Nonprofits offer vulnerability, reduce barriers for path of recovery

New Year’s resolutions can be an opportunity to explore new hobbies and break bad habits. For some, the act of getting help can be daunting and fraught with anxiety. Two Longmont nonprofits are breaking down barriers for those seeking help with addiction, mental health and other struggles.

The past year has been a challenge for many people, with the pandemic leading to increased struggles from those already at risk of substance abuse and addiction disorders, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Substance abuse can look different depending on the person it affects, from alcoholism and drug use, to habits formed from prescription pills. Organizations like the Recovery Cafe and A Way Forward want to eliminate the stigmas of asking for help with mental health and addiction recovery.

“We really believe in the many pathways to recovery,” said Recovery Cafe Peer Support Specialist Becky Milanski. “Everyone has their own unique challenges. What works for one person might not work for another, so we focus on meeting people where they are at and let them make their own best decisions.”

The peer support specialists at Recovery Cafe — Milanski, Chris Poma and Felicia Perez-Wright — understand the struggles. Each of them are in their own recovery journeys and share their vulnerability with people seeking refuge and community. There is no shame or admonishment at Recovery Cafe, they explained, only space for people on their recovery journeys to find a new sense of community.

Poma has been on his recovery journey for seven years now, he said, and before he started on the path he had convinced himself that drug use was okay and he could still be productive.

“It works until it doesn’t and it will always not work at a certain point,” Poma said. 

“When you’re able to be vulnerable you can let go of the shame. Until you’re able to open up, it eats away at you and makes your addiction continue and continue,” Milanski said.

Getting to the point of vulnerability and knowing to ask for help is daunting, according to Milanski, so the peer support specialists and members at Recovery Cafe don’t push people to open up before they are ready. Perez-Wright said the key is in sharing their own stories and meeting people where they are, without making them feel rushed.

“I don’t ever try to pry, I let them speak when they’re ready, but when I share my story it helps them feel more comfortable,” Perez-Wright explained. “When they do open up, I just listen and remind them that it's okay to need help.”

For both Recovery Cafe and A Way Forward, part of creating space for people seeking help includes removing financial barriers for those in need. For membership at Recovery Cafe, participants just need to be sober for 24 hours and be willing to commit to the recovery process. A Way Forward makes all of its groups and services free regardless of income, according to A Way Forward Executive Director Debbie Platts.

The programs at A Way Forward take a holistic approach, Platts explained, addressing a person’s mental and physical wellness no matter where they are on the journey. 

“Support for mental and emotional health disorders, which dramatically increased during the pandemic, continues to be a focus,” Platts said. “Depression, anxiety and grief are often co-occurring with substance abuse. We’ll be increasing the scope of services to support mental and emotional health (in the coming year).”

Beginning in January, A Way Forward will offer a pair of self-improvement groups to help get the year off to a healthy start. One will be a book study on “The Four Agreements,” by Don Miguel Ruiz, focused on setting intentions and perspective in the New Year, Platts said. The other will is called “Get a GRIP,” which is based on the principles of gratitude, resilience, intention and purpose.

Other programs for holistic wellness at A Way Forward include yoga and art therapy, Platts said. To help heal the body, she added, the organization is also expanding programs to address nutrition in sobriety and recovery for eating disorders.

With spaces like A Way Forward and Recovery Cafe making themselves available to those in need with therapy, support and guidance, taking the first step can be a challenge. For someone in recovery, it’s as important to show themselves compassion and patience to themselves as it is to show it to others, Perez-Wright said, and to take it one day at a time.

“I think that it's about progression, not perfection. That’s really important for those of us in recovery to remember,” Perez-Wright said. “We all fall, it’s about how we get back up again.”

Correction: Peer Support Specialist Felicia Perez-Wright was misattributed as Becky Perez-Wright. The article has been corrected to reflect this accurately.