National Recovery Month is Here!

National Recovery Month is Here!

 

MARCO is a peer-run organization, led and governed by individuals affected by Substance Use Disorders who have direct experience in Recovery Community Organization (RCO) leadership and programs. Over the next few months we’ll be featuring some of our board members, their organizations, and their personal connection to MARCO’s mission to educate, advocate and mobilize the grassroots recovery movement across Minnesota. 

 

MARCO Board Member Eric Bacon is the founder of Continuum Care Center, (CCC) one of the first Recovery Community Organizations in Minnesota. We asked Eric to share his personal journey with CCC and what CCC is doing for Recovery Month.  Eric Bacon and his team at Continuum Care Center also wanted to dedicate this Recovery Month post to the legacy of their long-time client and dear friend, Kennedy Arnold, who recently lost his life to a Fentanyl overdose. This Recovery Month, CCC is redoubling their efforts to prevent the tragic loss of those, like Kennedy, who are falling prey to the opioid epidemic.

 

MARCO: What inspired you to found CCC?

 

Eric: I worked 17 years at the Higher Ground Dorothy day shelter as an LADC for the Healthcare for the Homeless Clinic. I would provide assessments and send people to treatment, and they would return right back to the shelter without support or resources, and I would be heartbroken they had to come back to their same situation, and environment which was not conducive to recovery. That inspired me to start a RCO Continuum Care Center, a place that provides support to those seeking support before, during and after treatment.

 

MARCO: When did CCC become an RCO?

 

Eric: So, in 2015 we started doing outreach services supporting people getting them into treatment, support them and helping transitioning after treatment on their path to recovery.   Then in February, 2016 we became a Recovery Community Organization with a Mission to promote recovery and improve the care and treatment outcomes of persons with substance use disorders through support, advocacy, education and services. 

 

MARCO: What services are you offering at CCC?

 

Eric: Since officially opening in 2016, we now provide an array of services to individuals as well as the community: peer support, naloxone training, harm reduction training, outreach services, advocacy, drug education and training in schools, housing support and housing stabilization services, parenting classes, and MNsure navigation.

 

MARCO: What are you doing for Recovery Month?

 

Eric: We are excited to be at Minnesota Recovery Connection’s Walk for Recovery on September 21st. Come check out our booth to connect and learn more about what we do at CCC! We are also remembering and honoring our friend and colleague, Kennedy Arnold, as part of Recovery Month and Overdose Awareness Week. I have shared this remembrance below.

In honor of Kennedy Arnold

From the Continuum Care Center community

 

We dedicate this month to the legacy of our long-time client and dear friend, Kennedy Arnold, who recently lost his life to a Fentanyl overdose.

 

Our Overdose Prevention Team is on the ground and working hard to prevent these tragedies. Unfortunately, addiction, opiate use disorder and homelessness cannot be solved overnight. We are humbled by the power of this disease and the hardship it causes in our communities. With that in mind, it is with great sorrow that we share with you the recent passing of Kennedy Arnold.

 

On June 12, 2024, Kennedy suffered a fatal Fentanyl overdose. He was a man who struggled with addiction and homelessness. He fought hard to recover. He never gave up. He kept coming back. His great smile lit up the room. His quick wit and sense of humor brought laughter and lightness to all in his presence. He was on the path to freedom with a new home and some good sobriety under his belt. He is and remains deeply missed.

 

At Continuum Care Center we are redoubling our efforts to prevent the tragic loss of those, like Kennedy, who are falling prey to the opioid epidemic. With Kennedy’s legacy as inspiration, we are fighting even harder to help those affected. Here are some of the recent additions to our breadth of services and resources:

 

  • Opening The Kennedy House, a sanctuary and sober residence for men actively enrolled in an intensive outpatient treatment program. The house opened in June of 2024.
  • Providing homeless encampments with water, Fentanyl detection strips and Naloxone.
  • Actively distributing NEVER USE ALONE flyers, promoting the 1-877-696-1996 number, a lifesaving resource to those who choose to use alone.
  • Offering two public Free Naloxone Trainings per month, in alliance with the Steve Rummler Hope Network.
  • Hosting public awareness events, see calendar for upcoming events.
  • Adding more Recovery Navigators and Peer Recovery Specialists to both our Minneapolis
    and Saint Paul offices.
  • Promoting our Harm Reduction Services; Naloxone Access Points, overdose prevention and safe supplies to those still in active use and providing referrals to MAT programs.
  • Educating our youth in school settings about the risks and sometimes fatal consequences of opiates and drug use.

 

We hope you will partner with us and attend our events to fight overdose and help to save lives! To learn more about Continuum Care Center, please visit our website at www.continuumcarecenter.com

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