32 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • APRIL 2020
THRIVE
RECOVERY COMMUNITY MILESTONE
BY EDEN LAIKIN
AND PATRICK MCINTYRE
On Sunday, one can learn about nonmedicinal
healing modalities or relax with
Gentle Flow Yoga. On Monday, one can
join a Buddhist gathering to practice
dharma or another to learn how to
manage anger. On holidays, attendees
are invited to celebrate in a strictly
substance-free environment.
Other workshops and events are
scheduled daily throughout the month,
including Debtors Anonymous, Co-Dependents
Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous,
Alcoholics Anonymous, Steps
for Vets, and From Anger to Forgiveness.
It’s all at THRIVE, Long Island’s
first-ever recovery community and
outreach center in Hauppauge, which
just marked its third anniversary. The
recovery center (its acronym stands for
“Transformation, Healing, Recovery,
Inspiration, Validation and Empowerment)”
opened its doors in March 2017
to serve people addicted to substances
as well as family and friends who have
been affected.
“Historically, resources have been poured
into front-end services, i.e., treatment, and
folks would return to their same communities
without any back-end support
in place to help them sustain recovery,”
Long Island Recovery Association (LIRA)
founding member and immediate
Past President Richard Buckman told
the Press. “Often, they would return to
drinking or using drugs.”
The free and nonclinical center was
created in response to the heroin and
opioid epidemic sweeping across the
country. Due to the success of THRIVE
Suffolk, and the continued need for
services and support on Long Island,
THRIVE Nassau, in Westbury, was
opened in June 2019.
THRIVE came about after years of advocacy
by LIRA, which first identified
the need for such a center in 2001. It
became a reality 16 years later, with the
help of its partner agencies: Families in
Support of Treatment (FIST), Family
and Children’s Association (FCA), and
the Long Island Council on Alcoholism
and Drug Dependence (LICADD). The
group was awarded a $1.75 million
Members of LIRA closing a meeting THRIVE in Suffolk.
grant, under the FCA umbrella, by
the New York State Office of Addiction
Services and Supports (OASAS) to fund
the center for five years.
A One Recovery meeting, created by
LIRA, is held every Saturday night at
Suffolk THRIVE, and was the most
well-attended event at the center in 2019
with more than 1,500 participants. The
group welcomes all pathways to recovery
including Smart Recovery, 12-Step
Programs, faith-based recovery and
medication-assisted treatment recovery.
Family members and significant
others are welcome.
Buckman said One Recovery was created
to meet the need of inclusiveness in
the local community.
“It was a bold and risky step that has
transformed the recovery process for
many,” he told the Press.
“I go to One Recovery because I can be
around healthy like-minded people
and share my life problems with others
who do not judge me,” said Tommy S., a
person in long-term recovery.
According to its website, THRIVE’s
mission is to help individuals and families
find, maintain, and strengthen
their recovery through peer-based
support, navigation assistance, and
referral services; interactive educational
programs that promote wellness,
economic prosperity, and civic engagement:
and a safe, welcoming haven for
substance-free recreational and social
activities.
“Three years into THRIVE’s existence,
I think we would agree the results
have truly been beyond our collective
expectations,” Steve Chassman, executive
director of the Long Island Council
on Drug Dependence and Alcoholism,
told the Press.
Reviews left on the THRIVE website
echo those sentiments. One person
wrote: “A great place to meet people
THE
OPIOID
CRISIS
and forge sober bonds.” Another said:
“One-of-a-kind place. A blueprint for
helping people in need of recovery
support.” Yet another penned: “One of
the missing components to effectively
combatting the addiction epidemic
is a place that is safe and nurturing.
THRIVE is the bridge back to life and
that missing link.”
Free recovery coaching is available at
THRIVE, by appointment, as well.
Buckman said that today there are more
than 30 recovery community centers
up and running throughout New York
State. He added that there were more
than 12,000 visits to Suffolk THRIVE in
2019, and at least 900 visits to Nassau
THRIVE just in the last quarter of 2019.
“The concept of one individual assisting
another to forward their recovery process
is the foundation of service, compassion,
and community,” Chassman said.
THRIVE can be reached at 631-822-
3396, 516-765-7600, or thriveli.org
During this time of uncertainty with
COVID 19, please check THRIVE’s
Facebook page for cancellations and
instructions for online meetings.
PRESS HEALTH
“It was a bold and risky step that has transformed the
recovery process for many,” said Richard Buckman.
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