Walk for Recovery a great success
Press Release from the National Treatment Agency for Substance Abuse
Walking for recovery: Oxford’s recovery community raise awareness about recovery and showcase the services available to help people recover from addiction.
Saturday 17 September saw the inaugural Walk for Recovery, where dozens of people in recovery, their families and friends took to the streets of Oxford.
The walk, which was organised by the Oxfordshire Users Team (OUT), with support from the local DAAT, started in the city centre, and ended up in a celebratory event in South Park with live music, a talent contest, activities for kids and information stalls.
The purpose of the walk, according to Glenda Daniels, the service manager at OUT, was to raise awareness about recovery amongst the wider community and showcase the services available to help people recover. "Addiction is a community problem, requiring a community solution" she said, "events like this can help the general public be better informed about recovery and to reduce the stigma associated with addiction".
The NTA supported the event and was represented on the day by regional manager Fintan Hayes. Fintan told the Oxford Journal "The Walk for Recovery really makes it visible to everybody that people can recover from addiction and gives the message that to help people recover the community needs to support them. The community needs to give them opportunities, help, and activities for them move on. The heartening thing is when we came through the streets, people realised what the march was about and some people applauded and said positive things, which means a lot to people who are recovering. The march inspires people to hold out a helping hand to people"
Although it rained during the walk, the spirits of the walkers weren't dampened, the event following was well-attended, and the day was judged to be a success. Glenda added "it was a success, not just because of the numbers attending, but because different parts of the community helped us out. We ran the event on a limited budget, but we had lots of things donated, from stalls to prizes, and everybody got involved. We're really heartened by the response and definitely want to make this an annual event"
