Recovery, One Choice at a Time
Recovery is often measured in milestones: one week sober, six months sober, one year sober. But behind every milestone are hundreds of small choices made one day at a time. Sometimes one of those choices is simply walking through the door.
Every week, that choice leads people to the Relapse Prevention Group at All Care Health Center.
The room doesn’t stay quiet for long. Coffee is poured. Someone cracks a joke. Another person shares a difficult week and is met with understanding instead of judgment. Ideas bounce around the room as people trade coping strategies, celebrate victories, and remind one another that setbacks don’t erase progress. By the end of the hour, everyone leaves carrying something a little different than when they arrived—and the reminder that they’re not walking recovery alone.
It’s the people in the room who explain the group best.
“The people in group make it feel lighthearted and easier to get through.”
“It’s like a potluck of ideas and recovery tools. I can take different pieces and use what I think will work for me.”
“A table full of sober people here is proof enough that it works.”
That sense of hope isn’t accidental. Week after week, facilitators Jane Prine and Taban Jock watch it grow as people encourage one another, celebrate victories, and remind each other that recovery doesn’t have to be a journey taken alone.
“We’re human beings. We need connections,” Jane said. “Connections with other people in recovery… can help recovery more than anything.”
Those connections show up in countless ways. Taban remembers one participant who came to group just hours after learning her father had died. She told the group she knew that if she had stayed home, her next stop would have been alcohol. Instead, she chose to walk through the door, surround herself with people who understood, and face one of the hardest days of her life without turning to alcohol.
Recovery isn’t built in one life-changing decision. It’s built in hundreds of ordinary ones. Choosing to ask for help. Choosing to come back after a hard week. Choosing connection over isolation. Sometimes, it’s simply choosing to keep going.
Perhaps that’s why the group continues to grow. In a world where recovery can feel isolating, people come back not because anyone expects perfection, but because they know they’ll find honest conversations, practical tools, and a room where they belong.
Because sometimes all it takes is one choice.
Sometimes it begins with the choice to walk through the door.
Recovery is never meant to be a journey taken alone. If you’re wondering where to begin, the door is open. The Relapse Prevention Group welcomes anyone in the community who is in recovery and looking for support, whether or not they’re an All Care patient. Meetings are held Wednesdays from 5 to 6 p.m. in the boardroom at All Care Health Center’s 902 S. 6th St. location.