The Solution Podcast

This panel discussion was held at a Georgia Association of Recovery Residences Training Meeting.  The panel consisted of 3 Owners / Operators of Recovery Residences in Georgia.   Andrea Connelly - Owner of "A Better Way Recovery" an all women's recovery residence program located in Gainesville, GA. Daniel Baruch - Owner of "Rise Up Recovery" an all men's recovery residence program located in Lawrenceville, GA. Laarni McCarver - Program Director of "Acceptance Recovery Center - A male and female recovery residence program located in Athens, GA.  Then topic was Gender Specific Care in Recovery Residences and how to best manage and deliver and support levels of care to the individual and the community as a provider.    

Reed Smith with Centered Recovery in Roswell, Georgia spends an hour with Impact Recovery attendees discussing and detailing some of the techniques and ideas around mindfulness practice in addiction recovery.   Reed shares a part of his story about how he found his way to these techniques and working in the field of behavioral health and through the attendees and questions asked he provides a level of practical insight to mindfulness based therapies.  Centered Recovery is a Mindfulness Based Therapeutic Treatment facility in Roswell, Georgia and has been providing care to individuals for many years.  Their level of success and respect within the recovery community is evidence that their methods are effective. This is both an informative interview and a practical one where the listener will discover some insight to the teachings and ideas around awareness and being mindfully present.  

In this episode of Impact Recovery our Town Hall Meeting format Interviews and enters into a discussion with Todd Stumbo, CEO of Blue Ridge Mountain Recovery, about the current state of recovery treatment and mental health related illnesses in 2022.   In 2021 the rate of overdose deaths and mental health illnesses rose sharply and now as Covid 19 still lingers and the challenges of recovery care and support continue to increase, it is more important than ever to maintain a level of communication and collaboration throughout the continuum of care.   This interview provides a "finger on the pulse" perspective to many of those points that can offer a real time view on problem vs. solution in client care. 

This story is told from a mothers perspective.  The challenge of navigating the fragmented system of Substance Use Disorder care.  She is a trained nurse who is familiar with the medical terminologies and systems and yet found herself and her family falling into the same pitfalls and traps and confusing mazes of recovery care.   Tanya Mack CEO, Speaker, Business Coach and mother of an individual now in long term recovery.  Here is her story.

This discussion touches on many of the critical elements of the family dynamic throughout the recovery journey.   As the town hall meeting unfolds the wide variety of professionals who participated took the  discussion into many of the deeper social level situations and challenges that exist in the midst of families who are effected by addiction and mental illness.   How do we help an individual experience family in the midst of a loss of family involvement in their lives? How to navigate the family member who is enmeshed at a level that is hindering the recovery process and not allowing the individual to adult and face challenges of mature decision making? These are just a couple of the questions discussed throughout this cutting edge meeting on such a vital topic by provider leaders in the recovery community in the state of Georgia.

This is is a discussion about how to improve mental health care at the grass roots level. This is REAL LIFE - DAY TO DAY living experiences of providing care to individuals struggling with addiction and mental illness. This is not about how to offer better DBT or CBT therapeutic care to an individual but the pitfalls and the gaps in levels of care that cause disruption in the recovery process.   This is a deep insight to some of those experiences by the very people who run transitional living facilities and other final stage programs and services. Here is the last supported step of care before independent living or a relapse of recovery and another hopeless journey through the endless cycles of addiction and mental illness. This conversation takes us into the  true day to day living experiences with mental illness and substance abuse disorder recovery.  An eye opening view through the lens of what those tireless care givers struggle with most in the process of trying to help people transition into productive members of society.

This is a very informative and up to the minute summary of all Recovery Oriented Bills going through the House and Senate of Georgia in February of 2022. 

A Finger On The Pulse of Addiction Recovery 2021 When Kris Shock speaks, people listen, and for good reason.  Kris has her own personal journey with addiction and recovery but she also has a resume that stands out from the masses in her professional career of counseling and as program director for a few different programs.   Her ability to speak from substance abuse disorder to process addictions is unique in this field and her insight as she bridges the two is one of her super powers.  

