In the News

Summer’s Suitcase

by latahrecoverycenter, posted in Write for You Blog

by Nancy Casey

What’s in store for the summer ahead? Cold days in June, hot days in August? Outings and trips? Long evenings, new friends, a different home or job?

So many things can happen over the course of a summer. Are you ready?

Imagine that you can pack a suitcase that is chock-full of everything you will need during the coming summer. Make it a somewhat miraculous suitcase where things of any size fits and nothing is too heavy.

Of course there will be clothes and maybe a couple of toothbrushes. What else for your daily life? Food? Toys? Equipment? Books?

You can put ideas in the suitcase. Are there thoughts that you don’t want to slip from your mind in the coming season?

Perhaps you will want to add some habits. Those would be things that you do often without planning or even realizing you are doing them. Habits that make your life better are always good, so be sure to tuck a couple of new ones into a side pocket.

Attitudes could be handy in your summer suitcase. Just as you would pack sunscreen for the beach, you can pack the attitudes that you want to put on for different situations that will pop up over the summer. Are you going to need patience now and again? Or bursts of efficiency? Will you bring along curiosity, friendliness or black humor?

What skills belong in your suitcase? The ability to listen, hit a baseball, or survive 16-hour shifts? Will you need to swim, take good notes, or remember people’s names?

Finally, what can you pack to prepare for all the unexpected and difficult things (and people!) that are bound to crop up. Any special all-purpose tools?

Begin by writing, “In my summer suitcase I am packing…” and write down something that you would pack and what it would be useful for.

Start a new line that begins, “I will also pack…” and tell about another thing. When you have explained that one, start a new line and add something else to the suitcase. See how full you can make it.

When you have finished, give your work a title. Make sure the date is on it somewhere, too. Add decoration and color to the page as needed. Here is an example of what a person could write.

Share what you have written! Post it as a comment below. You can type in your work. Or post a picture of it.

Nancy Casey has lived in Latah County for many years. Sometimes she teaches writing classes at the Recovery Center. You can find more of her work here. If you would like her help with a writing project—resumes, letters, stories novels—email latahrecoverycenter@gmail.com for more information.

Catching up on Recovery Radio

by latahrecoverycenter, posted in Podcasts

This Week at the Latah Recovery Center

by latahrecoverycenter, posted in Uncategorized

Mark your calendar for this months special offerings:
5/9 Easygoing Facial 2:15-3pm
5/9 Intro to MSWord and Powerpoint 6:30pm
5/10 Latah Alliance for Mental Illness: Family Support Program
5/19 AA Speakers Meeting 11am
…and don’t miss this months social activity: Bowling at Zeppoz 5/20, 2pm at Zeppoz. RSVP with Rod, or contact him for carpooling options. rodsprague@nethere.com
Would you like to learn how to coach others in life skills, coping, etc as they deal with addictions and mental health issues? You are invited to Recovery Peer Volunteer Training parts 1 and 2. May 22 and 29, 6-9pm. Please RSVP to Darrell by May 20.
5/23 Coping Skills 2:15-3pm
5/28 Recovery Peer Volunteer Meeting 6pm
Full calendar listing ALL of our weekly offerings below!
Check out the latest from Write for You: https://latahrecoverycenter.org/2018/05/07/write-for-you-and-so/
Have you heard about Recovery Radio? Checkout the podcast on ITunes and GooglePlay. New episodes coming tomorrow!

May at the Latah Recovery Center

Alcoholics Anonymous Every day, noon

Positive Affirmations Mondays, 12-1

Life Skills Mondays, 5-6

Refuge Recovery 420 E. 2nd St Mondays, 6

Recovery Peer Volunteer Meeting Last Monday of month, 6pm

Yoga (Hosted by Moscow Yoga Ctr) Tuesdays 12:30-1:30

Recovery Peer Volunteer Training Tuesday 6-9, May 22 AND 29 Please RSVP by May 20

Chess w/Steve Tues and Thurs 5-6

Narcotics Anonymous Tuesdays, 5:30-6:30 (Womens mtg)

Prescription Addiction Support Group Tuesdays 7-8

Easygoing Facial Wednesday 2:15-3, May 9

Coping Skills Wednesday 2:15-3, May 23

Positive Affirmations Wednesdays 5-6

Intro to MSWord and Powerpoint Wednesday 6:30, May 9

Recovery International: Mental Health Self-Help Wednesdays, 6:30-8

New Volunteer Orientation Thursdays 4-5

Peaceful Art Practices Thursdays 4-5 (cancelled May 17)

