may 2014 newsletter
TRANSCRIPT
INS IDE TH IS
I S SUE :
Gov. Chafee
Speaks at Press
Conference
1
From Prison to
Graduation
By Michelle Harter
2
My Monster
By Lisa - Dry Dock
2
Time To Plant The
Seeds
Robin Riley
3
What Has
Anchor Done For
You?
4
Special Dates to
Remember
4
From the Editors’
Desk
4
Anchor Recovery Newsletter M A Y 2 0 1 4 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 5
Press Conference Held At
Anchor Recovery Community Center on
Addic�on, Overdose, and Recovery
Gov. Chafee speaking at the Press Conference held at Anchor Recovery Community Center
on April 17, 2014 on Addic"on, Overdose and Recovery. Photo taken by Holly Cekala
P A G E 2
A N C H O R R E C O V E R Y N E W S L E T T E R
From Prison to Gradua�on
by Michelle Harter, Cer�fied Recovery Coach
In early Fall of 2013, I had the honor of being able to par"cipate in the Recovery Program at the Women’s Medium Security
Prison in Cranston put together by Anchor Recovery Community Center and The Providence Center. Walking through the
doors, filled with anxiety, I knew the reality of the situa"on….there but for the grace of God go I. That could just as easily be
me in blue or tan si3ng in the room…..my fate sealed.
I walked into the classroom to meet four women, Crystal, Odessa, Heather and Dana; four women who had been sentenced
for various crimes but wanted to find a place of recovery in their lives. We met every Wednesday for several months, talking
about recovery, the steps of recovery and personal details about all of our lives; a bonding experience for sure. They were
given “no good "me” and they s"ll came, to learn about themselves and their part in their recovery from addic"on.
Dana was planning for her release by mapping out a program that would include long-term care, mee"ngs and gathering a
network of women to assist her upon her release.....knowing deep down that if you don’t change the person you brought in
there, chances are you will be back…..or worse. We had grown close over these last few months. I would miss her if she
was paroled, and she was….the first a9empt.
When she le: Cranston, she went to live at the long term women’s facility “Roads to Recovery” operated by The Providence
Center in Pascoag, Rhode Island…..strangely around the corner from my house..no coincidence. I would pick her up for
mee"ngs, talk on a daily basis, have breakfast as she worked her recovery in long term and gathered her network. A:er
three months, she graduated from the program and it was once again an honor to be at her gradua"on.
We loaded up my car with her many belongings and I drove her home to her mom and dad’s home where she was wel-
comed with open arms and love. She now volunteers at Anchor Warwick while con"nuing to go to mee"ngs at Anchor Paw-
tucket and take care of her health which was compromised a:er years of substance use.
I am grateful for this enormously humbling experience….from prison to life, it’s amazing, and so is recovery.
My Monster - Wri"en by a Woman in Dry Dock - Lisa
I remember the day he first came to me. Now that he’s gone I can finally see. My life began to fade away, dri:ing further
everyday. My inner landscape, dark and grey – from a loving mother to the monster’s prey. This demon was destroying me
and everything I used to be; emp"ness, bringing me much pain and agony….He was there every night when I’d close my
eyes. I’d pa"ently wait for the sun to rise, hands wrapped "ghtly around my neck, pressing down upon my chest. I feel my
breath escaping me, pain so intense I can barely see. Soaked in sweat full of fright…for years it happened every night. I’d
pray to God my soul to take, I can’t accept this as my fate full of emp"ness, despair and sin, I’d wake to him desecra"ng my
skin. Swollen eyes, arms "ed and bound, my heartbeat is the only sound. He cuts me deep un"l I bleed, eyes roll back, the
monster feeds. A:er he defeated me, he began to destroy my family. Everyone I loved, he knew just where to start, he
reached right in and ripped out their heart. It can’t end like this, I won’t let him win, it came down to my life, or him.
Sleepless nights, buckled over in pain would soon subside to so much gain. Months filled with shame, tears and regret, a
"me in my life I won’t ever forget.
Darkness turned to light, and new hope has come I fought off the monster, stayed and won. But I’ll never underes"mate
him and turn my back, because the minute I do that’s when he’ll a9ack. He’s quiet for now, but he’s le: me a scar, a con-
stant reminder that he’ll never be far.
Your mother is back and I need you to know, you were always my strength, you never let me go. It was the love of my family
their belief and their faith, I love you so much, you helped seal my fate.
But I’ll never forget you, my darkest sin, my monster’s name…Heroin.
