Third Annual Conference on Recovery
By: Gregg Dowty, Dover RC and Doreen Blanc Rockstrom, Portland RC
Members, District 7780 Recovery Initiative Committee
On Saturday, September 28, 2024, the District 7780 Recovery Initiative Committee will host its third annual Conference. This year’s conference will focus on how Rotarians have and can continue to support mental health and recovery for those who are confronted with substance use disorder. To this end, Rotarians are involved in community coalitions that are making a difference in the lives of individuals in recovery in Southern Maine and Seacoast New Hampshire.
The Recovery Initiative Committee has met monthly for the past seven years under the direction and leadership of Chief Robert Mackenzie of the Kennebunk Police Department and our new District Governor. In coordination with the newly formed Rotary Action Group on Mental Health, the committee will present “Critical Partners: Mental Health and the Road to Recovery.”
The morning keynote speaker will be Dr. John F. Kelly, Ph.D. who is a Professor in Psychiatry in Addiction Medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Founder and Director of the Recovery Research Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Morning and afternoon panels will focus on “Recovery and Mental Health” and “Coalition Building in our Communities.” As in previous conferences our goal is to reduce stigma associated with substance use and mental health help. Beyond this, participants will learn how community organizations and Rotary Clubs can come together to respond to the challenge of the collision of mental health and substance use.
The Saturday conference will be held at Noble High School in Berwick, Maine from 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM. Lunch will be included in the registration and served at the high school.
Plans are also in progress to convene on early Friday evening, September 27th, to meet and greet vendors and agency representatives who support those in early recovery. These organizations will be available at the conference, and this gathering (time and venue to be announced shortly) will offer a more informal and less rushed opportunity to learn about the essential services such agencies provide.
In the summer editions of this District Newsletter, information on additional speakers and registration procedures will be announced. Letters will go out in early July to the newly installed presidents of each club in our District, encouraging participation and support of their members.