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As we enter Recovery Month, I’m struck by something Dr. Highshaw said to me, a while back. It was that while the uplifting of September is the month we celebrate recovery from the misuse of substances in our community, drugs alone are not the only source of our need to get to the other side to be whole. As queer-identified and non-queer-identified Black folk, we live at the intersection of a myriad of traumas and social challenges. Imagine the trauma of a life filled with housing insecurity compounded by the substandard schools and the lack of access to nutritious food, forcing parents to starve off their children’s hunger with sugary snacks, which are plentiful in food deserts; Or the trauma of working hard and still not having the resources to meet one’s own basic needs much less those of a family and the resulting mechanisms put in place just to cope; Or the trauma of feeling trapped in a system that seeks to vilify you and sets your feet, from a young age, on the pipeline to prison.
Imagine all these things that usher marginalized communities down the slippery slope of poor choices and adverse health outcomes. At the AMAAD Institute, we value integrated whole person wellness because “recovery” is not about a single issue but a multitude that ranges from substance use disorder and domestic or intimate partner violence to homelessness and justice involvement. Part of our recovery is from the toxic environments that prevent us from inhaling deeply and stretching our wings to fly.
This recovery month, I urge us all to look beyond the surface to the intersecting identities and issues that lead to compounding traumas that affect our recovery, sobriety, and ability to thrive.
Signing off with these four recommendations to making our recovery stick:
- Love people exactly where they are in their journey. No Shame, no blame. Call your loved ones “in” to healing instead of calling them “out” for making unhealthy choices.
- Forgive yourself every time you fall and recommit to getting back up each time, knowing that with each new day comes the opportunity to make a different choice and create a different outcome.
- Create and find a healing community. So often, we feel alone in our struggle that no one can understand and no one can help. However, sharing your load makes it easier to bear while offering others the healing that comes from being of service to others.
- Find your way of being of service. Proverbs 11:25 tells us that “whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.” Nuff said.
Happy Recovery Month, Everyone. Here’s to our health!
Cynthia Ruffin
Chief Programs Officer
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