Together Toward Hope

I recently was part of planning and hosting a vigil, “to stay in a place and quietly wait, pray, etc., for a period of time”. We called this event “Together Toward Hope”. It was a good event, about 150 people attended, there was music, food, several speakers from government, healthcare, education, the faith community, and parents of and individuals facing addiction. The purpose was just what the name implies, HOPE!

Hope is important in the work of overcoming addiction. We purposefully named this even “Together Toward Hope” because today we focus on the negatives, the number of deaths by overdose, the fact that fentanyl is in everything you can buy and it is deadly, the depression, the anxiety, and so much more. In all that I think we speak about things that should be spoken about, but I wonder, “Do we rob families and individuals of any hope that recovery is possible?”. Our loud message should be it is possible to succeed in recovery!

In my state, Connecticut, according to quarterly reports that are submitted over 74% of individuals that complete a 28-day program remain sober for over 30 days, that’s success. Other areas these reports sight as significant factors in continued recovery are:

Stable living environment

Social Support

Abstinence/Reduced Drug Use

Employment

The more of these areas we can help our loved one improve in the more we can birth HOPE toward recovery for them

Recovery is possible … Don’t Give Up!

This weeks featured image is by Brooke Shaden, entitled “Underground Discoveries. In the tweet she shared it in she said “I hope that wherever you are today, you’re searching”

Keep searching for HOPE!

The statistics sited above are from  https://portal.ct.gov/DMHAS/Divisions/EQMI/EQMI-Provider-Quality-Reports-Info  your state will have a similar agency