10th annual Recovery Day to celebrate community successes this weekend

“There needed to be a shift because the way we were doing things, by shaming people or just putting them in jail, wasn’t working. I see the shift happening and it’s hopefully going to mean more positive action,” she says.

“This is a coming-together of a community of people who have gone through some stuff and come out the other side. It’s amazing that it doesn’t have to be some closed-door thing; rather it can be an event that is something to be focused on.”

Black adds the event shows that something is going right in our world, and that should give people hope.

“Recovery doesn’t need to be a secret thing,” she says. “People can talk openly about it so that the people who are still really suffering can find that hope and help they need without as much shame and stigma around it.”

She notes too that drugs and alcohol are not the only things to be associated with recovery, as people struggle with addictions related to gambling, sex and shopping, among others.

“Addiction doesn’t automatically mean somebody who doesn’t have a home injecting under a bridge. Yes, our vulnerable population includes so many without homes, but they didn’t start that way. There are people who have homes and who are suffering in silence; it could be your next-door neighbour or your grandparent,” she says.

“With societal expectations, often when someone is struggling in their home, they’ll think, ‘Well at least I have a home and a job, so my problem’s not that bad,’ but those things don’t mean it can’t get worse.

“It doesn’t have to get that bad if you can find the support.”

The Alberta government has put a strong focus on recovery, which you can read more about on its website.

Black says between the Red Deer Dream Centre, the Edgewood recovery community on the city’s north end, and all others in between, from Safe Harbour to Turning Point, there are lots of options for people to get help.

“I want to shout out to those who are working in the field and are doing their best to help those in need,” she says. “We should really appreciate them.”

According to the latest numbers available on the Alberta government’s Substance Use Surveillance System, Red Deer experienced 18 drug poisoning deaths in the first five months of 2024 — there were a record high 53 in 2023. The 18 includes two from alcohol.

Additionally, figures show that of the nine unintentional opioid poisoning deaths in Red Deer from January to March 2024, six occurred in private residences — the highest one-quarter mark since Q1 2021.

“There are a ton of people in our community working really hard — mentally, emotionally and physically — to help vulnerable people. It is emotionally-draining work and that work often goes unnoticed or unsung,” Black says.

“We are showing people this Recovery Day that there is a solution.”

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by Josh Hall | @Vancan19

10th annual Recovery Day to celebrate community successes this weekend

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