Our Reflections – Clackmannanshire Recovery Conversation Cafe.Tuesday 18th August 2015Alloa Town Hall

Our aimOur aim for the café was to have dialogue with intention throughout the day, and contribute to recovery in Clackmannanshire. Provide a dialogue space for all key recovery assets and activists in the area to get together and make Recovery more visible, make connections and take the “next right step” for Clackmannanshire.

Alloa Town Hall

Event Planning

This was the other part of the Forth Valley Working Group experiments for me. Could I run Two Café Working Groups at the same time, on the same day? Well I did for a bit and then as dates, diaries and diversity took hold we wisely decided to push the date of our café to August as the working group felt we would have more uptake and response. Elaine Brown, Lead Officer, Stirling and Clackmannanshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership invited the working group participants and the dates for the rest of the meeting were decided and agreed at the first contact, which proved to be a great idea as we did not have to juggle all the

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different diaries. The ideas flowed of how we could make this café our own and reflect and create interest from the local assets.

Sophie came up with the unusual idea of cranes being the theme for our branding for the café, we really were not sure if it would work but the story of the crane was so inspirational we thought we would give it a go, and spent a good few meetings actually trying to make them…..not as easy as it looks. James Mackenzie was tasked with writing the ADP report and he tells the story of the cranes. I have published his report along with mine, as such care and detail went into this. Thank you James. We spent a few meetings trying or Origami the Cranes, and I was particularly bad at this however on the day there were many participants who were able to make their cranes without any problems.

The night before we did the set up. Due to the Geographic’s and other commitments several of the working group could not attend. However family members and staff teams came. Julie’s husband sorted out our lighting and someone came with cases of water to donate to our café. What a team. The hall looked absolutely gorgeous. The Table covers did not arrive and poor Elaine had to dash out to Asda, however the replacements turned out to be the “happy accident “due were multi-colored like our “crane” theme and worked better than what we were originally going to do

Clackmannanshire Working Group

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A huge thank you to all members of the café working group who worked so hard,

from left to right back row….Katie Sinclair, Elaine Browne, Julie Lamb, James McKenzie, Rab Doig, Sophie Burt, Hilary Lambfront row left to right…… Anne Marie Quigg, Iain Donald, Jardine Simpson

A thank you to Lee Kruszyna for all her contributions prior to the event, although could not be there on the day.

Programme

9.30am: Arrive for tea and coffee10.00am: Introduction & Etiquette10:15am: Seed one10:30am: Question one11:00am: Tea break11:30am: Seed two11:45am: Question two12:15pm: Café news & themes12:30pm: Lunch1:15pm: Crane making1:30pm: Seed three1:45pm: Question three2:15pm: Tea break2:45pm: Whole group conversation3:30pm: Commitment4:00pm: Close

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The café in Action

Were we successful in achieving our aim?

Yes…… From our survey monkey only 50.09% of people who attended had never attended a ‘World style’ conversation café before and……..64.71% of participants said they left with new ideas

Who came to the event? 66 Key individuals came to the event. Invitations were allocated to each member of the working group, who in turn invited key assets with an interest in Recovery, in the common that said there was an AA Meeting on the night of the set up for the café and several AA members came the next day to take part in the dialogue.

FeedbackFeedback was received informally on the day and then a survey monkey sent out. Interestingly the responses were Made up from 40.91.% Treatment Provider, 50.00% Other Staff and 13.64% Person in recovery. Those who did not want to Answer 4.55% selection of these below:-

We asked had you ever been to a event focused on Recovery before? 59.09% Respondents said they had…well done Clackmannanshire

We asked - What was your overall experience of the Conversation Café?“Very positive, everybody engaged well, there was plenty opportunity for learning and the day was extremely well organised“A very positive experience rather disappointment that not more GP`s attended but I guess that could be the next barrier for RECOVERY to overcome.”“I found the whole day very good and also felt "a part" of the day. I felt comfortable and enjoyed every minute.”“Good mix of people in attendance including those in recovery - thought that the shares were very thought provoking and prompted discussion at tables well”

We asked - What themes emerged in the conversations that you took part in at the event?“I think the family implications was the most important one for me, it’s not just the person who has the addiction that is affected, but the whole family unit. The thought that professionals and neighbours, even co-workers will think a bitdifferently now, is a huge step in the right direction..”“The need for systematic recovery package from all services”“RECOVERY is a coalition between likeminded individuals both professional and personal and hurdles between theseparties can hinder a person’s RECOVERY.” working together - no one size fits all with regard to treatment and recovery - not achieved overnight - recovery can bevery individual”

We asked – Did you leave the event with any new ideas? 64.71% said yes“talking to service staff, is less daunting and more of a productive thing to do.”“An awareness of support available that I will be able to share with others and encourage people to access ifappropriate, a more positive attitude towards recovery as I was fairly cynical about whether it could work for anyonegiven my personal and work experience of those with drug/alcohol issues”“within a policing custody environment, volunteers in recovery could assist to help break the cycle of habitual offenders

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using substances and appearing in police custody due to that.”

