An event designed to celebrate the achievements of people who are recovering from drug and alcohol addictions will be held in Renfrewshire next month.
The Abbeycare annual Recovery Gathering will be held at the Glynhill Hotel and Spa in Renfrew on Sunday, 8th September 2024, marking the start of National Recovery Month.
The event, which is free to attend, is organised and hosted by Abbeycare Scotland, which runs a residential drug and alcohol addiction recovery clinic in Erskine.
All previous and existing clients of Abbeycare are invited to the Recovery Gathering, giving them a chance to share experiences of their ongoing recovery journeys, reconnect with those who have supported them, and celebrate their achievements.
Around 350 people are expected to attend, including Abbeycare staff members and other industry professionals. There will also be a performance from a local choir.
Registration starts at 12.30pm, with the main event running from 1.30pm to 3.30pm and food being served from 3.30pm to 5pm.
The key idea behind the Recovery Gathering is to bring together Abbeycare’s growing community of existing and former clients and their families, making the process of recovery more visible in the process.
The keynote speaker at this year’s event will be Eddie Gorman, who previously worked for Abbeycare and now manages the Harbour recovery service in Ayrshire. He is in long-term recovery from addiction himself.
The gathering will also feature speeches from Ross Carrick and Emma Harrison, both former Abbeycare clients, who will talk about their own issues with addiction and the impact this had on their lives.
Both Ross and Emma are now active members of the clinic’s peer worker volunteer programme, helping others as they begin their recoveries.
Another speaker will be Barbara Calderwood, whose son Andrew sought help for his addiction to alcohol from Abbeycare. She will talk about the experience of recovery from the perspective of a close family member.
Paul Bowley, chief executive of Abbeycare, said: “Our annual Recovery Gathering is always such a brilliant event, bringing people together to celebrate their achievements at the beginning of National Recovery Month.
“It acts as a huge reunion for Abbeycare’s growing community, connecting our current clients with our former ones and letting everyone support each other, which is a really important part of the recovery process.
“Last week’s tragic figures on the level of drug-related deaths in Scotland show why services such as ours are so crucial, and we are determined to be part of the solution in reversing this trend in the months and years ahead.
“Every life lost is one too many, and each of these deaths will have resulted in families being devastated. We must stand together and stand up for recovery.”
Headline image: Abbeycare building in Erskine
Photo Credit: Abbeycare Scotland