Community
The opposite of addiction is connection. That’s why community is one of the Five Pillars of the Integration Process at Camelback Recovery.
Food
One of the ways our Integration Process incorporates community is through food!
First off, we buy and provide all groceries for you. There are a number of reasons as to why we do this.
- It’s not possible to shop cost effectively if you are grocery shopping for a single person.
- To shop for healthy, high quality, organic food for one person would be outrageously expensive.
- If everyone is buying food individually in a household, you end up with a refrigerator full of energy drinks, frozen pizzas, hot pockets, and top ramen in the pantry.
- These foods do nothing for gut health and are not conducive to brain recovery.
- People often steal each others food which creates hostility and destroys community.
- When everyone purchases their own food, this promotes isolation, which is the opposite of community.
Second, our house managers take pride in preparing gourmet family-style dinners for the residents 5 nights a week to furthermore provide an opportunity to dine together in community.
We specify that these dinners are family-style because healthy families are the ultimate community, which is something we want to facilitate in our homes. As they say, families that eat and pray together are families that stay together.
On top of preparred dinners, residents have the opportunity to cook and eat breakfast and lunch together if they desire. This isn’t a requirement, but it is encouraged to build the healthy community environment of the home.
Professionally Decorated Interior
Now, on a separate note from food, we also have professionally decorated homes. Our homes feel like home. They have artwork and accessories like a nice home, the energy of a nice home, and they are a home that people want to be at. The way they are decorated provides a comfortable and clean setting which helps support the community aspect of our homes.
Three-Month Commitment
Next up, because we require a three-month commitment from all of our clients, we’re not a revolving door, so we attract residents that are serious about their recovery. We are a stable environment that people can call home. When a client moves in, the people that they move in with are going to be there with them for a while, that’s their community and those are their people.
The goal is for a person to stay connected to a recovery community as long as possible. Staying in sober living for a year is not uncommon and not a bad idea. It helps if the home and the community is comfortable. 66% of people that stay sober for a year stay sober for 5 years. 85% of people that stay sober for 5 years stay sober for life.
This community is what they did not have prior to going into treatment.