September marks Recovery Awareness Month and locally an event is planned to help bolster awareness of the cause.
Recovery Day runs Sept. 9th in City Hall Park from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. During that time local officials are not only looking forward to supporting one another, but also spreading awareness for the cause.
Building awareness of issues that some people would rather not face is key to not only understanding them better, but to getting those affected the specific help they need. There is certainly a need for this type of movement, as issues of addiction remain a huge problem across virtually every sector of society.
Despite this prevalence, accessing timely and effective treatment services is a challenge for those suffering from addiction.
Add the challenge of the societal stigma surrounding addiction, and there are significant barriers to seeking help. Sadly, there does remain a reluctance on the part of many to seek help because of the fear of loved ones or friends finding out about the given addiction. Perhaps loved ones already know, but the person themselves feels trapped in the shadow of addiction and fear of finally facing it head on. But there is much in the way of assistance today, and it’s hoped that people with addictions can increasingly – through awareness and the removal of any sense of stigma – find the help they need.
Also, recovery, as officials emphasize, can be a matter of life and death.
According to recoverydaycanada.com, Recovery Day was first celebrated in the cities of Vancouver and Victoria, B.C. on Sept. 30th, 2012 as a public display of the freedom from addiction. Since then, the movement has spread throughout Canada, encompassing communities large and small, from east to west. We come together in the month of September to build awareness, challenge societal stigma and celebrate the role that recovery plays in improving the lives of millions of Canadians.
It is an issue that touches the lives of hundreds of thousands. It is important that we continue to raise awareness and support those in recovery. We hope the Red Deer community joins in on Sept. 9th to do just that.
