You have probably heard the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child.” This same philosophy can be applied to addiction recovery. When addiction recovery is thought of as a community effort, it tends to be much more successful. Every place that is home to a substantial population will offer an addiction services community network to struggling and recovering addicts. It is proven that addicts who plug into this network and go to it for support will have a much stronger recovery than addicts who do not.
- Rehab. Many addicts meet in rehab and form lifelong supportive relationships. Living alongside one another as roommates and peers can develop a special bond between addicts and strengthen their journey of recovery.
- Halfway house. A halfway house can be its own service or an extension of rehab. They are intended for people who need to live in a supervised, addiction free environment but who are also functioning within the world for vocations, responsibilities, relationships and recreation. Many addicts live alongside one another in halfway houses and support one another.
- Support group. Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous are just two of many support groups that are available to addicts. Every type of major addiction has its own support group. These gatherings reinforce the community mentality by providing a safe place for addicts to meet and share about their addiction struggles and recoveries.
- Recovery church services. There are specific church services that are designed with the needs of recovering addicts in mind. For example, Celebrate Recovery is a church movement that can be found throughout North America. Services frequently provide a meal and are held for extended hours on weekend nights which are statistically the nights an addict is most likely to relapse.
- The importance of spontaneous social time and get-togethers among recovering addicts and the people who support them is very important relationship building. When addicts meet other addicts who they have a lot in common with, they are able to relate to one another and socialize in the exact way of their choosing. Everyone needs these friendships and addicts are no different.