Who are we and what do we do?

1. UK Recovery Walk Charity
The 6th UK Recovery Walk
September 2014
Greater Manchester

2. UK Recovery Walk Charity
1. Who we are
2. Where we stand
3. What the charity aims are
4. Free resources
5. How we meet our aims
6. How you can help using this Checklist
7. The future

3. Who we are
Trustees (L to R)
• John Royle
• Annemarie Ward
• Annemarie Heath
• Joe Adshead
• James McInally
• Dot Turton
• Kerry Stewart
• Yaina Samuels
• Kevin Jaffrey
• Louise Dempsey Smith
• Simon Jenkins
• You?

4. Where we stand
• Good quality opioid substitute treatment can play an
essential role in recovery
• Active promotion of mutual aid networks is essential
• Support and advocate for innovative and evidence based
initiatives to prevent, intervene early, expand treatment
and promote recovery from alcohol and other drug use.
• PHE - We’re moving from an “addiction treatment”
system to a “substance-use disorders intervention”
system. This is a very very very, did I say very? - good
thing!

5. What the charity aims are
• Policy advocacy taking on issues of discrimination,
social justice and service access.
• Public and professional education movement, intent
on challenging stigma.

6. Recovery Messaging Training
• Helps people, families
and staff to learn how to
tell their recovery story in
the most positive,
informative and
influential way.
• It includes how to use
recovery messages in all
parts of your life,
including representing
the Recovery Community
in the media and other
public arenas.

7. “Give It Back”
• Is an opportunity to shape
public policy & reduce stigma
by highlighting the fact that
every day in the UK people in
long term recovery from
addiction to alcohol and other
drugs freely volunteer their
time to help others and make
their communities better
places to live. Giving
something back to others is
one of the defining features of
Recovery from addiction and
one of the common
denominators of the different
pathways to Recovery.
• Coordinated national and
regional media campaigns
• http://www.ukrecoverywalk.org/give-back/

8. Association of Recovery Community
Organisations
• We know from the great social
movements that precede ours,
the public, policy makers and the
media can easily ignore individual
voices.
• Building strong Recovery
Community Organisations (RCOs)
is one way to tackle feelings of
isolation and shame, build strong
relationships and advocate for
the solutions that we know work.
• Toolkit looks at how to go about
setting up an RCO – from the core
principles that inform it to the
practicalities of creating and
sustaining an organisation.
• http://www.ukrecoverywalk.org/association-of-
community-recovery-organisations-a-c-r-o/

9. Resources
• Please see our Free Recovery Advocacy
messaging training Our Stories have power
• If you are or work with members of the 12 step
fellowships, please see our Advocacy with
Anonymity Leaflet and our in depth Advocacy
with Anonymity Guide
• If you are using your story to talk with different
groups of people about addiction, recovery,
stigma and discrimination, please see our Using
Your Story Booklet
• Speaking with or want to speak with the
media, our Top Tips For Media Booklet will be
invaluable.
• Setting up or are already part of a Recovery
organisation group or network, our Recovery
Community Organisations toolkit will help and
support you to develop and build.
• Some hard won experience and guidance from
Our Stories Have Power training on how to
answer and deal with questions about our
recovery with advocacy in mind, here in our
Questions and Answers Booklet
Public Health England (PHE)
Mutual Aid Resources
There is a strong evidence base for the effectiveness
of mutual aid in supporting people’s recovery and
PHE has published a briefing on the guidance based
on this evidence alongside the resources.
• Partnerships audit tool
• Operations guide for keyworkers
• A brief guide for commissioners
• A brief guide for service managers
Find out more at:
http://www.ukrecoverywalk.org/recovery-resources/

10. How we are we doing it?
By delivering messages of hope to the cultures of addiction
within our systems and treatment.
1. There is viable and varied recovery solutions for alcohol and other
drug problems.
2. We are examples of real people who illustrate the diversity of those
recovery solutions.
3. We can challenge any public attempt to dehumanise, objectify and
demonise those with alcohol and other drug problems.
4. Advocate for variety, availability, and quality of local/regional
treatment and recovery support services.
5. Advocate for barriers to recovery, including the promotion of laws
and social policies that reduce alcohol and other drug problems and
support recovery for those suffering from alcohol and other drug
problems.

11. Self audit checklist for everyone
• Are keyworkers/ clinicians aware of the full range of mutual aid meetings in their
area?
• Are they aware of the benefits of patient’s attendance at these groups?
• Are they assertively encouraging people to attend?
• Do patients have access to people in recovery from mutual aid communities at all
stages in their treatment journey?
• Do the keyworker/clinicians have access to people who will take service users to
mutual aid meetings?
• Have clinicians/keyworkers taken the opportunity to attend an open mutual aid
meeting themselves?
• Could mutual aid meetings be held at the surgery or within the services premises?
If not this is where you need recovery advocates like us to help you!

12. By speaking, writing or supporting advocacy
efforts, members of the recovery community
can make a profound difference in public
understanding of addiction and recovery, and
change discriminatory policies that put up
barriers to recovery.

13. See You In Manchester 13th September 2014 for
the walk this year, and if you are interested in
hosting 2015, please see the application
form available at:
www.ukrecoverywalk.orgThanks!