September is National Recovery Month, a time to celebrate people in recovery and recognize the families, professionals and communities who support them. Recovery Month began in 1989 as an opportunity to recognize the work of substance use treatment professionals. Over the years, it has grown into a month dedicated to celebrating the recovery community and bringing more awareness to addiction and recovery.
“Before getting sober, my life was in total shambles. I was in the depths of hell, living in a hell on earth that I had created for myself, using every single day just to escape my own reality.” – Victoria
For us at Guiding Light, Recovery Month is a chance to celebrate the people we get to walk alongside every day. Recovery looks different for everyone, and there is no single picture of what it means to be in recovery. For some, it may mean rebuilding relationships with family. For others, it may mean finding a job, learning how to manage everyday responsibilities or figuring out what they enjoy doing again.
A lot of recovery happens in the small, everyday moments. It looks like community lunch every day, showing up for work on time, going to church, and volunteering at local races. It looks like having a hard day and knowing you have a community to lean on for support. Over time, these “next right things” add up to an entirely new life walking in freedom from addiction.
That is one of the reasons community is so important. Having people around you who know your story and want to see you succeed can make a big difference. At Guiding Light, we see that happen through shared meals, service opportunities, fitness, faith and the friendships that develop within our programs and long term sober-living homes.
“My life is now unrecognizable from where it was over a year ago. I have purpose. I’m driven, and I have goals. I’m healthier than I’ve probably ever been. I found passion again that had been dead for so long, and I didn’t even realize it.” -Trevor
We also know that recovery affects more than the person who is struggling with addiction. Families experience it. Friends experience it. Churches, workplaces and neighborhoods experience it. When someone begins making changes in their life, the people around them often get to experience those changes too. At Guiding Light, we go “deep not wide” by investing greatly in individuals for years at a time. We see the ripple effects this has in our community and work towards ending generational patterns of substance use disorders
National Recovery Month gives us an opportunity to recognize that. We celebrate the people who continue to work hard to change their lives, the families who have continued to show up, and the many people who support recovery.
Most of all, we are grateful for the people at Guiding Light who remind us every day why this work matters. Their stories, their progress and even the ordinary moments along the way are worth celebrating.
“I’m so grateful today to have a life worth living, a life that I’m not willing to lose, and a future that I can look forward to.” -Jess