Whole Person Recovery - One Year On

The RSA’s Whole Person Recovery project’s first anniversary is this spring.  You may have been following our progress in West Kent through the fellowship newsletter, the Whole Person Recovery Newsletter or the Recovery Blog.  Maybe you’ve attended a Public Event Programme lecture or a Recovery Alliance Meeting.  If this is the first you’re hearing of the programme it’s a perfect opportunity to get involved.  You don’t need to have personal experience of addiction or recovery to contribute to the programme. Recovery is a complex and individual journey with which we can all relate to in respect of its organic or non-linear nature.

Attaining ‘recovery’ and achieving a balanced, healthy and engaged life obtaining the things many of us take for granted such as a job, a car, and a family waiting for us when we get home can seem a difficult place to reach.  However, Whole Person Recovery is based on the acknowledgement that both addiction and recovery do not occur within a vacuum and are based significantly on social, personal and community influences.

Statistical evidence strongly suggests that one in five of us will know someone who has experienced problems with drugs and/ or alcohol. For those of us who know these individuals, we recognise that alcohol and drugs are usually just a symptom of deeper problems yet to be acknowledged or resolved. Today’s world throws us all tough challenges; for the most vulnerable in our communities these challenges are more hazardous.

Our aim is help programme participants mainstream their lifestyles and plug back into their communities and tap the abundant social resources available so that their recovery encompasses work, housing, friends, family and purposeful activity, in employment, education or enterprise.  So what if someone is stable and on their feet again after accessing available support? What comes next?  This is where the RSA’s network of Fellows is an invaluable resource.

People in recovery span all strata of society – from  the man who used to live on the streets to the mum who has seen her children grow up and fly the nest, but they generally all have one thing in common – they have had to take ‘time out’ to work on their recovery. This time may have left a sense of insecurity or limited or outdated professional skills. There will be a time when such individuals well on the path of recovery will want to achieve goals beyond the sphere of their health and physical wellbeing.

Fellows in West Kent and the South East can make a huge difference to our work in often, quite simple, ways.

-          Offering a space on a training course

-          Inviting someone to shadow you at your workplace for a number of days

-          Attending or giving a talk at one of our West Kent hubs

-          Mentoring someone aspiring to enter your field of expertise

If you would like to know more about Whole Person Recovery feel free to email recovery@rsa.org.uk or follow us on Twitter.