Tag: Solutions

July 29, 2014

Poetry Workshop

Posted by Pat S in Uncategorized

Solutions took a break from our usual Thursday schedule and signed up for a poetry workshop.  It was facilitated by James Nave (www.jamesnave.com).  Once again, when we put ourselves out there and try new things, we are not disappointed.  Here is Solutions client John C’s perspective. I have to admit that when I was told about our four hour poetry workshop, I was less than thrilled.  Prior to being in the workshop my experience consisted of stealing others poetry from the internet, adding a few extra words and giving it to girls as my own work. I went in closed minded and within 2 minutes of arriving, I was called to the front of the room. There were maybe 20 people in the class and I was asked to form a poem from a list of words on the board. I was anxious and scared but as I started to…

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December 5, 2013

Creative Awakenings at Jaywalker

Posted by Pat S in Uncategorized

Life is a journey…What is calling You ? Sheri Gaynor, LCSW Several clients from Jaywalker Lodge and the Solutions program had the opportunity to engage in some Art Therapy at the Third Street Center this morning. The men cut words and photos out of magazines and made some amazing collages. They were also given some prompts to help with journaling. The class was taught by internationally know artist Sheri Gaynor, LCSW. Sheri is an Expressive Arts Therapist, a licensed psychotherapist, and a professional life coach. She has also published her first book, Creative Awakenings:Envisioning the life of your dreams through art. Sheri has dedicated her life to helping others find their authentic selves and reach for their deepest dreams. Art therapy provides a break from the regular talk-out-our-feelings therapy sessions and allows clients the opportunity to express their creativity through hands-on activities. Expressive Art Therapy is a powerful method for…

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October 20, 2013

Lyons On The Brink

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When’s the last time someone shared with you that you had been the answer to their prayers?  Can there be a more humbling observation than that? We as addicts were more accustomed to being the subject of prayers, said mostly by our loved ones pleading with God for our very survivals. Lyons, Colorado is in need of many answers right now.  They are not alone as there are many similar communities in our state who are in need. Solutions spent 4 days in Lyons in cooperation with NECHAMA, a Jewish relief organization, aiding flood ravaged victims who had few resources and homes buried in feet of mud. We dug and we dug and we dug some more. We tore out rotting dry wall and ripped up floors that had turned to sponges. We hauled piles of debris to the curb to be discarded but never forgotten.  We broke bread with…

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September 13, 2013

On the Road Again

Posted by Pat S in Uncategorized

The staff and men of Solutions are back on the road this Mon. traveling to Moore, Ok., sight of a devastating F5 tornado which hit the community on May 20th of this year.  There were 23 fatalities, 500 hospitalized, and over 2 billion dollars in damage as a result of these 30 minutes of hell.  But those are just statistics. CNN can give you those.  What we are privileged to experience when we travel to these sights of mayhem is the power of the human spirit in the raw. There is no stronger “fellowship” than in being a small part of a community banded together to rise from the scrapheap left at their feet.  It is the purpose of our being, the 12th step alive and in full throttle, the running the run. We as recovering addicts are sober today because we did NOT stay down when knocked down. We…

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August 21, 2013

Pine Ridge Service Trip

Posted by Pat S in Uncategorized

Jaywalker has been going on service trips to the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota for 4 years.  We work with a group called Re-Member, a non-profit volunteer organization.  Many told me it would be an intense experience.  Dan said to the guys “this is usually one of our most impactful trips”.  There were no play days planned, no trips to the hot springs.  It was going to be a total immersion into the culture of the Oglala Lakota Sioux, a people who have been incredibly wronged by our government.  The Massacre of Wounded Knee, the stealing of their ancestral homeland, to just name a few.  We have wronged them and they respond with integrity and pride. Pine Ridge is considered to have some of the worst poverty in the country.  The poverty, suicide rates (especially among teens), and alcoholism are all very bad.  Alcoholism rates are supposedly as high…

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August 9, 2013

What is Masculinity?