Years Of Wisdom & Insight In This Interview I had the pleasure of sitting down with Brandy Anderson, Founder and Executive Director of Acceptance Recovery Center (ARC) in Athens, Georgia, at the end of the Georgia Association of Recovery Residences (GARR) Summit meeting in Fall of 2021. We talked about what it means to be a GARR member and then dove into some in depth questions and insights to the recovery world at this present time.   The end of the interview is the magic, Brandy shares her experience and expertise on the fundamentals to success in early recovery and then I ask her for one word to summarize all things recovery.   Both answers are GOLDEN !!!   

This podcast is an in depth look at some personal struggles with resentments.  There is a very personal experience I share here.  The beauty of the day I was in the middle of was experienced after this episode.   We had a great time at the graduation party and felt very connected to my daughter and her boyfriend.  Testimony to the power of learning to let go of the negative thoughts and just be present.   

This episode is a review of a week.  So much happens in one weeks time in the world of sober living it's absolutely amazing.  The lives of so many people coming and going and struggling with basic life.  There are the successes and the struggles, the solution and the problem and in the middle of it all are the miracles.   People helping people through the modern times of SO MUCH.   Here is just a small glimpse of the world in a week.  

This is a story of a relapse and an overdose.  The same story that plays out countless times throughout our country, everyday.  The Coronavirus Pandemic has consumed our entire world but there is a vaccine and at some point we will go back to normal living.   This devastating pandemic has been escalating for years and yet  it exists mostly in the shadows.  I personally know many more people who have passed over this Covid time from addiction then Covid and they will continue to die, year after year.  It will only continue to get worse and devastate our culture, our families, our youth and strain our resources.   There is no vaccination for this pandemic, only wasted lives.

This episode explores the difficulties sober living programs have with dealing with this substance.  How difficult it is to test for and how it continues to keep people in addiction.   There seem to be more effective tests coming out now but the wide spread use among the addict culture is immense.   This substance alone creates more problems in sober living programs than any other.  All programs struggle with it and unfortunately it was the final thing that initiated the discharge of a client today.  

This is a story of how quickly the thought can take over and become the obsession that can destroy you.  I share with you the experience I had with one of my closest friends in the world and their struggle with staying sober in the midst of a mental obsession.  A prayer and a phone call saved the day. 

This episode is a documented piece that came directly from a conversation I had with some parents just the day before.  We discussed how their inconsistent messaging was leading to their boundaries being crossed or challenged.   I also talk about how the emotional daggers the non-addict uses to try and get the addict to stop hold no power.  Conversely, when used from the addict to the non-addict they are piercing and emotionally scaring.  Recognizing what the addict is doing can allow the non-addict to defend against this manipulation tactic and hold the boundaries. 

In this episode we highlight one of the recovery program members at the Georgia Association of Recovery Residences (GARR).   Arise Recovery began in 2017 and provides a high level recovery residence program for men in Fayetteville Georgia.   Larry Jenkins, the CEO and Founder of Arise Recovery, talks about his program and some of their philosophies and successful strategies.   Jarred Odonnle, the mens house manager, is also part of the conversation and gives great insight to his experience and involvement with the men at a very critical point in their recovery.   

This episode takes place about 5 years after a group of men and women came through The Arches Sober Living Program.  Many men and women from that group stayed sober and are still sober today.  Why? The community was very tight. They bonded and supported each other and have remained supported and connected over the years.  They got healthy and sober together and continue to support each other in life. This model has been the continued focus of The Arches over the years.  Daily work on connecting the community is how we help our clients achieve sobriety and transition to productive lives and members of society.

In our first episode Amanda and Todd discuss their experiences over the past week with helping 2 very close and long time friends find their way to recovery support.  Navigating the difficult area of wanting to help but needing to draw firm boundaries around behavior and relapse with no real desire to get clean until the consequences become overwhelming, as both of these stories have.