For too long those most affected by alcohol and other drug problems have been absent from the public policy debate.
In late 2001, following the Recovery Advocacy Summit in St. Paul, Minnesota about a dozen individuals in recovery from addiction, family members, friends and allies gathered in Oneonta to discuss what we could do in Delaware and Otsego Counties to become a part of the National Addiction Recovery Movement. We were unanimous in our agreement that we needed to develop a voice for recovery in our area to reduce stigma and discrimination by changing the conversation from a focus on the current public perception of addiction as a hopeless condition to a greater understanding of recovery as real and attainable. We chose the name Friends of Recovery to align with other organizations in the Northeast using the same name, e.g. Friends of Recovery Vermont, FOR-NJ, etc. Our acronym became FOR-DO to designate our counties.
We met monthly to plan events and activities that could highlight addiction recovery and educate our local two-county area about addiction as a treatable disease and the need for services to support recovery. We followed the model of Faces and Voices of Recovery the national recovery advocacy organization that had begun as a result of the 2001 Summit. In September 2002, National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, we joined with organizations across the country and held our first Rally for Recovery in Neahwa Park, Oneonta, NY. The day was filled with music, food, games and about 70 individuals going on a 3- mile walk through Oneonta, carrying signs with informational messages about addiction and recovery. That became our model for the next 7 years.
During this time we received much-appreciated support from LEAF Council on Alcoholism and Addiction in Otsego County and the Delaware County Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council. In 2003 and 2004, these councils hosted Recovery Month Celebration dinners that attracted many in the recovery community as well as community leaders.
In 2004, the FOR-DO Board began a discussion of the need for more recovery support services for individuals in recovery and their families augment the work of the county alcohol and drug misuse clinics in each county, the only treatment options available. We made a trip to Vermont to visit a recovery community center called Turning Point and became excited about the possibility of having such a facility in our area. Our search had begun. To make this endeavor possible, Friends of Recovery of Delaware and Otsego Counties, Inc. was incorporated as a 501 c3 charitable organization on May 3, 2004.
Later that year, we learned St. James Episcopal Church in downtown Oneonta had a building on their campus that they were trying to decide how to utilize or maybe sell. We began talks with the church vestry about the possibility of allowing FOR-DO to use the building for a recovery community center. The vestry agreed to our request and the FOR-DO board and the Vestry began work on a Memorandum of Understanding that would allow FOR-DO to use the building at 22 Elm Street in exchange for doing all the necessary renovations and assuming all the maintenance and upkeep expenses.
On April 29, 2005, following the signing of the MOU, FOR-DO held a press conference at 22 Elm Street to kick off a fundraising campaign for the renovations and announce our “ownership” of the site. Little did we know how much was going to be involved and how much time it would take, but we had a dedicated crew of volunteer carpenters, plumbers, painters, decorators – all members of the recovery community– who provided 95% of the labor under the supervision of our architect, Michael McAneny. Only the electrical work and asbestos abatement were done by professionals, as required to meet code. We finally completed the majority of the work in April, 2007 and we opened the doors for recovery support meetings to be held in the new meeting room.
Friday, September 14, 2007 began a weekend of celebration, commencing with a Grand Opening Celebration, attended by Senator Seward and many local dignitaries. Our speaker was Mark Helijas, a leader in Vermont’s recovery community organizing and our mentor from the beginning. On Saturday, we held our 5th Annual Rally for Recovery.
The next three years were busy and challenging as volunteers –especially board members – worked to take care of the building, raise funds to cover the costs, and develop activities to support individuals in recovery and their families. The Honorable Michael Coccoma, funding judge of the Otsego County Drug Treatment Court, welcomed our support for DTC participants, a relationship which continues to grow. We began hosting monthly All Recovery Potluck Dinners with all-recovery speaker meetings. Area professional volunteered to provide presentations and workshops that focused on life skills necessary for a health recovery: health issues, financial issues, employment issues. And we continued with our annual Recovery Month activities.
In 2009 the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (NYS OASAS) announced a call for proposals to support the development and implementation of Recovery Community Centers in New York state. Their plan was to fund 21 RCCs over the next several years. The initial plan was to fund four such centers – 2 urban and 2 rural. FOR-DO prepared an application what was submitted on December 19, 2009. We learned in June 2010 that FOR-DO had received an award that would provide $60,000 a year for 5 years. The first check arrived in August, providing start-up funds for equipment, furniture and other necessary supplies and the balance of the first year’s funds.
We learned in September that OASAS was also asking us to a part of a four-year federal grant called Access to Recovery (ATR), under the aegis of the RCC grant, that would provide additional funds to administer a voucher program in our two counties that allows eligible participants who are seeking recovery to access treatment and recovery support services that would otherwise not be available to them. These combined funds have allowed us to hire staff – an Executive Director and a Center Manager and a Recovery Care Manager for the ATR.
Also in 2010 we began negotiations with Delaware County Department of Social Services to open a recovery community center in Delhi, to be called, like our Oneonta facility, The Turning Point- Delhi. That center opened in April 2011.
The future is bright as Friends of Recovery of Delaware and Otsego Counties, Inc. works to achieve its mission, “to support addiction recovery through every available means.”
When one of us recovers from addiction, everyone benefits. We are restored to sanity and usefulness, our productivity improves and the lives of our family members, friends, and neighbors are made better.