march is spiritual wellness month - ri international · march is spiritual wellness month this...

VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3 HOPE - CHOICE - EMPOWERMENT - RECOVERY CULTURE - SPIRITUALITY MARCH 2014

March 2014

Recovery Innovations extends heartfelt THANKS and APPRECIATION to the organizations that provide class locations, presentations, services and referrals.

Our connections with others, provide opportunities and environments that empower people to recover, to succeed in

Community Connections

March is Spiritual

Wellness Month

This month is recognized as being Spiritual Wellness Month. It may be the nudge we all can use to explore our Spiritual Wellness and its connection to

our mind, body and spirit.

What Is Spiritual Wellness?

Spiritual Wellness can mean many different things to someone. Many automatically connect spirituality to their religious beliefs, whatever that happens to be. However, spiritual wellness can simply be connecting to the world around you and discovering meaning

and purpose in your life.

Recovery Innovations describes Spiritual

Wellness as:

Spiritual Wellness involves finding

meaning and purpose in life

Integrating one’s spiritual beliefs and

values with one’s actions

Enhancing the connection between

mind, body and spirit

So how do you rate your Spiritual

Wellness?

Ways to examine your Spiritual Wellness

include asking yourself:

1. How accepting am I of others?

2. Am I able to forgive other people?

3. Am I able to forgive myself?

4. Do I help serve my community?

5. Do I feel fulfilled?

6. Do I participate in spiritual activities?

7. Do I feel a harmony between what is

inside me and outside forces?

How can you further explore your own

Spiritual Wellness?

Spiritual Wellness is one of the 9 Dimensions of Wellness here at Recovery Innovations. The Certified Peer Support Specialists that staff our programs are here to support you with maintaining and

growing your wellness.

Come Join Us in Exploring Your Own Spiritual

Wellness by participating at:

HOPE Station Wellness City in Greenville, NC

Spiritual Wellness on Wednesdays

Wellness City of New Bern in New Bern, NC

Spirituality and Values in Wellness on Fridays

Durham Wellness City in Durham, NC

Forgiveness & Letting Go on Thursdays

For more information, contact your local

Recovery Innovations program or call Recovery

Innovations at 1-866-481-5361.

Words on Spiritual Wellness “Just as candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life.” ~ Buddha “If we are to go forward, we must go back and rediscover those precious values—that all reality hinges on moral foundations and that all reality has spiritual control.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience. “ ~Pierre Teilhard de Chardin “Great men are they who see that spiritual is stronger than any material force—that thoughts rule the world.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson “Man has two great spiritual needs. One is for forgiveness. The other is for goodness.” ~ Billy Graham

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Wellness City VoiceWellness City VoiceWellness City Voice

MARCH 2014

HOPE Station Wellness City:

Awakening the Spirit Within

Greetings from HOPE Station Wellness City to you out there! My name is Letrecia Edwards but everyone here at HSWC

calls me Trish. I was reminded that March was a “Spiritual Wellness Month”. So I am once again here to share some

things about what I love about “Awakening the Spirit Within”, a class I have facilitated here at HOPE Station. I am here

to be real and true. With that said, I love all of the classes here but, of course. like most of us I have those that I really

love. These are the classes that I can relate to the most on both a professional and personal level.

“Awakening the Spirit Within” is one class I really enjoy facilitating. I first heard about this when I was a citizen here at

HOPE Station. I was asked by my recovery coach to attend the class just to see if I liked it. And low and behold I loved it!

So of course, when I began to take the steps to become a Peer Support Specialist here at HOPE Station, this was one of

the first classes that I became more familiar with. Before this class became a part of my life I was lost spiritually which

made me lost in general. I began to search for what was meant for me and how to accept the bad things. This class

showed me that I was missing a big part of my life. I was missing a way to be positive and accept myself. Now today any

time I facilitate “Awakening the Spirit Within” I feel a peace and I pray within myself that someone can get for

themselves what I got for myself.

Through my spiritual beliefs (connection to God) and the recovery education I have received here at HOPE Station, it is

easier to deal with the challenges that arise in my life and appreciate the good times even more. I have found a church

family that fits me. I am hopeful now. Yes, I do continue to have those negative things that lay dormant in my life but I

am happier now than I ever been because I am willing to fight against those negative things to maintain my joy.

I continue to work hard for my happiness and this class showed me that it is the simple things that make me happy. I

would love to think that I will always maintain my mental wellness by focusing on my spiritual wellness but I know that

bad things happen. I now have some tools that will help me get through the tough times. I need supports in my life. God

is my first support and He let me know that I cannot be alone I need fellowship. “Awakening the Spirit Within” led me

back to connecting with my true self and God.

