Sponsorship Opportunities

Recovery Stories is committed to helping individuals and families
recover from addiction and its consequences

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“Creating hope, understanding and a sense of belonging”

Sponsorship Opportunities for ‘Recovery Stories’

Empowering People to Recover from Addiction

Professor David Clark, Director of Wired In

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world;  indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Margaret Mead, US cultural anthropologist

Professor David Clark, psychologist and leading recovery advocate, has recently launched a unique Recovery Stories website that empowers people to recover from addiction. Recovery Stories not only uses the voices of recovering people to educate others about recovery through a range of different forms of multimedia content, it also connects recovering people so that they can inspire, learn from, and support each other.

Recovery Stories shows how long-term recovery is initiated and maintained, and provides information and tools that help people deal with the day-to-day struggles and obstacles that they face in trying to overcome addiction and its consequences. It not only helps people directly affected by substance use problems, but also family and friends affected by a loved one’s addiction. It also enables policy makers and professionals to help improve our addiction and mental health systems of care.

The Why? A resonating message that David has received over the years from people affected by serious substance use problems and addiction is their desperate need for hope (that they can recover) and understanding (of how to recover). There is a lack of readily accessible information on recovery and how it can be achieved. Many people with a substance use problem do not know anyone who has recovered from addiction. Many have found the treatment system to be disempowering and lacking in hope.

The How? Recovery from addiction comes from the person. It occurs in a person’s social world, their community, not in a treatment clinic. Even the best practitioners can do nothing other than facilitate this self-healing process. David has always argued that people must be empowered to recover from addiction and its consequences, and provided with the resources that facilitate this recovery process. Recovery is generally learned from recovering or recovered people who model or mentor the methods and principles of recovery. Importantly, people who are in early recovery trust and are inspired by people further along in their recovery journey.

The Who? David has met many people who have recovered from addiction, some who have overcome the most difficult of life circumstances. Many of these people have gone on to help other people with substance use problems and some have become leaders in their community. This desire to ‘give back’ is one of the most striking things that David has experienced in this field and he has always tried to harness the passion and energy of recovering people to help others. ‘Giving back’ facilitates a person’s recovery, since it provides the person with a sense of agency and feelings of worthiness.

The What? David has long used the Stories of recovering people as a powerful resource for facilitating recovery. These Recovery Stories (written, film and audio) empower other people to recover from addiction by providing: (1) hope, that recovery is possible (via a multitude of pathways), (2) understanding of how recovery is achieved, and (3) a sense of belonging, and feelings of acceptance and self-worth that are key to recovery. These Stories will also enable David to develop a unique multimedia Recovery Guide that is based on lived experience. The Recovery Stories website allows David to help and connect people worldwide. It will facilitate the development of virtual and real-world healing networks and provide the basis for social change.

about-us-2-largeBrief biography David Clark, an Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Director of Wired In, is empowering individuals, families and communities to tackle substance use problems. His work is based on the core values of authenticity, compassion, connection, courage, empathy, creativity and trust. He has been a researcher, writer, educator, film producer, web community developer, recovery advocate and recovery coach. David’s aims to:

  • Empower people to recover from addiction and its consequences, by providing hope, understanding and a sense of belonging;
  • Connect recovering people so that they inspire, learn from and support each other, and engage in meaningful activities that enable a sense of agency;
  • Create recovery-supportive environments that build on the strengths and resilience of people as they take responsibility for their recovery and wellbeing.

We must never underestimate the resilience of the human spirit. David believes passionately that empowering and supportive environments enable a recovering person’s spirit to overcome adversity, and catalyse the tendency for people to help each other. His vision is also to help recovery become contagious through ‘healing’ social networks.

Contact details for David in Perth, Western Australia:
E-mail: profdavidclark1@gmail.com
Tel: +61-(0)457470603

Testimonials

“Professor David Clark is in my view one of a small number of people who has had a profound influence on our field. He has on the basis of limited funding, created an online recovery community that has literally transformed the process of recovery in the UK. It has helped individuals, families and recovery communities around the country…”
Prof Neil McKeganey, Director, Centre for Drug Misuse Research, Glasgow, UK

“The Wired-In on-line community is nothing short of amazing… But what borders on miraculous, is this sense of true recovery transmitted through the internet… Our field is blessed to have a visionary innovator like David contribute his considerable talent and time to this endeavor.”
Phillip Valentine, Executive Director, CCAR, USA

“In creating, nurturing and developing Wired In, Professor David Clark has made a unique contribution to the recovery movement, firstly in the UK and secondly worldwide. As a recovery advocate now based in Australia, David provides the same sense of hope and community to people in this country as he has done in the UK; he is a genuine source of inspiration. David does much to provide the recovery movement with credibility and dynamism and with a sense of dignity and purpose.”
David Best, Associate Professor, Turning Point Alcohol & Drug Centre, Melbourne, Australia

“David Clark was a recovery pioneer in the UK before the recovery movement properly achieved its birth…
Dr David McCartney, Clinical Lead at LEAP, Edinburgh, UK

“I first came across Wired In To Recovery… when I was still in active addiction. I had no idea how important it was to be connected to recovering addicts. Wired In To Recovery quickly became my daily meeting. It was the first thing I did when I woke up and the last thing I read before I went to sleep. I would also log on and read blogs and stories when I felt like picking up a drink… Reading the blogs and stories gave me hope. Slowly, I began to think maybe I can do this. Maybe I can stop drinking and gain a new happy life…
Maddie (nine months clean and sober), Sydney, Australia

“Wired In is a valuable resource for individuals and family members seeking or in recovery, and a medium through which people in recovery can get their voices to policy makers and professionals charged with addressing addiction-related problems. Keep up the great work and know that you have the continued support of recovery advocates in the United States.”
Bill White, Researcher, Historian, Writer & Advocate, USA

“Sometimes in life one encounters an extraordinary human being. David is one such individual.”
Wynford Ellis Owen, Chief Executive, Living Room, Cardiff, UK