A new era?
Recovery talk draws strength from diversity
A FEW MONTHS AGO THERE WAS MUCH TALK about whether ‘recovery’ belongs to one group more than another. Those debates still rumble on – particularly when money and politics play a significant part – but the UKRF summit brought all parties to the table to be part of the dialogue (cover story, page 8). Rather than the all-too-frequent polarised arguments, harm reduction and recovery were acknowledged as traditional bedfellows and the debate moved on to making sure everyone knew the rules of the game when taking debate to a political level. Important to many people who attended the event – and the recovery walk through Cardiff city centre the day after – was the practical discussion about recovery in the context of real life, whether related to treatment and healthcare or more general issues of living and working in the community. Other articles in this issue reflect recovery in its everyday clothes, from the thriving 12 Café (page 18) to the inspirational LCDP art project (page 14). This isn’t just theory, this is maintenance, abstinence, therapy – whatever you want to call it – but most importantly it incorporates a path to wellbeing that transcends any federation, partnership, consortium or concordat you could convene.
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