Central Arkansas Friends of Recovery marks 32 years of 12-step support amid overdose crisis

Central Arkansas Friends of Recovery marks 32 years of 12-step support amid overdose crisi

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KATV) — For people working to overcome addiction, finding a safe place to start, and to keep going, can make all the difference. In Central Arkansas, Friends of Recovery Foundation has been providing support through 12-step meetings since 1992.

The nonprofit owns and operates a downtown building called Recovery Central at 1305 W. Markham. The organization hosts 20 recovery fellowship meetings a week there and sees about 200 people in recovery on a weekly basis. That adds up to just over 40,000 people a year coming through the building, including people attending their first meeting and others celebrating recovery birthdays.

David Dunovan, chairperson for Friends of Recovery, said his first visit to Recovery Central was for his first meeting.

“Those doors being open saved my life,” Dunovan said.

Dunovan said he remembers feeling nervous that first day, and said he was crying. He said he had been released from a hospital when someone found him on a bus and took him to his first meeting at Recovery Central. He said he was struck by seeing other people who were in recovery and wanted to change their lives.

Friends of Recovery also works to address stigma around addiction and recovery. Dunovan said one misconception he hears is the idea that people cannot change.

“Once an addict, always an addict,” Dunovan said, describing what he hears. He said the organization aims to offer a safe space and help end stigma.

Dunovan said Friends of Recovery also offers support for families and loved ones. He said there are two fellowships for people whose family members struggle with substance use or addiction, and that one of those meetings is held every Tuesday at Recovery Central.

The organization does not charge groups to use the building, Dunovan said, and relies on donations to cover costs such as utilities. He said a fundraising effort begins tomorrow with the Recovery Give Recovery Gives campaign. This year, he said, the organization is focusing on families, friends and loved ones, with a goal of finding 100 donors to give $120, or $10 a month for the next year, to help keep the building operating.