By: Letrecia Edwards Certified Peer Support Specialist

HOPE Station Wellness City

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MARCH 2014

Community Building Team - Our Journey April Wynkoop, Peer Recovery Coach and Tyrun Brown, Community Building Participant

My name is April Wynkoop and I am a Recovery Coach/CPSS and a WRAP facilitator for Recovery Innovations Community Building Program. I am part of an incredible team of people that consists of Jim Harrison, an amazing team leader, Jennifer Marshall, Bryan Creech and Monica Miller. What makes our team incredible to me is that we all share the same desire to support and empower the people we serve to be successful in their recovery and transition back into the community. We have an incredibly large task in helping the people we serve to overcome the stigmas and labels from mental health challenges and I feel so truly blessed to be walking side by side with them as they re-gain their independence and get their voices back. It has been a privilege and honor to be working side by side with the amazing ECBH transition team as well and I can’t say enough about Kim Talbot and Ann Holland. They are two amazing, compassionate and empathetic woman. It is truly an amazing journey that I am on, that I am able to use my past experience and use my own WRAP as part of my job. Who could really ask for anything more? Today I am truly blessed and thankful for this opportunity that I have been given and I am looking forward to our continued work as we support others as they transition back into the

community.

My name is Tyrun Brown and I have been able to move out on my own for the first time in 5

years. If it weren’t for ECBH, Kim Talbot, Ann Holland and April I would not be where I am

today, they have helped me so much. I was able to move out of the adult care home that I was in,

and now I am living in my own apartment, which is such a good feeling! I know that if I keep

doing the right thing, everything will be ok for me. One thing that I learned by taking WRAP with

April is that I have a wellness toolbox that I can use every day to help me stay well and living in

my own apartment. I want to thank everyone that had something to do with helping me see that I

could live on my own.

Submitted by: April Wynkoop Peer Recovery Coach

Community Building East Carolina

April Wynkoop Peer Recovery Coach

April Wynkoop, PRC with Tyrun Brown,

CB Participant

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MARCH2014

Peer Employment Training & Graduation In New Bern! January 27th to February 7th Wellness City of New Bern sponsored and hosted our annual Recovery Innovations’ Peer Employment Training or PET!, as everyone comes to affectionately call it. Wellness City of New Bern sponsors PET every January. The training is given to persons that have lived experience with a psychiatric or substance use struggles, or both, who have progressed sufficiently in their recovery journey that they now feel comfortable and ready to support others to move forward in recovery from their own struggles. This is a big step for persons who feel that they have had significant victory over their many times lifelong struggles. It is big because most folks have spent the majority of their lives managing solely their own situations and challenges, but now are feeling they have enough experience, strength and hope to support others to achieve lives

of meaning and purpose similar to what they have achieved themselves.

Once that decision has been made, a new journey has just begun! It would many times seem to be enough to merely sit with a struggling person and simply be present with their suffering, and to hold the hope for them until they became empowered to develop their own hope for solutions and a positive future. The Behavioral Health world, however, has begun in the last several years to see this personal experience and empathy as a highly refined skill capable of creating a true behavioral health professional who can perform a real and paid service. The State of North Carolina has developed standards of training for approval of college-level professional pre-vocational training. Recovery Innovations was one of the first companies in the country to develop and utilize a detailed and comprehensive curriculum that is approved by the State to train folks to become North Carolina Certified Peer Support Specialists (CPSS). PET is the first step in that certification process! The PET held here at Wellness City requires students to attend eighty(80) hours of instruction over a full two week period, 8 hours a day! There is a mid-term and final exam and an 80% correct requirement for graduation! All that to say this is serious and intensive professional training that requires you to remember your strengths and your struggles, and to begin to see them as your “credentials” that qualify you to professionally serve others in a treatment setting

like Wellness City for Wellness Education and Individual Peer Supports (IPS), or other provider services that also utilize Peer Supports.

The Behavioral Health professional community has embraced Peer Supports as an evidence-based practice and is constantly encouraging and supporting its rapid growth as a paid service. As an example of that commitment, we were so fortunate to have Sarah Gray, Director of Community Development for East Carolina Behavioral Health (ECBH), the Managed Care Organization (MCO) for Eastern North Carolina serving 19 counties, come and share with us as our guest speaker. Ms. Gray gave the Peer Graduates the “view from the top” about Peer Supports and the MCO’s view of it as an emerging best practice and expanding service. Ms. Gray told the candidates that the MCO’s commitment to supporting the development and growth of Peer Supports was permanent and promising. The graduates were truly energized and encouraged to hear this from the leader and management organization for all behavioral health services in our region, and we at Recovery Innovations are so grateful ECBH was willing to come

and share our enthusiasm and the graduates’ significant accomplishment.