LAMI: Family Support Program 2nd Thurs of month 7-8:30

All Recovery Meeting Fridays 5-6

Narcotics Anonymous Fridays 5:30-6:30 (Open mtg)

Movie/Games: Check website for listing Fridays 6:30-9

AA Speakers Meeting 3rd Saturday of month, 11-2:30

Learn How to Crochet & Calm Your Mind 4th Sat of month, 10-12

Social Activity: Bowling (carpoolers meet 1pm Rosauers parking lot Sunday May 20, 2pm

Recovering Parents: Trust Based Relational Intervention Parents Group Sunday 5/6, 2:30-4

Adult Children of Alcoholics, Women’s Meeting Sundays 6-7:30

Classes and Groups are ALWAYS FREE OR AT COST AND OPEN TO ALL.

RSVP LatahRecoveryCenter@gmail.com Bolded Date=Regular offering. Plain text=Special offering for month.

Need an understanding person to talk to? We have Recovery Peer Volunteers here to help you in recovery from mental health and addiction issues all hours of operation. We are here to help!

Syringa Shindig!
Unitarian Universalist Church of the Palouse | Friday, May 18 | 6:00-10:00 PM
$20 per person suggested donation, kids 12 & under are free
After struggling for many years, Syringa Mobile Home Park is closing for good on June 5. We’re organizing a community dance party on Friday, May 18 to raise money to help residents with their relocation costs. Residents have indicated that any amount of money–to help pay for a storage unit, a moving truck, or even a lick of paint in their new homes–would be helpful. The UUCP has generously agreed to host the event. We’re planning to have a grand old time, with live music by Smith & Roberts and Blue Funk Jailbreak, a no-host bar, and heavy hors d’oeuvres. In order to do this at little-to-no cost (so as to ensure all of the money we raise goes to Syringa residents), we need your help!

We hope you’ll come! It’s going to be so much fun! Please consider signing up to bring an appetizer platter, or some beer or wine for the bar! We also need volunteers–folks to help set up, staff the bar, clean up dishes and food tables, and tear down at the end of the night.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805084fa5aa2ca57-syringa

Syringa residents are our neighbors, and they need our help. Let’s show them what a big heart this community has. Thank you for your help and your dedication to making Moscow such a great place to live!
For more information, contact Lysa Salsbury at lysa_salsbury@hotmail.com or (208) 310-6298.

Write for You: And So…

by latahrecoverycenter, posted in Write for You Blog

by Nancy Casey

Today in your writing you will be thinking about how things got to be the way they are. You will do that by telling very short stories that have the words “and so” in the middle of them.

You can write about yourself. You could, for example, tell the story of how you came to detest your most un-favorite food. In my case, that would be a throwing-up story that ends, “… and so I never ate Cracker Jacks again.” You could tell a story of how a relationship started or how you got a scar. You could tell how you made a decision, or how you ended up living where you do. You could tell about your breakfast.

The only trick is that when you tell the story, you have to twist it into the right shape so that the last phrase begins with “…and so…”

You can write about the world around you: It rained hard last night, and so there are worms all over the sidewalks.

You can explain a fact from science: Gravity has existed as long as the known universe, and so things fall down and not up.

You can write about the future: My garden isn’t planted yet and so it is not likely to grow. Perhaps a story like that could have a companion that ends, “…and so my garden isn’t planted.”

You don’t necessarily have to write things that are true: Birds from all over the world have come to the park to argue about politics, and so the trees are noisy.

One thing happens. And so something else happens. Fill a page with little stories like that.

When you have finished, give your work a title. Make sure the date is on it somewhere, too. Add decoration and color to the page as needed. Here is an example of what a person could write.

Share what you have written! Post it as a comment below. You can type in your work. Or post a picture of it.

Nancy Casey has lived in Latah County for many years and taught writing at the Recovery Center. You can find more of her work here. If you would like her help with a writing project of any kind—resumes, letters, stories novels—email latahrecoverycenter@gmail.com for more information.

May at the Latah Recovery Center

by latahrecoverycenter, posted in Uncategorized

Check out the latest from our Write for You writing prompts: https://latahrecoverycenter.org/2018/04/30/write-for-you-do-and-done/

Have you heard? We’re on the radio and podcast! Recovery Radio Thursdays, 1pm on KRFP; or podcast on ITunes and GooglePlay.

