Recovery coaches with Our Collective Journey help individuals experiencing or affected by addiction work towards recovery through engagement, service referral and recovery network-building.--SUBMITTED PHOTO
kking@medicinehatnews.com
Praised by some, criticized by others, Medicine Hat’s Our Collective Journey has evoked discussion of many forms since its establishment in 2020.
Beginning as a podcast conversation between three Hatters with lived experience in addiction, recovery and the array of challenges related to such, OCJ has, over the past three years, become an established non-profit organization offering multimodal addiction recovery support services.
While the organization has garnered support at both local and provincial levels, questions have been raised regarding its operations, funding and real-world impact, among others.
In a one-on-one with the News, co-founders Rick Armstrong (executive director), Ryan Oscar (director of programming) and Damyan Davis (director of community relations) acknowledged such questions and expressed enthusiasm for discussions to advance understanding of what OCJ is and does.
Throughout the interview, the trio identified a variety of concepts central to the organization’s direction, but continually pointed to recovery as the core objective.
Guided by the principals of recovery-oriented systems of care, the trio doesn’t define ‘recovery,’ but rather approaches it as something determined by each individual.
As such, OCJ aims to support individuals affected by addiction in determining what recovery means to them, then support them as they work toward such through a practice called recovery coaching.
“Recovery coaching is when somebody with lived experience around addiction … connects with people (and) helps them uncover their own strength and motivates them to start utilizing those strengths to become autonomous,” Oscar said. “It’s all directed by the individual; it’s not directed by us (so) we let them decide their pathway and what they want to do to move forward.”
To match the broad nature of individualized recovery, OCJ is engaged in a multitude of operations ranging from individual recovery coaching, anonymous public support services offered through its Pathways to Recovery Meetings program, public education and training, recovery coach training, employment assistance and a soon-to-launch career-oriented training opportunity through its Contracting Services program, all of which are no-cost.
Armstrong, Oscar and Davis, as well as other organization staff and volunteers, also continue to publicly address topics related to addiction and recovery in the podcast, which sparked the organization’s establishment.
“We all know what the problem is; addiction is the problem,” said Oscar. “But there isn’t a whole lot of people shining a light on recovery. We recognize how important it is to give people hope that this is what recovery can look like.”
Since 2020, OCJ has been contacted by more than 400 individuals in Medicine Hat and area, a number which the trio says highlights the need for services that fall under the umbrella of recovery-oriented systems of care.
But they also acknowledge confusion surrounding OCJ’s operations as many of the services now being offered, or soon-to-be offered, have only recently been introduced.
“We’re very thoughtful in how we’re doing things,” Davis said. “It might look like, to the outside world, a shotgun approach, but (before introducing services) we want to make sure that we’re doing the right thing, because we understand how critical it is that we support people in a manner that’s going to be most conducive to their success and recovery.”
The trio expressed intention to continue expanding OCJ’s operations and presence in the realm of addiction recovery, but say such expansion necessitates time and detailed assessment.
Armstrong acknowledges the organization’s recent entanglement in the North America Recovers coalition, which is comprised of U.S. and Canada-based addiction recovery organizations that, in January, launched an anti-harm reduction campaign directed at U.S. President Joe Biden.
Cited as an original coalition member, OCJ is no longer associated with the coalition, says Armstrong, as its message doesn’t align with OCJ’s values.
While OCJ is focused on addictions recovery, it promotes no public opinion on harm reduction measures, including supervised consumption sites and methadone use, as addiction and recovery experiences are unique to each individual.
Armstrong confirmed OCJ provided no financial support to the coalition while listed as a member.
The majority (55 per cent approximately) of OCJ’s funding is provided through the provincial government, with the organization receiving $100,000 grant funding in March 2021, then an additional $725,000 in August 2022. Fundraising, administration fees and organization-generated revenue comprise the remaining amount.
