Recovery Is Happening

in Southeastern Minnesota there was a startling lack of support, little collaboration and networking between providers, and virtually no advocacy or education about the realities of living in long-term recovery. Hunsley jumped in and began to mobilize the local recovery community to come together in support of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service’s Administration (SAMHSA) National Recovery Month and on September 22, 2011 the first annual “Recovery Is Happening” Walk & 5K Run & Rally For Recovery was held at the YMCA in Rochester. For the first time, the local recovery community had a public platform to celebrate recovery, advocate for policy changes and support each other. Notable speakers within the recovery community - Dan Cain, Craig Nakken, Dan Griffin, Gloria Englund, and Dave Wellstone attended and spoke eloquently about the many paths to wellness. Rochester Mayor, Ardell Brede, proclaimed the month of September as National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month and the Rochester Women’s Magazine (regional circulation 25,000+) featured “On the Road to Recovery” as its cover story with a message of hope and healing for the individual, family, and community. The Recovery is Happening Walk/Run and Rally has grown - successfully collaborating with other communities, businesses and public and private funders and hosting many activities during each subsequent September National Recovery Month. Supporters include 19 providers of recovery services in the southeastern region and five treatment providers from other regions of Minnesota. In 2012, the Recovery Is Happening all-volunteer executive committee unanimously agreed to move forward and establish Recovery Is Happening as a 501c3, non-profit. This status was granted by the State of Minnesota (January 2014) and a Recovery Is Happening Board of Directors was formed. Recovery is Happening (RIH) continues to advocate and create programs for those in long-term recovery in Southeast Minnesota and is growing in ways to continue serving this population.