Mark your calendar for this months special offerings:
Recovery Peer Volunteer Training on May 22 and 29, 6-9. RSVP by May 20. Want to learn the skills necessary to coach someone on life skills, set goals, and improve their life as they are working on their addiction or mental health issues? This is the class for you!
Easygoing Facial: May 9, 2:15-3. Treat yourself to a facial!!!
Coping Skills: May 23, 2:15-3.
Intro to MSWord and Powerpoint: May 9, 6:30pm
Bowling! May 20, 2pm (Carpooling? Meet at Rosauers parking lot, 1pm)

Here’s the entire months calendar! Please post in a prominent place.
May at the Latah Recovery Center
Alcoholics Anonymous Every day, noon
Positive Affirmations Mondays, 12-1
Life Skills Mondays, 5-6
Refuge Recovery 420 E. 2nd St Mondays, 6
Recovery Peer Volunteer Meeting Last Monday of month, 6pm
Yoga (Hosted by Moscow Yoga Ctr) Tuesdays 12:30-1:30
Recovery Peer Volunteer Training Tuesday 6-9, May 22 AND 29 Please RSVP by May 20
Chess w/Steve Tues and Thurs 5-6
Narcotics Anonymous Tuesdays, 5:30-6:30 (Womens mtg)
Prescription Addiction Support Group Tuesdays 7-8
Easygoing Facial Wednesday 2:15-3, May 9
Coping Skills Wednesday 2:15-3, May 23
Positive Affirmations Wednesdays 5-6
Intro to MSWord and Powerpoint Wednesday 6:30, May 9
Recovery International: Mental Health Self-Help Wednesdays, 6:30-8
New Volunteer Orientation Thursdays 4-5
Peaceful Art Practices Thursdays 4-5 (cancelled May 17)
LAMI: Family Support Program 2nd Thurs of month 7-8:30
All Recovery Meeting Fridays 5-6
Narcotics Anonymous Fridays 5:30-6:30 (Open mtg)
Movie/Games: Check website for listing Fridays 6:30-9
AA Speakers Meeting 3rd Saturday of month, 11-2:30
Learn How to Crochet & Calm Your Mind 4th Sat of month, 10-12
Social Activity: Bowling (carpoolers meet 1pm Rosauers parking lot Sunday May 20, 2pm
Recovering Parents: Trust Based Relational Intervention Parents Group Sunday 5/6, 2:30-4
Adult Children of Alcoholics, Women’s Meeting Sundays 6-7:30
Classes and Groups are ALWAYS FREE OR AT COST AND OPEN TO ALL.
RSVP LatahRecoveryCenter@gmail.com Bolded Date=Regular offering. Plain text=Special offering for month.
Need an understanding person to talk to? We have Recovery Peer Volunteers here to help you in recovery from mental health and addiction issues all hours of operation. We are here to help!

Write for You: Do and Done

by latahrecoverycenter, posted in Write for You Blog

by Nancy Casey

Begin with a blank sheet of paper. Write the letters of the alphabet, A-Z, in a line down the center of the page. Start an inch or so below top of the page because you want to leave space for some headings and the title.

Draw two lines on either side of the column of letters to make it look more like a stripe.

For the heading on the left-hand column, write the word “DO.” At the top of the column on the right, write the word “DONE.” Write the headings as big as you can, but small enough so that there will be room for a title at the end.

Choose any letter. Next to it, in the right hand column, write down something that you have done which begins with that letter. On the other side of the letter, in the left-hand column, write down something that you might do in the future which begins with that same letter.

There are many ways to approach this. You can think in terms of tasks and obligations, your “to-do” list. Or you can think about people you have seen and experiences you have had. You can put things in the “DONE” column that you never planned to do. You can put anything at all in the “DO” column, as long as you haven’t done it. Don’t worry about how likely it is that you will do it.

It’s usually best to skip around on the page instead of taking yourself on a forced march through the alphabet. Let your mind wander through the past. When you remember something you did, ask yourself, “What letter is that?”

Once our minds start to wander, they ramble pretty easily from the past to the future. Wherever it lands, ask yourself, “What letter is this? Is it a DO or a DONE?”

Gradually fill the page. Try to get something for every letter, even if you have to stretch the rules of spelling a little bit. The arrangement of items on the page often leaves blank space around the edges for doodling or illustration, so take advantage of that. And of course, give your work a title and write the date on it. Here is an example of what a person could write.

