WHY –

Why We Need Recovery Café/s

Here in Clallam County

This was the news that Clallam County residents woke up to on October 12, 2023 - Clallam County coroner: OD deaths are among worst in state | Peninsula Daily News https://www.peninsuladailynews.com/news/clallam-county-coroner-od-deaths-are-among-worst-in-state/

While this most likely is sad news to all who care about the people in our county, this article was - for those whose family members or friends have lost their lives to substance use – ‘just’ one more story that is profoundly linked to an aching sense of trauma that often persists for decades – for a lifetime.  And for generations of children not even yet born.

Clallam county has breath-taking beauty that is truly beyond measure … a fascinating history that spans many thousands of years … Native American wisdom, pioneering spirit … much to cherish and embrace…

And we also have poverty, emotional distress, domestic violence, substance use… We also are at the very fringes of Washington state and the USA. Too often, the meaningful services that are readily found in urban/suburban areas for those marginalized by disability, homelessness, substance use, poverty… they are hard to find here in Clallam county.

Our county and its people have tried – in a variety of ways – to reduce the impact of substance use, homelessness and emotional distress.  We can find actions taken by our state legislators, our County commissioners, our city councilors, regional behavioral health agencies, local law enforcement, the court system, jails… various nonprofits and healthcare organizations.  We have held somber walks and marches, gone to hard-hitting plays, attended school assemblies, written books, spoken out…

And yet – overdoses continue. Suicides continue.

What are we missing?

We have not heard from those who have survived … the injustices of traumas, emotional distress, substance use, homelessness, poverty… It is time for those who have legislated, voted, studied, worked with… to listen to/learn from “us”.  It is Our Time.  We know “these people” exist – not only are they the sponsors in many 12-step meetings, they are the very people who’ve been around for decades. They (WE) have been a powerful (yet readily ignored) force within RECOVERY – federal and state laws and so very much more.

Those of us who’ve lived with emotional distress… who’ve known and lost loved ones to substance use… we know “what works”.  Not only do we know what works, we know what doesn’t work.  For us, “recovery” isn’t a course or a book or even a great conference/seminar … it is the fact that we have survived experiences … traumas, injustices so readily forgotten by those who didn’t live through them.  People in recovery come from all walks of life – not just the famous actor who writes a book about ‘this’, but the anonymous folks who are marginalized because they aren’t the dominant color, race, ethnicity, sex, gender expression, age, income bracket, education level of those regarded as ‘in control’.

This website then, is dedicated to finding and cultivating a group of committed visionaries who all share some experiences that many others don’t want… We share “lived experiences” … of finding our way through substance use, of finding our way through emotional distress, of knowing WHY our “lived experiences matter”. While we most assuredly appreciate allies (family and friends who “get it”; even clinicians, providers and officials who care) … this – getting our Voices Heard, getting a Recovery Café (or 2, or 3…) here to Clallam County – well, WE need to be the ones that are finally heard.

RIGHT NOW… all this is … is a heartbeat of hope.  We are holding the hope that other people with “lived experiences” – as sponsors in 12 step groups, as peer counselors, as people who’ve survived emotional distress, homelessness, substance use, disability – join us.