NRVCS Recovery Court Offers Pro-Social Activities to Aid Recovery

Addiction is isolating in nature, and degrades social connections. Reengaging in community activities counteracts this by shifting an individual's focus to spending time with others, volunteering, and communal support. These prosocial behaviors act as a protective layer in the recovery journey.

Through a partnership with the NRV Recovery Ecosystem, the New River Valley Recovery Court Program has implemented a monthly calendar of prosocial community activities for participants and their families. The monthly calendar consists of at least one activity that families are invited to attend. The goal of this initiative is to help participants build their recovery through healthy community connections.

The Recovery Court activities include: a peer drop-in program, parenting dinners with a Peer Support Specialist (PRS), recovery yoga, escape rooms, self defense classes, holiday parties, participating in the Hope Store, painting, trivia, art classes, rock climbing, and more.

The Peer Drop-In program provides participants an opportunity to share accomplishments and struggles related to their recovery and program participation with the support of a Peer Recovery Specialist. Food is provided and participants can engage in skill building games that encourage recovery focused discussion.

Through the Recovery Ecosystem partnership, the Recovery Court program was able to hire clinicians to provide dedicated services and support for participants and graduates of the program. These newly developed groups operate on a rotating basis to each locality within the New River Valley to help with the transportation barriers many of our participants face. There has also been an expansion of two existing groups: Building Recovery and Recovery Maintenance Groups. The current clinical and peer-led groups are: Recovery Roadmap Group, Wellness Recovery Group, Recovery Today Group, Seeking Safety Group, Building Recovery Peer Group, Recovery Maintenance Group.

Through the Recovery Maintenance group, participants are able to be a part of a committee that supports the Recovery Court Program: Welcome Committee, Activities Committee, Graduate Committee, and the Voices of Hope Committee (a new initiative that works with the NRVCS Wellness and Outreach Team).

For more information on the Recovery Court program, reach out to ltrail@nrvcs.org.