a profound difference in publicunderstanding of addiction and recovery, andchange discriminatory policies that put upbarriers to recovery.

See You In Manchester 13th September 2014 for the walk this year, and if you are interested in

hosting 2015, please see the applicationform available at:

www.ukrecoverywalk.org Thanks!