Additionally, Ron England, Program Director for Crossroads Psychiatric Hospital located within Carolina

East Medical Center here in New Bern, came and spoke with us about the hospital’s view of Peer Supports

and Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP), one of the primary best practice tools Peer Specialists use

to support individuals in maintaining symptoms, avoiding relapse, and planning for crisis management. Wellness City has been utilizing Peer

Support Specialist from our staff on a volunteer basis for many months now to go the hospital and give IPS and hope to patients, support for

developing plans for a successful discharge and re-entry into their homes, families, and community. This experimental program has been very

successful in reducing return visits to the hospital and in creating lasting and healing connections for the people we serve. Ron England made that

program possible because he has seen the positive and lasting outcomes from professional Peer Supports, and we are truly grateful for his faith in

our Peers and the real faith he imparted to our PET graduates! All in all, it was a great training, a great graduation, a great day for the validation of

Recovery, and also a whole lot of fun!... J Thanks to all!!!...

By: Bill Barrow Cell# 252.422.4339

Recovery Services Administrator Wellness City of New Bern &

Community Building ENC

Ron England Program Director

Crossroads Psychiatric Hospital

Sarah Gray Director of Community Development ECBH

2014 Wellness City of New Bern PET Graduates

with PET Facilitator, Ann Emmerich

Bill Barrow, RSA with PET Graduate, Meredith Davis

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MARCH 2014

Where in the World is Recovery Joe?

“Recovery Joe” joined the East Carolina Outreach Team in September of 2013. He was brought on board to travel with the Outreach Team Members throughout our 19-County Catchment area, and then tell about his experiences in his monthly column in the

Wellness City Voice newsletter.

Good Day Eastern North Carolina!!!

My travels this month took me to Pamlico County. Ann Emmerich, one of the Outreach Coordinators, is the person responsible for setting up Recovery Education Classes in this

wonderful County as well as facilitating the classes she sets up.

Ann has a lot of history working with Community Partners such as: Pamlico County Center for Human Services, Pamlico County Health Department and the Faith-Based Community. Referrals generated by these Community Partners has led to Recovery Innovations providing classes starting in 2010 and continuing to date. So far, Pamlico County has had three WRAP Classes, two WELL classes, one Medication for Success class and many, many weeks of classes we call “Recovery Learning Circles”, which cover a variety of topics pertaining to maintaining Recovery

and Wellness.

One long term Citizen of these various classes, who chooses to only be identified by initials, had this to

say about her experience with the Recovery Innovations Recovery Education classes:

“Our Learning Circle has become like a “support group” for me. Having the classes nearby has

afforded me the opportunity to attend regularly. I continue to feel more Confident that I can handle

situations as they arise. Thank You, RI.” ~M.A.H.

Ann is looking forward to seeing you on Tuesdays at 10:00 am at Bayboro United Methodist Church.

Ann can be reached at 252-886-1104, if you would like more information.

By: Susan Hall

Team Lead Outreach Wellness City

.

This is me helping to scribe during a Recovery Learning Circle where we discussed the topic of “Staying Resilient” that is one of the 52 topics covered in the Recovery Innovations curriculum,

“Keeping Recovery Skills Alive.”

Ann Emmerich Outreach Coordinator

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MARCH 2014

Durham Wellness City: “Beyond the Border”

Wellness City of Durham is offering the class, “Beyond the Border”. In this class, we focus on recovery from personality challenges, specifically those experienced among people with the diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Together we work on dispelling myths and misperceptions about persons who have been given this much stigmatized diagnosis. We are celebrating each other as unique and authentic selves and are learning to embrace our

differences.

Recovery is real for all of us and we hold the hope for each other as we share our personal stories of taking on challenges related to the BPD diagnosis. Coping skills are discussed and success with the use of these in our everyday lives is shared. We have discussed the areas that often present challenges including, self-love, trust, anger and forgiveness. Our own experiences with these challenges, and the coping mechanisms that we put in place to overcome them, are shared weekly among the class members. Treatment options available today are introduced and the benefits are shared and discussed. Some members of the class do not have the experience of living with clinically attached labels, while others do. However, challenges with trust, self-love, anger, etc., are common to many of us and everyone is able to benefit from the discussions. Together we are embracing our similarities and learning how to support each other in our recovery journeys. The best description of this class, and its impact on our personal recovery journey, comes from

citizens who are active participants in it:

Hi! My name is Ronda Johnson. I am a citizen at Wellness City. I’m currently taking a course on Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). I have a family member with the diagnosis of BPD. While here, I’ve learned that my son is a person, not a diagnosis. I’ve also learned how to cope with him having the BPD diagnosis by using coping skills that we’ve both learned about in class.

