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drinkanddrugsnews
| October 2013
Recovery month |
Activities
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
Protective shield
Recovery is at the heart of a popular
annual tournament in Gateshead, as
Richard Cunningham explains
This September Gateshead International Football
Stadium played host to a football event with a
difference. The majority of the players involved in the
tournament were recovered, or in recovery, from drug
or alcohol dependency.
The recovery shield is an annual tournament
organised by Turning Point. It has been going from
strength to strength and is now in its third year, with each year seeing more
players and teams competing. What started off as a local tournament has become
a national event, with healthy regional patriotism adding to the tournament’s
competitive edge. This year we had a record 20 teams and more than 200 people
took part.
It is my hope and one of the main aims of the recovery shield that the growing
profile of the tournament will help to break down the stigma often associated
with alcohol and drug dependency in wider society. Without concerted efforts to
bridge the gap into the community, there is a chance that people in the early stage
of recovery can be left feeling more and more isolated, making sustained recovery
much more difficult to achieve.
Working in the substance misuse field we know that dependency on alcohol
and drugs does not discriminate. It is not restricted to certain segments of society,
nor is it a question of age or gender. When an individual is dependent it can often
be hugely difficult to see a way of escaping the problem, and that is why it is so
important that events like the recovery shield exist to not only support people in
their recovery but to give a wider reason to recover and reassurance that it is
possible.
As Tommy Armstrong, one of the players from this year’s winning team
Norcare, said: ‘Everyone participating took it as an opportunity to make friends
and show the outside world that we are not all the same and people can make a
difference to their lives with support and social interaction.’
The event provides a meeting place and an activity that enables those in
recovery to come together in an environment without judgement – a place to
meet new people and share experiences. This can assist with recovery and, more
importantly, provide a situation where the players can feel comfortable and be
themselves.
I am not claiming that events like this are the magic cure for those in recovery
but they can go a long way towards helping people reintegrate back into their
community, to show that there is life after dependency.
The game itself is also shown to have a positive effect on people’s mental
health. Players feel part of a team, which is very important to those who can often
feel outside of, or removed from, society. In the tournament these players become
part of a collective that must work together to progress through the rounds. Those
who have played in football games, or any team sport for that matter, will know
that you need to place an element of trust in your teammates and the importance
of this simple human connection cannot be overplayed.
The recovery shield is all about partnership working. Scott Duncan from HMP
Northumberland, a key partner in the event, spoke about his involvement:
‘I was delighted to be involved in the 2013 recovery shield and feel the whole
event was a huge success. The players who participated were a credit to their
various organisations and testimony to this is the fact that we had a total of 52
matches and at no time was a player ‘sin-binned’ for inappropriate behaviour.
Bringing together teams from various areas encourages integration and
sportsmanship, this was evident in abundance.
‘My personal role as HMP Northumberland's representative in the community
is to assist ex-offenders on their recovery journey to minimise the likelihood of
reoffending. Sport is a hugely important part of recovery and clients who attend
the gym on a regular basis whilst in custody are given excellent tuition on health
and training by the PE department at HMP Northumberland. This support is
carried on to when they are released through the SAS (Sport After Sentence)
project when they are given advice and guidance on local sport and gym
opportunities.’
David McCormack, who played for North East Athletic at the tournament
added:
‘The recovery shield is strongly becoming one of the most celebrated events in
the recovery community both in the North East and further afield. It celebrates the
September saw recovery
activities taking place across
the UK and Ireland. Richard
Cunningham, Alistair Sinclair
and Stuart Green look back
on a vibrant recovery month
RECOVERY RISING