This exercise gets to be more fun if you do it often. Try it for several days in a row without looking at yesterday’s page before you write today’s. You will be fascinated by the items that add and subtract themselves from your pages. It’s fascinating because this is your life!

Share what you have written! Post it as a comment below. You can type in your work. Or post a picture of it.

Nancy Casey has lived in Latah County for many years. She has taught writing classes at the Recovery Center in the past. You can find more of her work here. If you would like her help with a writing project—resumes, letters, stories novels—email latahrecoverycenter@gmail.com for more information.

This Week at the Latah Recovery Center

by latahrecoverycenter, posted in Uncategorized

Our Social Committee reports Saturdays outing to the Appaloosa Horse Club and Museum was a lot of fun. Don’t miss bowling May 20, 2pm! Meet at Rosauers 1pm to carpool.

Check out Recovery Radio. Download the podcast from ITunes or Googleplay. Or listen live! Thursdays, 1pm on KRFP.

This weeks special offerings:
4/23, 6:30pm. Intro to MSWord and PowerPoint
4/28, noon. Learn to Crochet and Calm Your Mind.
4/30, 6pm. Recovery Peer Volunteer Meeting
4/30, 6:30pm Recovering Parents: Trust Based Relational Intervention Parents Group
April at the Latah Recovery Center
Alcoholics Anonymous Every day, noon
Positive Affirmations Mondays, 12-1
Life Skills Mondays, 5-6
Refuge Recovery 420 E. 2nd St Mondays, 6
Recovery Peer Volunteer Meeting Last Monday of month, 6pm
Intro to MSWord and Powerpoint Monday, April 23, 6:30pm
Yoga (Hosted by Moscow Yoga Ctr) Tuesdays 12:30-1:30
Board of Directors Second Tuesday of month, 3:45-5
Chess w/Steve Tues and Thurs 5-6
Narcotics Anonymous Tuesdays, 5:30-6:30 (Womens mtg)
Domestic Abuse Support Group Tuesdays 6-7
Prescription Addiction Support Group Tuesdays 7-8
Positive Affirmations Wednesdays 5-6
Recovery International: Mental Health Self-Help Wednesdays, 6:30-8
New Volunteer Orientation Thursdays 4-5
Peaceful Art Practices Thursdays 4-5
LAMI: Family Support Program 2nd Thurs of month 7-8:30
All Recovery Meeting Fridays 5-6
Narcotics Anonymous Fridays 5:30-6:30 (Open mtg)
Movie/Games: Check website for listing Fridays 6:30-9
AA Speakers Meeting 3rd Saturday of month, 11-2:30
Learn How to Crochet & Calm Your Mind 4th Sat of month, 10-12
Social Activity: Appaloosa Museum Tour April 21, 11am
Recovering Parents: Trust Based Relational Intervention Parents Group Sunday 4/8, 4/22 2:30-4 4/30 6:30-7:30
Adult Children of Alcoholics, Women’s Meeting Sundays 6-7:30
Classes and Groups are ALWAYS FREE OR AT COST AND OPEN TO ALL.
RSVP LatahRecoveryCenter@gmail.com Bolded Date=Regular offering. Plain text=Special offering for month.
Need an understanding person to talk to? We have Recovery Peer Volunteers here to help you in recovery from mental health and addiction issues all hours of operation. We are here to help!

This Week at the Latah Recovery Center

by latahrecoverycenter, posted in Uncategorized

The latest from our writing group is here: https://latahrecoverycenter.org/2018/04/16/write-for-you-just-doodle/

Be sure to check out Recovery Radio. Thursdays, 1pm on KRFP. Or try the podcast on ITunes or GooglePlay. Want to be a guest on the show? Denise and Jonny are looking for people to interview. People working with Recovery, in Recovery, family members, professionals… If you have something to share about Recovery they want to hear from you. Email latahrecoverycenter@gmail.com for info.

