How do you bring a recovery conference to life ? Jamie Gratton shares his experience
ConferenCe
Real
How do you bring a recovery conference to life ? Jamie Gratton shares his experience
MAKING IT
We have just enjoyed our first Aquarius recovery conference , celebrating how we all approach recovery in our own unique way . The idea came about as a result of discussions with peer mentors and people using Aquarius services about how they could celebrate recovery on a local level , and we worked with partners from the Derby Substance Misuse Services and Derby University Law School to bring it to life .
With a small budget for the event , we set up monthly planning meetings with staff , peers and volunteers to put together a list of what would be needed to move the conference forward .
Our first challenge was to find a venue – not easy , as most of the conference centres in the area wanted £ 2,000 to £ 3,000 for the day . Aquarius had been doing some work supporting the Derby University Law School around social justice issues and vulnerable groups , so we discussed our conference proposal with the university . Two days later , we had a venue free of charge , complete with refreshments .
Next came the agenda , and the local recovery community agreed that the main focus for the event should be around sharing life stories and highlighting the power of recovery . We felt it was vital to have a mixture of speakers on the day , offering different perspectives , including those of family members affected by addiction .
With a clear theme in mind , we invited guest speaker Tracy Carr from Public Health England ( PHE ) to speak about the importance of building recovery capital , and Tony Mercer from PHE to give insight into the social justice issues faced by individuals and families .
Over the coming weeks the team worked hard to bring the different elements of the conference together , and it came with a lot of stress . I had never done anything like this before and was extremely anxious about whether anyone would even turn up ! Luckily , I was able to rely on the different coping mechanisms I had learnt while going through my own
recovery , and my team leader was able to rein me in when I was panicking and help me to look at things more logically .
When the big day arrived , the conference opened with an introductory speech about the power of recovery and the vital role it plays within communities . This was followed by an ice breaker , run by Steve Gill , and a series of mini games to make people feel relaxed . Soon the conference hall was full of laughter and people were feeling more confident about sharing their stories .
First was Angela . She was open and honest about how a family member ’ s addiction had impacted on her life and the rest of the family , and how the support she had received had helped her get through the hardest times .
Then came one of the Derby Recovery Service peers . Maria had battled with alcoholism for 11 years and had been sober for two years . She spoke about how becoming a peer had strengthened her recovery and her relationship with her children , and how the community had helped her to find somewhere she belonged .
The life stories came one after the other . Kate talked about her journey from teaching at schools around the world to ending up with an alcohol problem , and how joining an art group had given her confidence and made her feel useful again .
Claire , performing at the conference as part of Recovery Rocks , talked about how music had helped her move forward from addiction . She learned to play the guitar because of the support and encouragement given to her by peers within the recovery community .
The final story was from Paul , who explained how 12-step mutual aid has helped him to move forward . Each story moved the audience , some making them laugh , some making them cry , but each one celebrating the fact that discovering recovery meant discovering life .
Each story moved the audience ... each one celebrating the fact that discovering recovery meant discovering life .
Four workshops also formed an important part of the event and focused on the different elements of recovery , from building and maintaining a recovery community to ways of encouraging participation and creativity . An exhibition displayed different recovery options open to people living in the area .
A variety of different performances closed the day , including local poet Jamie Thrasivoulou , who is in recovery himself and used his gritty poetry to strike a chord with guests .
This was followed by Hazel , performing a song that she had written herself before taking up her position as sound engineer for Recovery Rocks – the group that we run at Aquarius every Tuesday night with the idea of using music to strengthen recovery .
This was the moment – as they performed in public for the first time ever – that I felt really proud of what we had achieved at the conference . It was the perfect ending to an amazing day . Throughout the day we had laughter , tears , shared experiences and fun .
I had spent the whole of the day saying I was not going to do another one , but about an hour before the end I leaned over to two of my colleagues and whispered , ‘ I have a great idea for next year !’
Jamie Gratton is recovery network coordinator at Aquarius