Recovery Community Gathers for Newport Rally for Recovery Saturday

NEWPORT, RI—A crowd of people will gather at King Park in Newport today, men and women, young and old, all connected by one powerful force: the recovery movement.

September is National Recovery Month and in Rhode Island, the movement's attention turns to Newport on Saturday for a Rally for Recovery event that is both a celebration of the movement's progress in attacking the stigma of addiction over the years and a public show of support for anyone struggling to be clean, along with their family and friends.

The event begins at around 1 p.m. at King Park after a motorcycle ride that departs earlier in the morning at around 11:30 a.m.

Last year was the first year the event was held in King Park in Newport, said Colleen Carpenter McDonald, a lead organizer for the event. And like every Rally for Recovery event, it is a special time during which the bond shared between people in recovery is on full display.

"You see family members and people who were down at their worst and brought back up, so it's moving," McDonald said.

The event is also a time when elected officials, members of law enforcement, social workers, advocates and people who work the front lines in the recovery movement come together to share ideas and experiences and stories, both uplifting and devastating. There might be family members still in denial or people who have not yet taken any steps on the path to recovery who might find they're not alone and their insurmountable problems might actually be be manageable.

Over the years, the Newport rally and others like it across the country, including the Sept. 17 rally held in Providence, have become a sort of family reunion, too.

Peter Letendre, CEO of Clinical Services of Rhode Island, said he gets to know a lot of folks through his work at his addiction treatment facilities in Portsmouth, Greenville and South Kingstown. There are people who came for treatment and moved on into recovery, bringing others under their wings over time.

"It's a privilege to see them at the rally with new people they're trying to help get into recovery," Letendre said. "They themselves are now bringing people to the rally."

Sometimes, a van from a nearby sober house will come and people might be confronting the movement for the first time. There is a booth set up at King Park with information about services with an emphasis on what's here on the island.

And because Aquidneck Island is an island, there is a tightly-knit recovery community here. In Newport, the community is strong like many other towns with a vibrant nightlife and tourism industry.

"Newport is a big party town," Letendre said. "And a big recovery town. There are meetings every day, it's not hard to find someone going to AA or NA. We see that a lot in different places around the country—in areas where there is a lot of drugs and alcohol, there is going to be a strong recovery community."

Things have changed over the years within the recovery community. It has grown, especially in recent years with the opioid epidemic raging and taking so many lives. It has also made progress challenging the stigma of addiction. Now, the focus has begun to shift from a mission of raising awareness and offering support into something more dynamic.

"What's happened over the last 10 to 15 years is the movement got people to recognize that substance abuse disorders are just like other medical issues, it's considered a problem not to consider it a moral issue," Letendre said.

An emphasis on attacking the stigma of addiction is working. People at NA meetings don't stand up and "instead of saying 'my name is Peter and I'm an addict," he's saying 'my name is Peter and I'm in long term recovery,'" Letendre said. "The shame, the guilt, is not being portrayed. It's strength being portrayed."

That is one of the big shifts and it's thanks in part to the outrageous tragedy tearing apart so many families in recent years as the opioid crisis rages on. Parents are finding the strength to tell people that their child is dead because of heroin when it comes time to write an obituary. People in recovery are less inclined to slink away for a meeting without telling anyone. Public officials, community leaders and professionals who don't fit the stereotype of a homeless person hanging out on Broadway are speaking up about their own battles with addiction and relationship with recovery.

"People are saying 'I'm someone in recovery. . .I live a good life because of it," Letendre said.

The rally includes food, refreshments, shaved ice and a several guest speakers. Awards and honors will be given, including one to Portsmouth Police Officer Scott Sullivan, who will be receiving a advocacy award for his work as a member of law enforcement.

There will be a recovery quilt—a powerful symbol of the potential for comfort the movement can bring. Anyone can decorate a segment in honor of a loved one, or just to leave a message.

McDonald, who works at Anchor Recovery Center as a peer specialist as well as at Clinical Services of Rhode Island, also said that there will be a training for the use of Naloxone, or Narcan, a drug that can stop and reverse overdoses and save lives. Most police departments in Rhode Island are now equipped and trained in the use of Narcan, "but we'd like to see as many people in the community get trained and carry Narcan."

Everyone is welcome to attend, even members of the public with no real connection to the community. The depth and breadth of the community will be on full display, from local treatment agencies, to substance abuse task forces and coalitions. Family and friends.

Event link: https://www.facebook.com/event...