I am writing from the lovely Denver Colorado where we are attending the Recovery Leadership Conference by Faces and Voices of Recovery!

I started off with attending an equity dinner, an incredibly moving event where we got the privilege to hear each other and speak about our experience with race and racism at our tables. I was honored to sit at a table encompassing Leadership from Chicago, Southern Georgia and Utah. One of the takeaways was that racism is often due to not necessarily having hate, but people not knowing how to love. They encouraged us to have these discussions over a meal within our communities, peeling away the difficulty one vulnerable conversation at a time.

Yesterday, I began the day with a workshop on having a “Boundaried Up, Heart Centered Approach to Elevating Leadership” by Tara Moreno from Serenity House Communities in Flint, MI. They are a peer organization that supports people with Substance Use challenges, CoDependency and Trauma. Tara mentioned the importance of leadership having a practice to expand emotional intelligence, resulting in “emotional mastery”. I know for myself, the more in tune I am, the greater connection I get to make with those on my team and around me. Looking out for overcommunication, citing that “being clear is being kind”. People in recovery do much better with clear communication. Tara then stressed the importance of having healthy boundaries for ourselves and the ones we serve: “boundaries are the intersection where I can love me and you at the same time.”

She also went on to share how she has her staff complete a wellness plan for themselves and then supports them with it as they wish, giving them a few hours per month to do so. So inspiring!

By now, you might have already seen our New and Improved! website where we have all of our offerings and trainings listed through the end of the year. Click around some and explore your pathways!

Next Monday is our Peer Supervisor Support group at 3:30. You can have your supervisor sign up here: #SupportMyCoaches

We also have space in our apprenticeship program beginning next month in July! If you know someone interested in entering our field, have them sign up here: CHOiCE Apprenticeship

Thank you aLL for Championing Recovery!