Shaquana says: Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) means to me, it means different kinds of

disorders in your brain. I have BPD and the way I cope is to use my coping skills such as mindfulness,

listening to music and others. I learned people with BPD are not victims, they are just human. “Beyond

the Border” helps me realize that I am not a victim. I am just like everyone else. I also learned different

kinds of symptoms such as self-harm and that you also could deal with that by using DBT (dialectical

behavioral therapy). DBT deals with different kinds of coping skills. That’s what I use and it helps as

long as you use it. “Beyond the Border” is making me feel more confident about myself such as opening

up more and using my coping skills in situations when I need it.

By: Kim Chansen Recovery Services Administrator

Durham Wellness City

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MARCH 2014

Spiritual Awareness

There is a very large difference between “Spirituality” and “Religion” and it is very common for many people to lump them together into being one and the same. Some have said that spirituality comes from religion but I must say that I have met people who are very Spiritual

and do not lay claim to any religion.

In the WELL (Wellness and Empowerment in Life and Living) classes offered by Recovery Innovations, session #5 is titled as “Spirituality”. In the workbook, it says that it adds “meaning and purpose” in the table of contents. We begin the class with our expression of what is spirituality? The first two are my favorite. We say spirituality is: One’s ultimate values and It

connects us to our sense of meaning and purpose.

I love these two expressions of what spirituality is because for me they are so very true. My values and character are part of my inner strength and desire to do what is right. Not just in my eyes but in the eyes of a higher power that guides me and helps me along the way. Because of my spirituality I have been able to connect to my sense of meaning and purpose in life. This for me is to be available to others in the event that I may be able to encourage them

to find the hope they may need to begin a journey of recovery.

Our mission statement says it all and is one of the main reasons I have been a peer support specialist with RI for almost 5 years now. Our mission statement is on most all of our marketing material, even on the back of our business cards. We here at RI create opportunities and environments to empower people to recover. With those opportunities and the environments, it provides us with the ability to call on our spirituality with all our love and hope that we carry for others if they need us to. We empower people to succeed in accomplishing

their goal and to connect to themselves and others and meaning and purpose in life.

Spirituality is one of the 5 recovery pathways that have been the keys for many in their journey of recovery, me included. I can only speak for myself, and what I have found and often share is; Without Spirituality I would have been able to hold on to my Hope, my Choices would have continued to harm others and myself, I would have not been Empowered to create a Recovery

Environment and culture that would sustain my recovery.

The beauty of all this is that I truly appreciate working for a company that understands the

value of my spirituality and knows the importance it plays for others.

By: Donny Hakes

Outreach Coordinator Outreach Wellness City

.

Our Mission

To create opportunities and environments that empower people to recover, to succeed in accomplishing their goals, and to reconnect with themselves, others and meaning and purpose in

life.

Recovery Innovations

Is a nonprofit organization offering recovery-based services in Arizona, California, Delaware, North

Carolina, Washington and New Zealand.

www.RecoveryInnovations.org

Durham Wellness City

401 E. Lakewood Avenue, Suite E1-A Durham, NC 27707

Phone: 919-687-4041 Kim Chansen, RSA: 919-702-3314

Hope Station Wellness City

2407 S. Memorial Drive Greenville, NC 27834 Phone: 252-321-0179

Sonia Tucker, RSA: 252-558-8034

Wellness City of New Bern

1311 Health Drive New Bern, NC 28560 Phone: 252-672-8781

Bill Barrow, RSA: 252-422-4339

Community Building Team

Bill Barrow, RSA: 252-422-4339 Jim Harrison, Team Lead: 252-702-2804

Outreach Wellness City

Susan Hall, Team Lead: 252-876-3645

Bertie, Gates, Hertford, Martin, & Northampton Counties Donny Hakes, Outreach Coordinator: 252-481-4010

Beaufort, Hyde, Jones, Pamlico & Washington Counties Ann Emmerich, Outreach Coordinator: 252-886-1104

Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Pasquotank, Perquimans & Tyrrell Counties

Ron Lowe, Outreach Coordinator: 252-702-6515

Recovery Innovations has earned the Joint Commission’s

Gold Seal of Approval™

AND

Find our Wellness City Voice Newsletters, as well as our monthly class Calendars online at www.RecoveryInnovations.org/rinc

MARCH 2014


march is spiritual wellness month - ri international · march is spiritual wellness month this...

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