Post-Community Partnership

         Working with the Portland Recovery Community Center (PRCC) was an amazing opportunity and an immensely challenging but rewarding community partnership to explore. My knowledge of substance use disorder and individuals in recovery has changed since working with the PRCC. When working with the PRCC, I sat in on support groups, substance use disorder meetings, yoga, and meditation activities, as well as helping the PRCC decorate for Halloween. While sitting through these meetings, I realized that every person in the meeting had their own personal reasonings for drug abuse and different perspectives on the recovery process. Some clients at the PRCC have been sober 20 years and some clients have only been sober for a few hours. I experienced many different perspectives and stages of recovery that clients were in. Every client that was at the support meetings had their own story and reasoning for drug abuse such as family deaths, trauma events, economic issues, loneliness, spouse death, stress from work, etc. One of the more meaningful aspects of this volunteer experience was when an older gentlemen started to talk about his past alcohol addiction and how it impacted his children. The older gentlemen explained how guilty he felt and how hurt he was when he talked to his daughter about how his drinking led to the destruction of their relationship. This moment at the PRCC really struck a chord with me as alcoholism runs in my family and I know how it negatively impacted my sisters and I. I made a connection with this individual and explained to him that through a daughter’s perspective, that even though we cannot go back to past to do damage control, that showing up to these meetings and being able to acknowledge the impact you have had on your relationships is a huge step and very meaningful to a lot of people. I did not learn a whole lot about what to do in the case of a drug overdose, but I did learn a lot about coping strategies for addicts. Coping strategies such as picking up hobbies, going to the gym, finding a life/daily routine, going to support groups, reading/researching about addiction, calling hotlines for substance abusers, going to therapy, meditating/yoga, journaling and reflecting on the recovery process, and making human connections are some of the many strategies that clients at the PRCC have mentioned that have them in their journey’s. I will integrate this knowledge of coping strategies in my future nursing practice and in my daily life by relaying these strategies to others in recovery that I come across. The Portland Recovery Community Center volunteering experience is an experience I will hold close to my heart and be happy to encourage to others to go and experience.