{"id":6111,"date":"2010-03-03T21:09:59","date_gmt":"2010-03-03T21:09:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/?p=6111"},"modified":"2016-10-04T18:08:21","modified_gmt":"2016-10-04T18:08:21","slug":"community-blog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/2010\/03\/community-blog\/","title":{"rendered":"Surfing the recovery wave"},"content":{"rendered":"

What does it take to get a wave of energy to a point where it takes on its own momentum, swelling and ploughing across a rough ocean, gathering dynamism and visibility? I\u2019m thinking the recovery movement here and I\u2019m watching the wave as it grows. My surfboard is getting a dusting down.
\n\u2018Tipping points\u2019 are, according to Malcolm Gladwell, \u2018the levels at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable\u2019. It seems to me that we\u2019re moving toward critical mass in the UK with regard to recovery. With Government supporting recovery and a late conversion to the cause by the NTA, it would look like the environment is favourable. That\u2019s not where I see the head of steam though. The kettle is on the boil from the grassroots up.<\/span><\/p>\n


\nWhat can Gladwell teach us about this from his book \u2018The Tipping Point\u2019?<\/span><\/p>\n


\nWell, \u201cThe success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts\u201d. I think we have these kinds of people. He also says that 80% of the work will be done by 20% of the people. Sound familiar?
\nThat\u2019s why I think we need to support all the initiatives that bring the emergent recovery movement together. I see a little cynicism around some of this and a suspicion about motives and who has the \u2018right\u2019 to represent who.<\/span><\/p>\n


\nWe need to resist cynicism and stay positive. Wise, and careful and observant of course, there will be teething problems, but where recovering people and their supporters come together to spread the message of recovery (\u201cWe do recover; here\u2019s how we did it; we\u2019ll support you to do it too!\u201d) then exciting things will happen.<\/span><\/p>\n


\nGladwell also says: \u201cEpidemics are sensitive to the conditions and circumstances of the times and places in which they occur.\u201d It\u2019s my impression that the conditions, the circumstances and the times are perfect for the recovery epidemic to take hold in the UK. Of course the analogy to a pandemic has been made before. Take a look here. That recovery wave, fanned by the enthusiasm and energy of recovering people is gathering momentum. It\u2019s time to go surfing.<\/span><\/p>\n


\nComments
\nThanks for this Peapod. Massively timely and very, very important. If recovery is about getting there in a way that works for you, then surely we should be applying this to our own movement. Whether or not I agree with a,b and c, doing x, y and z is not relevant. Surely if they are pushing things along as best they can, we should \u2013 not only respect \u2013 but applaud! Not that I do this all the time \u2013 so note to self, must do better!
\nBy Michaela on 31\/01\/2010 at 2:11 PM –<\/span><\/p>\n


\nPucker blog, I like your quotes. I just hope things will change for the better, I like the way you say 80% of the work is done by 20% of the people. Sort of gave me a guilt trip as i know my limits and have to keep my life as simple as possible. Envy those who have the commitment and energy to do all this, like Michaela on this site, and Anne Marie up in Scotland. Pucker like I said.
\nBy MartinBailey on 31\/01\/2010 at 5:32 PM<\/span><\/p>\n


\nBill White once told me that they were doing some very interesting research on the prevalence of recovery in Philadelphia, PA. They were doing a survey of the city and using postal codes to map neighborhoods by the prevalence of recovery and the prevalence of drug problems. He said that they planned to use this information to identify the areas richest in recovery support and target other areas for the cultivation of a recovering community.
\nBy Jason Schwartz on 31\/01\/2010 at 6:38 PM –<\/span><\/p>\n


\nlol riding the waves Peapod, love it. Martin thanks for your support and questions, and Jason we have the means to map this in the UK also\u2026.. and to watch it grow.
\nBy Annemarie W on 31\/01\/2010 at 9:37 PM –<\/span><\/p>\n


\nThe tipping point is one of my favourite books, It\u2019s inspirational in how it shows that small things really CAN make a big difference.
\nI think that we (the recovery advocates, if you will) are probably still the 20% at the moment. Indeed, sometimes it can feel like you are fighting a loosing battle. One thing I am growing to understand though, the minute you become despondent and ready to give up YOU BECOME ONE OF THEM. I have seen this in many walks of life, not just in this field. Note to self: Must remain positive For everyone else, a word or 3 from Martin Luther King: \u201cKeep hope alive\u201d Matt<\/span><\/p>\n

Source: Community Blog Wired-In Feb 2 2010<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What does it take to get a wave of energy to a point where it takes on its own momentum, swelling and ploughing across a rough ocean, gathering dynamism and visibility? I\u2019m thinking the recovery movement here and I\u2019m watching the wave as it grows. My surfboard is getting a dusting down. \u2018Tipping points\u2019 are, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-social-affairs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6111\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}