January 2023 — Recovery Is Happening all winter! 🧣☃️🥶

January 2023

Recovery Is Happening in January 2023

A Message from Jenna

2022 has been a wonderful year for our Recovery Community Organization. Thank you to our community! I want to share a few highlights with you…

Eight new Peer Recovery Specialists have joined our team providing support for people recovering from substance use disorders, and three new people joined our Board of Directors;

In our Rochester center, our gym —open and free for anyone in recovery! — has been utilized heavily. It has been great to see individuals connect with a well-rounded approach to their recovery that includes physical wellness;

Also in our Rochester center, we have added many new meetings including Wellbriety, SANE Recovery, SMART Recovery, and Soul Recovery and we have plans to add many more in the upcoming year. (Our website’s calendar is down for maintenance, but please check back for all of the recovery community happenings, including these meetings!)

Thanks to funding from the United Way of Olmsted County, the Rochester Area Foundation, and other grant partners, 49 people have benefitted from our Strong Start Housing program that continues to help individuals with substance use disorder with rental assistance and Peer support;

We have a new Peer Recovery Specialist in Mower county and have received amazing support from the Hormel Foundation and United Way of Mower County to continue that work;

Our walk for recovery had a great turnout and overwhelming support from our community! Check out photos here: https://recoveryishappening.org/22-rally-for-recovery/

We continue to host events at our Rochester center including the Jolly Trolly, St. Patrick’s Day, Game Nights, Cinco de Mayo celebrations, and more to come this summer!

We are very excited —taking everything one day at a time, of course! — and full of anticipation for our continued growth and expanded recovery support for the wider community in 2023!

With gratitude,

Jenna Christensen

Executive Director

Program Highlight:

The "Roots" Program

The overarching goal of "Deepening Our Roots: Growing an Interconnected and Sustainable Recovery Community" (or, "the Roots program") is for each person recovering from Substance Use Disorder to grow deeper roots into their eight dimensions of wellness, achieving long-term recovery from Substance Use Disorder and engaging in a rich and vibrant life.

This program will also expand our organizational capacity to provide peer support services for those recoverees. We will grow deeper roots into our communities through partnerships and collaborations where resources, knowledge, and tools for successful living are shared. Our new Roots Peers will bring recoverees into the community collaborating with our partners to learn new life skills, job skills, to explore different paths of recovery, and to meet the needs of diverse populations who have not yet accessed Peer support at transformational levels.

This program is currently being funded by the Behavioral Health Division of the Minnesota Department of Human Services who has been one of our key partners since the beginning of Recovery Is Happening. Other funding partners include the Rochester Area Foundation and the Mayo Clinic Community Connections program.

Staff Star! Makenzie Boone!

Our staff at Recovery Is Happening are dedicated, passionate, and joyfully full of life experience to share with people in recovery. We want to share a bit about all of our staff (all of them are stars!) to help the wider community know them better.

Where did you grow up?

Albert Lea, Minnesota

What are your favorite things to do?

Anything that involves being in nature, traveling, visiting different waterfalls, shopping, baking!

Tell us about the journey that brought you to Recovery Is Happening?

Well… At the time I currently was applying for jobs as a corrections officer. I went though 5 interviews, no one would hire me as I didn’t have the required time since my last change. I felt defeated. I gave up. About 6 month later Jeremy called me and mentioned he was quitting and recommending me for his job. I called Cheryl and Jenna and they asked me to come in for an interview.

Is there something about you that might surprise us?

From the age of 17- 21 I traveled to many different states with the fair. I worked on rides, games, food joints, and for the last two years I babysat for a family. I stayed with the same crew for 4 years. I consider them family and some of my best friends.

What is your favorite part of being in recovery?

Freedom! Being able to live life, travel, meet new friends, being able smile and laugh again.
Recovery functions/ fellowships. It refuels my soul and It gives me energy.

Our Calendar is Temporarily Down!

There have been technical difficulties on the server. We are working furiously to fix the issues and will send a message as soon as the calendar is back online. We apologize and appreciate your patience. We are so grateful for your participation and use of this community calendar!

Rochester center

recovery meetings

Sundays, 7p Narcotics Anonymous

Tuesdays, 4-5p Smart Recovery

Wednesdays, 10;30a Sane Recovery

Wednesday, 12n Soul Recovery

Wednesday, 3p Cardio Blast

Thursdays, 6:30p Wellbriety

Recovery Is Happening is a Recovery Community Organization, funded by the State of Minnesota's Department of Health. We also operate an Intensive Outpatient Treatment Program that is "peer infused," meaning treatment participants can benefit from the support of our RCO Peers.

If you know someone who could use treatment services in their recovery journey, please contact us at 507-218-4773 or email our Treatment Director at pamela@rih.me.

Recovery Is Happening is a peer-based recovery support organization serving an eleven county region of southeastern Minnesota. We mobilize and develop resources within and outside of recovery communities through public education, and policy advocacy. Visit rih.me to learn more!

Donate to Recovery Is Happening (Click here!)