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i find myself both proud and humbled at the journey undertaken with recovery coach training and peer coach academy colorado (pca) in 2014 i walked away from a pretty cushy job with a large public healthcare organization feeling frustrated with what seemed to be a focus on the benefit of the organization rather than what may be helpful and beneficial for the people we cared for.
the next week i flew to connecticut to take the first of several ccar recovery coach trainings and became a trainer as well. upon my return to colorado, i flipped around from methadone clinic to methadone clinic sowing more seeds of discontentment with the focus of the care i was witnessing. www.ccar.us
in 2016 my life threw a curve ball my way in the form of a detached retina. after 2 surgical procedures i required 3 months of healing and found myself without steady work and a need to generate revenue. i had successfully delivered a couple of ccar trainings by this time and become a trainer for 3 additional trainings from ccar and decided to shift gears with the non-profit and begin to create a network of ccar coaches throughout colorado. i also hoped to create a network of recovery organizations around the state as well.
i began reaching out to counties where i had contacts- el paso, mesa, pueblo, boulder, logan, arapahoe, jefferson to name a few. the initial response was palpable and i that focus continues with some alterations. we now have engaged with ccar more closely and have 20 trainings scheduled for 2019. w are planning to schedule at least 6 more in 2 more counties, too.
additionally we now have 5 certified ccar trainers and are working in tandem with at least 4 colorado providers to present and deliver these workshop trainings. w all our curriculum have been submitted to the colorado providers association and accepted for approval for the state peer credential. they are accepted by naadac and faces and voices of recovery as well.
pca is transitioning to the name embark to reflect the new journey we have undertaken. we have added 2 types of peer supervision trainings to our catalog. we are branching out to at least one other state. in this midst of this exhaustive and heartbreaking overdose epidemic, the more soldiers armed with understanding and empathy, the better shot we have as a world to extinguish the plague and save others as well as ourselves. our friends and families need all the pathways out of hell that are in existence. recovery coaching provides others with understanding, empathy, and increased willingness.
all of this has been a hella ride these 4 years. i have been both elated and gut-punched by the vast array of emotional sobriety and lack there-of encountered statewide. i am fortunate to continue and remain connected to the mission. a singular bonus of providing these workshops to folks in recovery themselves is the visible affect that the ccar trainings provide to them. it seems to give them permission to be more generous with their own recovery and accept other pathways that people take. this is an ingredient which is essential for us to become a recovery oriented system of care.