Young Adults Should Look for 12-Step Groups With Peers

Young people who are looking to start participating in a 12-step program should, whenever possible, begin with meetings that are specially designated for young people, to help them feel connected and engaged. After this initial engagement, however, young adults may find it more beneficial to branch out to more mixed-age meetings. Older people are more likely to have long-term sobriety, and generally have greater life experience and wisdom.

1

Harm reduction and abstinence

Toronto city council voted yesterday to approve creating three safe injection sites in the city’s downtown core. With Toronto Public Health reporting a 41% increase in overdose rates between 2004 and 2013, the Toronto board of health unanimously supported the motion. While we at Renascent follow an abstinence-based model, for some people harm reduction (HR) can … Continued

1

Perspective: The Beauty of Recovery

Our education system does a remarkable job in teaching us about addiction and the brain but it could do a better job in teaching us about the beauty of recovery. If we educate our students better about recovery, this will equip them in the battle against stigma. Addiction is a disease—point blank.

2

Trans Identities, Substance Use, and Recovery

Among oppressed communities, substance use prevalence rates are generally higher because these communities are disproportionately exposed to factors that are known to increase the risk of addiction. In the case of trans communities, we face stressors to which the general population is not subject, including stigma, prejudice, discrimination and violence.

0

Take Your Recovery to a Deeper Level

Many people who quit drinking or using think all they need to do is participate in a treatment program and show up at a supportive recovery meeting now and again. They assume that all will be well … that everything has been “fixed.” This is rarely ever the case. Recovery is not just about abstinence, it is about doing the work it takes to be able to live a life that is “happy, joyous, and free.”

0