MANISTIQUE – Weekly SMART Recovery meetings are now available in Manistique. They take place on Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m. at the Manistique Senior Citizens Center – serving anyone struggling with any type of substance use issue or who is in recovery. These meetings are now available at a time of increased community need.
“A lot of people struggle with the holidays,” says Monica Eriksen, LMAS Harm Reduction Nurse. “I get a lot of calls from people reaching out for help to maintain their recovery; and we do have excellent peer recovery coaches and these new SMART Recovery meetings. We want anyone who is struggling with addiction to know that support is available right here and right now.”
SMART Recovery is a unique and effective science based approach to addiction recovery. It emphasizes self-resilience, self-reliance and self-empowerment; and supports the individual as the expert in their own recovery journey. These meetings are facilitated by LMAS Peer Recovery Coaches Lura Porter and Samantha Troxler. Once they become well established, LMAS plans to also host Smart Recovery meetings in Luce, Mackinac and Alger Counties.
“We need to reduce community stigma around addiction and recovery,” says Lura Porter, who below shares more on her recovery journey – showing that “recovery is possible and that people are capable of change.”
“I know addiction is a sensitive subject for most. I know because I was on the other side of it. As a former addict, I have been judged for my past, looked at as nothing more than a “junkie” who didn’t deserve a thing in this world, and for a long time I believed that,” she explains. “Towards the end of 2008 something finally clicked, this was not the life for me. I started working towards recovery, reprogramming my thoughts and actions. I got away from familiar people, places and things. After a few years of solid recovery I knew I wanted to help those who were struggling like I once was, wanted to try and prevent my peers from experiencing the same heartaches I had. In 2021, I became a Peer Recovery Coach with LMAS. I now am a voice for those who haven’t quite found theirs yet.”
Peer Recovery Coaches are people with lived experiences in addiction who walk with fellow peers trying to find their own recovery road.
“I strive to be what I wish I had all those years ago, someone to understand and support me in my darkest days,” says Lura. “Sometimes, all you need is someone to really believe in you and give you the chance.”
To learn more about the Smart Recovery meetings or to work with a Peer Recovery Coach, contact Lura Porter at (906) 322-7819 or Samantha Troxler at (906) 322-6690. For more on the LMAS Harm Reduction Program, which serves people living with substance abuse disorder in a confidential and compassionate manner, contact Monica Eriksen at (906) 322-4444 or visit lmasdhd.org.
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