Washington County CAT Hosts 7th Annual Walk for Recovery
Post submitted by Terri Woodruff, Co-Director, Healthy Acadia’s Maine Alliance for Recovery Coaching
The Washington County Community Action Team (CAT) held their 7th annual Walking for Recovery event on Friday, September 15, 2023. Washington County CAT was formed in 2016 and consists of groups of people coming together to discuss solutions and address the needs of communities around the opioid epidemic in Washington County. The CAT meets monthly and the meetings are open to Parents, grandparents, teachers, students, community members, or anyone interested in making a difference is welcome to attend. If you are interested in joining, please reach out to Lauren Sachs at lauren@healthyacadia.org.
Over the past seven years, we have seen significant movement forward in our community to better understand the impacts of substance use, support individuals and families impacted, and break down the long-standing stigmas that have historically kept people from accessing the abilities to reach their fullest potential.
During this time, we have seen the doors open to two peer-run, peer-led, community recovery centers that welcome not only those impacted by substance use disorder (SUD) or are in recovery, but play a significant role in meeting the needs of so many community members through food distribution, clothing, a warming center, to being a meeting location for many community partners.
“What is inside a nalox-box? Each kit contains two doses of NARCAN® nasal spray, a breathing barrier (if CPR is needed), and instructions on how to administer naloxone nasal spray (in Spanish and English)”
We have seen our college institutions expand their coursework to those behind the walls and build campuses that support recovery by placing Nalox-boxes in common spaces and training staff and faculty to increase understanding of the impact substance use has on the many areas of a student’s life.
We have businesses who are invested in increased learning and hiring opportunities.
A recovery home that welcomes women and children as a safe space to grow along their journeys.
Our understanding of harm reduction and how these life saving strategies are so valuable and meet community members where they are and support them along the path of their choosing.
We have seen a group of young people who have been impacted by family substance use, recovery, and incarceration come together to promote leadership in young people and learn how they too have a voice.
These are just a few of the advancements we have seen since our walks began seven years ago. We have seen lives healed, families reunited, and communities strengthened.
Every community member has played a role in making our community recovery-ready and moving forward. For that we are grateful.
But we all know there is still work to be done. We continue to lose community members to fatal overdose and we still experience the barriers of discrimination and stigma.
We come together to celebrate recovery and to show our solidarity in continuing our commitment to break down the stigma. We recover out loud so others do not have to die in silence.
To learn more about the Washington County Community Action Team, and explore additional recovery support resources, click here.