As a woman in recovery since 1993, I owe my life to hugs, handshakes and face-to-face connections with people who are living a one-day-at-a-time program like I am.

In these strange times when physical connections are risky, other human connections are vital – especially for people in recovery, whether that’s been for 24 years, 24 hours or 24 minutes.

When gatherings of 10 or more were prohibited, Maine’s recovery community sprung into action, setting up online meetings for recovery programs as varied as Alcoholics Anonymous, Cocaine Anonymous, SMART Recovery, All Recovery and Recovery Dharma.

This behind-the-scenes grassroots effort was efficient! Some people jumped into the technical aspects; others got the word out by phone or taping notices on church doors. Within days, Mainers had access to hundreds of online recovery support meetings, allowing many to continue with the rhythms of our familiar community meetings or armchair-travel to meetings anywhere.

I’m so grateful that face-to-face connections (or just audio if you prefer) can still happen.

Online meetings aren’t ideal. But they’re working – helping people remember that we’re not alone. They’re even providing a new opportunity for people who have been anxious to attend a meeting in person.

We’re a resilient community, and we do recover together, even if that’s happening via computer screens for now. Visit www.maine.gov/dhhs/samhs/virtual-recovery.shtml for a list of Maine virtual recovery support groups.

Carolyn Delaney

Portland

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