We asked – for any final comments for the SRC that related to your experience at the café.

“being more open and not so guarded about sharing my story, safely. I think if I can be honest and share, then it opensup an avenue for others to open up and hopefully get the help they need. I think if I look at children in another waytoo, this is only going to help. Children aren't acting up because they want to, generally it comes from a deeper place,and to try and make others realise this, I'm going to be trying every time I can. Addicts don’t wake up and say 'hey Ithink I'll be a raging alcky' Just as no child wakes up and says to themselves 'hey I think I'll push every button that I can today and get into as much trouble as I can so I get roared at, hit and grounded.' These behaviours come from a deep routed anxiety and have to be addressed” “I believe it is more important than ever for care plans to be designed by services which encourage collaboration andindividual needs.”“Would like to look at ways of adapting this to work with young people “

Visibility of recovery - initial impact29 recovery wonderful recovery commitments were made

1. Think about recovery as a lot of little positive changes to be in recovery forever. Keep my eyes and heart open when out in the community to help those who are affected by drugs and alcohol if that’s users or people around them.

2. Not make assumptions and have an open mind3. Keep an open mind. Promote fellowship working4. Continue to help and support people who suffer from alcoholism.5. To empower individuals facing addictions to feel able to face their recovery journey with support from

relevant agencies etc., to reinforce, at every opportunity, people are worth it. They are unique individuals with unique skills and talents - they can be who they want to be

6. Remember what I have learnt today. Keep an open mind, care for my customers and members of the community. Guide them and ensure they receive the support to recover successfully and live a happier, safer life.

7. To help those struggling with addiction when I can8. To be more aware of peoples situations and to try to see the person behind the face. Be more aware of time

spent with people i.e. more time if needed to listen to them9. To develop a confident/competent workforce10. Keep my passion and commitment to spreading the word that recovery is possible and put lots of energy into

making life changing differences in my own and others’ lives11. Raise awareness. Keep talking positive, followed by diligent action12. Be aware at all times at work and refer when required

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13. To make the most of my life. To help others.14. To explore developing a Recovery Story book that we can get published, including mental health recovery

stories as well as addiction recovery stories15. To build the word recovery, and the principles of recovery into young people’s services16. To provide help, advice, guidance or assistance whenever I can17. To be visible in the community as a role model to others18. To continue to believe that not only is change possible, change will happen if we work together19. To always remember I am not just an addiction worker, I am a recovery worker, and that I am not just trying

to help people move on from addiction, but help them see the blessings.20. To be there for the person, listen and support them and never judge them. Give them hope and encouragement21. To show kindness to anyone who needs it and to be a voice for children who haven’t been heard22. Continue to "keep it simple" It is not about professional competition - it is about "individuals" who want to get

well23. Is to never give up, and always be there for the people in need24. to speak positively about the possibility and reality of recovery. To be aware, raise awareness of people in

need of recovery and refer25. to make the most of my life. To help others26. to stay motivated and to challenge myself everyday27. to remain supportive, caring and provide an empathetic approach every day to help others and to always be

reflective in my practice28. to build a better relationship with services, groups available in the community29. more awareness

The café tables in all their multicolored glory just like the whole event…

Visibility of recovery; developing impact (recovery bounce)

1. The local area connected with key assets in their local area.

a. Have a much better understanding of issues that are particularly relevant to Clackmannanshire

2. Forth Valley (Falkirk) will host the Recovery Walk

3. Clackmannanshire’s first Recovery Café opened in April 2016. This runs every Monday and the venue for it is The Gate in Alloa. The links were made with Marie who manages The Gate through the Recovery Café.

4. We now have a group of Recovery Volunteers as well as Peer Supporters. The Recovery Volunteers support the running of the Café.

5. The ADP continues to promote our local ROSC to many Community groups throughout the Clackmannanshire. A strong recovery message is central to these sessions.

6. Now delivering a significant GOPR programme of training to Social Work staff, Health Visitors and Addiction staff.

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What did we learn?

Really useful to have a set of dates to work to for the working group in advance.

Make sure to put in your date for your de-brief session at the same time as all the other working group meetings. We struggled to secure a date that was suitable for all and a good ending is vital to the continued recovery bounce.

To put value on the de-brief session for the working group which we had on 17th November 2015. I was guided by Elaine and finally decided on the Gean House for high tea and to appreciate the success of the Recovery Conversation café in Clackmannanshire. It was a truly beautiful venue and they allocated the “garden room “to us which was more spacious and had fantastic views. Just the right ambience to look at what the Recovery Bounce

Gean House, Tullibody Road, Alloa

Anne-Marie QuiggScottish Recovery Consortium – April 2016

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