Our Stories
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Our Stories
Bob Savage
Hartford, CT
I grew up in a family with an alcoholic father who died at an early age as a result of his alcoholism. During my teenage years we were unable to invite friends to our home, as we were never certain what his status would be. On his best days he was a very kind and loving father. When he drank alcohol he became a completely different person. Fifty years after my father’s death, my siblings and I still share and experience a strong sense of shame. I experienced first-hand the devastation that untreated addiction can cause, as well as the impact of stigma and discrimination on family life.
Since my retirement as a manager in the addiction field in 1997, I have worked full time to organize the Recovery Community, made up of persons in recovery, family members, friends and allies, whose primary purpose is to put a face on recovery and to build recovery capital. Working with family members, we recently organized peer-led family support groups. It’s been an opportunity for parents to learn about what their family members went through or are going through during the addiction process. It gives parents an opportunity to test out ideas and get reactions from other parents and from the recovering persons in the group. There they learn how to cope more effectively with addiction, and to take the steps necessary to take better care of themselves.
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