Mission

WINR, started in 1993 by a woman in recovery to provide recovery homes for women, now accommodates 170 residents in Prescott and Mesa. Our Common Welfare (OCW), a broad-based recovery support program, provides peer recovery support services in Phoenix and Prescott to WINR residents and others in recovery. The most recent addition to OCW’s service menu is an Addiction Resource Recovery Center (ARRC), opened in downtown Mesa to serve as a recovery services and drop-in and service center.

Peer Leadership Training

OCW trains about 50 peer leaders annually to facilitate and lead OCW’s recovery support services. The experience of providing peer services helps anchor their personal recovery, enabling them to give back in a meaningful way. It also prepares them for future paid employment as peer leaders and coaches in treatment programs.

Peer-led Classes

OCW’s peer-led services for women include personal development workshops and recovery case management, prisoner assistance during incarceration, and dental workshops. Recreation programs are provided for women, their children, and partners; and housing information and referral resources are available to both women and men in recovery. All of these services are planned and provided by peer leaders.

A 5-week Personal Development Series consists of workshops on life skills and relationship building designed to meet the emotional needs identified by peers in an assessment conducted by OCW prior to offering services. Several peer leaders have been trained and are now qualified to lead these workshops.

Recovery Case Management

Peers in Transition is the name of an ongoing program of recovery case management provided in weekly peer-led groups to help peers prepare for the transition from recovery housing to independent living. Aftercare and Community Integration, another case management program, provides participants with individualized resources to aid in the transition into permanent recovery and a place in the community. Peers seem to benefit from defining the framework for recovery case management meetings facilitated by a peer leader.

Recovery Case Management for Incarcerated Women

Recovery case management for incarcerated women begins in the Perryville Prison Complex and extends for up to 1 year after release. After an introduction to OCW, inmates can opt to receive the services. Peer letter writers then correspond with the incarcerated women and provide guidance that supports them in the recovery process prior to release. Upon release, women are invited to join the OCW Freedom Club and receive peer support from others who have walked that path successfully as they make their transition back into society.

Social and Recreational Activities

The OCW community needs assessment showed that people in recovery have a strong desire for positive social and educational activities with other people in recovery; many see these opportunities as critical to sustaining long-term recovery. OCW peer leaders work with peers to identify, organize, and lead activities, such as attending monthly cultural events or having family day activities.

Dental Workshops

OCW peer leaders have been trained to facilitate Dental Education Workshops in which they share information about dental health, the damage caused by substance use disorders, preventive measures, and finding reasonably priced dental services.