Women’s Rhodes to Recovery
P A G E 3 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 5
TIME TO PLANT THE SEEDS
Robin Riley
Psychic Healer, Spiritual Counselor
Have you ever wondered why you have fields of thoughts flowing in your mind, just as growing wheat flows in the wind? Why is it
that nega"ve doubts are planted so securely and embedded so deeply in our sub conscious mind? Have you no"ced it is so much
easier to harvest nega"ve thoughts and beliefs from our minds and ac"ons than the posi"ve ones? It is because there are so many
nega"ve thoughts and judgments and they mul"ply. Our job is to pull those weeds out by re-framing them as learning experiences
rather than failures.
Many people o:en want to cling to the past, even if it’s lonely and makes us cry, because it feels more comfortable than doing the
thing that scares us so much: le3ng go and embracing the change that enters our lives.
As I write this it’s something I struggle with in my life. There are good days and very bad days. And that feeling of giving up on a
past that I held so dearly feels like surrendering to failure. But I’ve learned to deal with it by doing one very simple thing: (I plant
seeds). What is plan"ng a seed? It’s the simple act of se3ng something into mo"on that will help you create the life you want to
lead. It’s taking a moment of sorrow and realizing that you can use it to fuel yourself.
Even though plan"ng a whole garden can seem daun"ng and full of anxiety in itself, all you have to do is start by plan"ng one seed.
And keep adding another one here and there. Take care of those seeds, and before you know it, a li9le leafy green thing will greet
you one day. Or, in real life, you will have a successful posi"ve growth beginning. Nothing is more exci"ng than seeing your seed
turn into something that blooms. But you must understand when it comes to plan"ng your life seed’s. A whole garden isn’t created
over night, and neither is a dream life. But, by focusing on the posi"ves, and seeing the li9le seeds that start to peek out from the
earth in the form of something new, we can start to see the progress we are making in our journey to start living the life we’ve al-
ways wanted.
Just remember a seed can’t stay a seed forever. When cared for with nourishing soil, rays of sunlight, and water, they change
shape and start to become whatever it is they were meant to be. To really experience posi"ve change, you, must let go of your
past and embrace the transforma"on that’s about to take place. Have confidence knowing you will take on a be9er form, even if it
takes "me.
A:er a seed undergoes a transforma"on and takes on a new form, everyone appreciates it for whatever it has to offer, whether it’s
a smile-inducing sunflower or a crisp carrot. Each seed has something new, something more to contribute. And how did it get to
this point; with "me and a transforma"ve change.
So my message to you is to go out there and start plan"ng seeds in your life, no ma9er how hard or pointless it may seem right
now. With a li9le "me, pa"ence and hard work, what now seems like an empty dirt plot will be filled with beauty and growth. Just
like a beau"ful flower a9racts bu9erflies, your life will be a magnet to the right kind of people that will truly make it one worth
living...
LOVE AND WHITE LIGHT
ROBIN RILEY
A N C H O R R E C O V E R Y N E W S L E T T E R
Anchor Recovery Community Center
249 Main Street, Pawtucket, RI 02860
Tel 401-721-5100 Fax 401-721-5107
Anchor Recovery Community Center
890 Centerville Road, Warwick, RI 02886
Tel 401-615-9945 Fax 401-615-9963
Email: [email protected]
The goal of the Anchor Recovery
Community Center is to provide
recovering Rhode Islanders, their
family members and friends, easy
access to opportunities that will assist
them in enhancing their lives in recovery
as contributing members in society.
We’re on the Web
www.anchorrecovery.org
It’s people like James Gillen and Marty Dubuc that make me keep
coming back to Anchor. There’s an honesty in them that makes
me want to keep coming to Anchor. Phil
What has Anchor done for you?
Please let us know what Anchor has done for you by e-mail
to: [email protected], [email protected] or jgil-
[email protected] and you may be featured in next month’s
issue.
We wish everyone a safe and Hap-
py Mother’s Day and a safe and
Happy Memorial Day. If you would
like to contribute to the Anchor
Newsletter, please submit your
success stories, sober event dates,
recovery humor, art and dates for
special events to Annette Joseph
at [email protected] or call 401
-475-7370.
Special Dates to Remember May 3, 2014 - 9:00am Earth Day in Pawtucket
May 7, 2014 - 10:00am Inspiration Guidance Workshop
May 12, 2014 - 6:00pm Anonymous People Movie, Crown Plaza Hotel
May 13, 2014 - 10:00am Medication Assisted Recovery Panel, Anchor 1
May 15, 2014 - 10:00am Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights
May 15, 2014 - Last day to register for Recovery Coach Academy
May 19, 2014 - 5:00pm Drug Overdose Prevention, Newport Hospital
May 19, 2014 - 7:00pm Anonymous People, Jane Pickens Theater $10
May 24, 2014 - Fundraiser for Billy Taylor House, Convention Ctr. $60-100
From the Editors’ Desk
Annette Joseph, Founder and Editor
of the Anchor Newsletter with
Denise Christian, the Anchor
Newsletter Assistant Editor and
Proofreader.