​Over 100 people attended the fifth annual Facing the Crisis event at the Riviera Beach Marina on September 26th. Attendees learned about the county’s progress addressing substance use and mental disorders and establishing a person-centered, recovery-oriented system of care.

Event attendees participated in the launch of Shaping a Healthier Palm Beach County campaign and were the first to respond to the campaign’s Resiliency Capital Index (RCI) survey. The campaign is encouraging all county residents to also respond to RCI which will capture health and wellness data over the course of a year. The collected data will help evaluate the community’s strengths and needs, which will inform decisions and actions needed to improve the health and well-being of Palm Beach County. 

(If you want to take the survey, then click this link.)

Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care Explained

The Community Services Department’s Office of Behavioral Health and Substance Use Disorders (OBHSUD) Master Plan stresses the importance of a recovery-oriented community. Under the direction of John Hulick, OBHSUD has implemented a recovery-oriented Master Plan. An essential element of recoveryoriented care is its emphasis on community. Community means every resident of Palm Beach County, even those not faced with behavioral health and substance use disorder, plays a role in creating and sustaining a healthy community.

In an interview with WPBF, Community Services Director Dr. James Green explains recoveryoriented care, saying “This disease, substance use disorder, is terrifying and it destroys our families…We need our municipalities, our school district, all of our non-profit service providers, we need to make sure that our business community is engaged because it impacts businesses… Everyone needs to have all hands on deck to make sure that we address this dreadful disease.”

William Freeman, an addict with long-term recovery, brings a slightly different perspective to Green’s statement. He spoke with WPEC about his experience in prison and the length of time it took for him to come to terms with the insidious nature of substance abuse disorder. From his point of view, “Until I wanted it for myself, I wasn’t able to get clean.” After his last stint in prison, Freeman found it within himself to “want more for myself.”

However, it takes organizations like the Recovery Community HUB of Palm Beach County to provide individuals like Freeman with the collaborative services referenced by Green. Recovery-oriented services are there to help support those who want more for themselves and to assist them on their path to self-sufficiency.

Micah Robbins, Network Operations Director with the HUB told WPEC reporter Alexis Cruz that “navigating the system is very, very difficult and for an individual in crisis that can exacerbate the situation, [but] knowing there are people who care and are willing to help, that we have a system in place to care for individuals, that’s half of it right there.”​

​​​People Who Care

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During the lead-up to National Recovery Month, the HUB coordinated a Community Engagement Initiative that provided those with lived experience the opportunity to reach into their communities and provide recovery opportunities that might otherwise be overlooked. Twenty-six such community events were held. One held by Pastor Rae Whitely of Trinity Counseling Center and Olen TV Studios provided community members in recovery the chance to have studio-quality photos taken. One community member who took part in the event said the experience was “like a gift from God.”

Pastor Whitely added, “If I’m not hurting for that one being down, then how connected are we? Community is all about being connected.”

You can connect with the community-wide Resilience Capital Index survey by texting PBC to 844.926.6691 ​or by clicking here​.