As a kid, all I ever wanted for my life was to find something that allowed me to be creative. To keep my mind occupied, both inside and outside of whatever would become ‘work’, for me, while moulding something original that would be read, seen or used by someone else.
And I’ve certainly been lucky enough to see this dream come to fruition, over the last few years. Around five years ago I was asked to write a blog about creativity in the workplace, for an international recruitment agency. How it drives innovation, solves problems, and creates solutions for managers and executives (In hindsight, it was one of the most boring blogs I’ve ever written!).
Nonetheless, that remains a proud moment for me, in both my career and recovery. At the time I wrote it, it had been roughly four years since I had engaged with addiction recovery services myself (albeit, not Recovery Connections). At the time this experience, although positive overall, did not suggest that recovery services overall were oozing with creativity. There were just too many forms to fill in, boxes to tick, and I only ever once felt connected to someone who worked there.
If anybody had said to me, then, that the most inspiring archive of creativity I would ever encounter would come from within a recovery service, I’m not sure I would have believed the prediction.
And yet here we are, in 2023, and I’m surrounded by creativity, every day of the week. Community members, co-producing groups and activities. Staff creating new pathways for accessing services. Sober Socials being planned and coordinated between a group of volunteers. The organisation as a whole, always on the lookout for new ways to reach out to different audiences. Even the different ways I’ve seen people engaging with the Recovery Coach training, with David Collins, demonstrates the vast range of creative approaches we have at our combined disposal.
Which is why I’m so excited about several projects that are either coming up, or already taking place.
Write on the Tyne
Helen Aitchison has already begun working with Community groups on developing how we can use the written word to tell stories, and journal the recovery journey. It is hoped that the work produced in these monthly workshops, across all areas, will eventually be turned into a published book, to be released during Recovery Month, this September.
Pathways to Recovery
This project was completed on the 13th of this month, and has captured images which inspire hope, trigger memories, and visually document the journey of recovery within different people. Using the Photo-Voice method of exploring poignant moments, visualising learning, and capturing progress, Dr David Patton is in the process of launching a website that will showcase each recovery journey in a striking, online archive – with a view to releasing a book of recovery journeys, later this year.
The Recovery Street Film Festival
Last year, of course, we reached the national finals in this annual, visually inspiring competition. And right now, the festival is looking for ideas for the overarching theme of this summer’s entries. In 2022, 15 finalists were chosen, with submissions entered from filmmakers, charities, and large organisations alike. And with so much creativity throughout the charity, every day of the week, I’m sure we’ll come up with some outstanding ideas again… and make it all the way to London for the second finals running!