Have you heard about Mental Health First Aid being offered in Pullman? The #3 Memorial Fund is offering it, and has a number of scholarships available for those in need, students, etc. https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3372682

Here’s what’s happening!
April at the Latah Recovery Center
Alcoholics Anonymous Every day, noon
Positive Affirmations Mondays, 12-1
Life Skills Mondays, 5-6
Refuge Recovery 420 E. 2nd St Mondays, 6
Recovery Peer Volunteer Meeting Last Monday of month, 6pm
Intro to MSWord and Powerpoint Monday, April 23, 6:30pm
Yoga (Hosted by Moscow Yoga Ctr) Tuesdays 12:30-1:30
Board of Directors Second Tuesday of month, 3:45-5
Chess w/Steve Tues and Thurs 5-6
Narcotics Anonymous Tuesdays, 5:30-6:30 (Womens mtg)
Domestic Abuse Support Group Tuesdays 6-7
Prescription Addiction Support Group Tuesdays 7-8
Positive Affirmations Wednesdays 5-6
Recovery International: Mental Health Self-Help Wednesdays, 6:30-8
New Volunteer Orientation Thursdays 4-5
Peaceful Art Practices Thursdays 4-5
LAMI: Family Support Program 2nd Thurs of month 7-8:30
All Recovery Meeting Fridays 5-6
Narcotics Anonymous Fridays 5:30-6:30 (Open mtg)
Movie/Games: Check website for listing Fridays 6:30-9
AA Speakers Meeting 3rd Saturday of month, 11-2:30
Learn How to Crochet & Calm Your Mind 4th Sat of month, 10-12
Social Activity: Appaloosa Museum Tour April 21, 11am
Recovering Parents: Trust Based Relational Intervention Parents Group Sunday 4/8, 4/22 2:30-4 4/30 6:30-7:30
Adult Children of Alcoholics, Women’s Meeting Sundays 6-7:30
Classes and Groups are ALWAYS FREE OR AT COST AND OPEN TO ALL.
RSVP LatahRecoveryCenter@gmail.com Bolded Date=Regular offering. Plain text=Special offering for month.
Need an understanding person to talk to? We have Recovery Peer Volunteers here to help you in recovery from mental health and addiction issues all hours of operation. We are here to help!

Write for You: Just Doodle

by latahrecoverycenter, posted in Write for You Blog

by Nancy Casey

When you have a writing practice, your goal is to do some writing. Period. It is likely that benefits will accrue from your efforts, but the connection isn’t always direct. Maybe over time, you will like yourself better or get in touch with your feelings. Maybe your regular writing will improve your spelling. Maybe it will give you a great idea for how to rearrange the furniture.

When you sit down to do your writing, the task is always the same: fill up a page. One page. On some days you might do extra. Maybe your writing will spill onto a second page and then a third one. But maybe it won’t. Your goal is to fill a page and when the page is full, you’ve succeeded.

You don’t have to write fast. Your writing doesn’t have to be neat. You don’t have to write in cursive. The words don’t need to be packed in tight as bricks. As long as the page is full and has some words on it, you’ve done your writing.

To demonstrate that to yourself, let doodling be the focus of your writing today.

When you doodle, you send your pen around the page to make whatever marks you happen to make. Perhaps you will “draw” things that you know how to draw. If you do, don’t draw them with the intent of making them look a certain way. Don’t hesitate or wonder what you ought to do. Just let your pen roam around, making lines and shapes, marks and blobs. As long as that’s happening, you are doing it right.

You can start in one small place on the page, like the middle or a corner, and let your doodle grow outward from there. Or perhaps you would prefer to begin with a few large strokes over the whole page and then fill in the spaces you have made. Maybe you’ll do some combination of both.

Having several colors handy to make some variety can be nice, but it isn’t a requirement.

In the course of your doodling, write a few words. Very few. Ten would be plenty.

Notice how it feels to doodle up a whole page. Usually after about 10 minutes of an activity like doodling, a person’s mind slows down. Maybe your brain starts to doodle, too. That slowing of the mind is the real purpose of your writing practice. It doesn’t seem like much when it is happening, but over time, in a process that nobody really understands, it can create a little island of calmness inside of you. The benefits that come from “writing” really come from the calmness you create by doing the writing. Anything that lands on the page is a bonus.

When you have filled your page with doodling, turn it sideways and upside-down to see which way it looks best. Figure out where the title should go. Write the date on it as well. Here is an example of what a person could write.

Share what you have written! Post it as a comment below. You can type in your work. Or post a picture of it.

Nancy Casey has lived in Latah County for many years and has taught writing classes at the Recovery Center in the past. You can find more of her work here. If you would like her help with a writing project—resumes, letters, stories novels—email latahrecoverycenter@gmail.com for more information.