Recovery Coach Academy
Recovery Walks! September 24, 2011 - Coming Fast!
Recovery Community Centers (RCCs)
Telephone Recovery Support - The beauty is in the simplicity.
Find Recovery Housing
Employment Services
Recovery Store
CCAR 2011 Annual Report
The Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery envisions a world where the power, hope and healing of recovery from alcohol and other drug addiction is thoroughly understood and embraced. Read the report.
Nominations for the Bob Savage Recovery Advocate of the Year Award.
Click here for the nomination form.
In 1998 Bob Savage founded the Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery (CCAR). He is a pioneer in the field of establishing recovery community organizations.
Bob had a 30-year career in Connecticut’s state treatment system and when he retired, he set out to answer a couple questions that had nagged him while in public service.
1. Where are the people in recovery when we are making critical decisions concerning them?
2. Can the recovery community be organized to advocate for issues of importance to them? Working from his home, Bob traveled all over Connecticut, speaking wherever he could to rally the recovery community.
He began holding monthly Chapter meetings in Connecticut that ultimately evolved into CCAR. Bob was vital to the development of the recovery advocacy movement not only in Connecticut, but nationally as well.
Purpose of the Award: This award is in honor of Bob Savage’s courage to speak frequently, energetically and effectively on behalf of people in recovery, their family members, friends and allies. CCAR seeks to honor an individual who has had a positive influence on key decision makers in Connecticut and has consistently advocated on issues of importance to the recovery community.
Sharing our Experience, Strength and Hope,
With our Friends Across the Pond
Written by Bill White
Recovery advocates from countries around the world are beginning to reach out to one another. International exchanges are occurring hour-by-hour each day through the power of the Internet, but they are also involving increased face-to-face visits. The U.S. recovery advocacy movement is benefiting greatly from visits to the U.S. by recovery advocates from other countries and by what U.S. recovery advocates are learning during their visits to other countries.
In October of 2011, Phil and Sandy Valentine from the Connecticut Community of Addiction Recovery (CCAR) had the opportunity to visit several U.K. communities and participate in a variety of recovery-focused events. In the interview below, I ask Phil and Sandy to review some of the highlights of this trip and to share their perceptions of the rising U.K. recovery advocacy movement. Read this important interview, or download the pdf file.
UK Visit Leads to Overseas Cooperation
Recovery is contagious. When one person who is addicted sees another person in recovery, they want what that person has. Since 1997, CCAR has helped spread the message that recovery is possible; that recovered person do get well, and that they do become valuable members of their families and of society. Through the living out of this message, generous support and thousands of volunteer hours by CCAR members throughout the years, this message has spread across the country and is now taking root in the UK.
After a visit to the UK by CCAR Executive Director Phil Valentine, in which many fruitful ideas were exchanged, a new area of cooperation opened up. (see video interviews of that event). On October 5th of this year, a ceremony to officially celebrate a 'twinning' agreement between the Newcastle Gateshead Recovery Centre was attended by Phil Valentine, CEO of the Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery, and Stephen Bell, Chief Executive, The Cyrenians, (left photo above, on right) in the UK. Plaques were exchanged to mark the occasion, and will hang in both Hartford and the UK center to "recognize the significance and benefits of one recovering person helping another". Both centers are staffed by recovered persons, and confidential services are available to help persons find the best suitable paths for their individual recovery.
The pioneer programs put into effect at CCAR are also being replicated overseas, including volunteer opportunities, telephone recovery support, employment services, recovery coaching and positive social networking. Hooray for putting your face on recovery, lives are changing!!!
To hear the folks in the UK's take on Phil's visit, download the pdf here.
Who Better To Help?
CCAR - People in Recovery Helping People in Recovery
of the Connecticut Community
for Addiction Recovery (CCAR)
I’ve been in recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction since December 28, 1987, and since 1998, CCAR has been organizing the recovery community to do two things: to put a face on recovery and to provide recovery support services.
Through CCAR, many people in recovery have found sober housing, a place to fulfill their desire to give back, and a sense of belonging to a larger recovery community.
At CCAR we don’t focus on the pathology of an individual, we focus on the recovery potential. At this time, we have already opened four recovery community centers that we affectionately call "recovery oriented sanctuaries located in the hearts of communities". We have visible centers open in Willimantic, Bridgeport and Hartford where you can find help with things like navigating the treatment system, attending all recovery support groups, family education and support, training and workshops, such as WIRED, Women In Recovery Through Enhanced Design, a crafting workshop, and a variety of alcohol and drug free social events. Our goal is to open up one a year for the next five years throughout Connecticut.
One of our new programs is Telephone Recovery Support, which reaches out to people new in recovery, and calls them once a week for twelve weeks to check in and see how they’re doing with their recovery. This has proven to be a simple, yet profoundly powerful program to help people sustain their recovery.
CCAR envisions a world where the power, hope, and healing from alcohol and other drug addiction is thoroughly understood and embraced. Who better to help those find recovery than those who have lived it for many years? With one phone call, you are literally in touch with the collected wisdom of hundreds upon hundreds of people who have found solutions to alcohol and drug problems.
In order for CCAR to be there for you or your loved one, we need your financial support. CCAR is a 501c3 non-profit organization that is currently funded by a federal grant, state grants, and tax deductible private donations from individuals like you. With your gift, you might just make this world a little brighter.
Thank You
Phil Valentine, Ex. Director, CCAR
Major Themes of CCAR
Organizing the Recovery Community's Ability to Care
There are literally thousands of people in recovery in Connecticut. Most of them have a desire to "give back" and they are contributing positively to their local community. CCAR is establishing Recovery Community Centers that offer programs and initiatives to provide an avenue for recovering people to get involved in meaningful ways.
Putting a Face on Recovery
The vast majority of people struggling with an alcohol or drug problem do not get treatment for their addiction. One of the major reasons for this is stigma. Stigma prevents people from seeking help. By speaking publicly about the reality of recovery, CCAR members put a face on recovery. CCAR members put a public face on recovery by testifying before the legislature and state commissions, as well as through well-attended public events like Recovery Walks!
Building Recovery Capital
Most treatment programs deal only with the front-end of the problem: usually a brief stay and you're done. Other kinds of support, such as transportation, housing, job training, simply don't exist in most communities. There's rarely someone who is going to help you find a place to live or help you put your life back in working order. This is where CCAR comes in; helping to bridge the gap between treatment and rebuilt productive lives.
Hartford Recovery
Community Center
Bridgeport Recovery
Community Center
Windham Recovery
Community Center