Posted by Pat S in Uncategorized

Dave Landers from St. Michael’s University in Vermont and Steve Rissman from Metro State in Denver helped Jaywalkers understand how masculinity is socially constructed and they discussed the myriad ways it can impede, facilitate or destroy a man’s recovery.  On Tuesday, July 30, the men from the Lodge, Solutions, and Jaywalker U worked together in large and small groups to answer some poignant questions such as (1) how did you develop your definition of a man? (2) what emotions are considered normal for men and what emotions are less socially accepted? (3) how do you want to show up as a man today?  In the future? Dave’s new book, I Wish He’d Taught Me to Shave, will be released sometime this August, and will explore the ways that men and women learn about masculinity. Jaywalkers are incredibly astute men.  They were engaging in the large group and the small groups. …

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August 7, 2013

JWL Hosts Inaugural CORE Conference

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On July 21, Jaywalker Lodge joined with seven leading treatment centers around the country to host the first annual C.O.R..E. conference in Amelia Island, Florida. CORE, an acronym for “Clinical Overview of the Recovery Experience,” was launched to highlight “the critical importance of abstinence-based practices and 12 Step principles in recovery.” The three-day conference, which featured presentations by Solutions Program Director Dan Reed and two dozen other prominent speakers, attracted nearly 400 attendees from 21 states. In his talk, entitled The Therapeutic Benefits of Service, Dan Reed highlighted the Solutions service expedition trips, as well as the various local community service activities of the Jaywalker clients and staff. In addition, Dan was also featured as a keynote plenary panelist alongside Drs. Robert Mooney from Willingway Hospital and Dr. Judith Landau, innovator of the ARISE model of interventions. Bill Corbett of Corbett Business Consultant also hosted a workshop entitled “Heal the…

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July 31, 2013

Happy 4 years Cary

Posted by Pat S in Uncategorized

Jaywalker would like to congratulate our own Cary Pew on four years of sobriety today.  Cary grew up in North Carolina or Michigan, depending on what sports team is playing at the moment. He enjoys skiing in the winter and mountain/road biking, golfing and fishing in the summer, which make for a great fit for the western slope of Colorado.  Cary has battled addiction for many years before checking himself into Jaywalker in 2009.  After graduating Jaywalker, Cary continued into Jaywalker’s sister program Solutions. Following recommendations, Cary moved to a local St Paul Sober House where he and I lived for six months until we found an apartment together in Carbondale.  After a period of volunteering around the lodge, Cary took a night-tech position with Jaywalker eventually working his way up to the day-tech job.  After about a year of employment at the lodge, Cary jumped at the opportunity to…

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July 29, 2013

Losing yourself in the service to others

Posted by Pat S in Uncategorized

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service to others” – Gandhi I got to experience this first hand this past week as I traveled with Jaywalker Solutions to Boulder, Utah for a week of service work.  Solutions has been working with “The Grand Canyon Trust” for the past 3 years.  The Grand Canyon Trust is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and restoring the Colorado Plateau.  Our specific group project on this trip was to build fences for private land owners around their property in order to fence out cattle that are grazed on the public lands surrounding their property.  This seems like a medial task, but hauling 150 lb. aspen tree trunks at 9,500 feet of elevation is no walk in the park.  The first fence we worked on was a log fence, so it required a great deal of communication and team…

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July 27, 2013

Trauma-Informed Treatment for Men

Posted by Pat S in Uncategorized

So many men in recovery – even those in long-term recovery – are relapsing, losing marriages, disconnecting from others and their Twelve Step communities, abusing loved ones, and acting out in other ways because they are still caught up in anxiety, anger, rage, and depression as a result of untreated Trauma.” Dan Griffith, MA “A New Focus on Men’s Trauma” was the topic of the luncheon/workshop presented by Dan Griffith author of A Man’s Way Through the Twelve Steps, the first trauma-informed book taking a holistic look at men’s experience of recovery from addictions. I had the pleasure of participating in the workshop with Jackie Wheeler, Senior Solutions counselor, who was also part of the inaugural Males, Trauma, and Addiction Summit which developed The Eight Agreements concerning men and trauma. Dan’s extensive research is bringing to light the often unrecognized and undiagnosed trauma that up to 95% of men entering…

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