Recovery Cafe in Lafayette is celebrating one year anniversary
It's a day of celebration for recovery cafe in lafayette.
The organization is officially one years old today.
News 18's micah upshaw tells us why this accomplishment is particularly special for its members.
S: we have fun here and if you want to have fun and meet people, this is a good place to do it.
M: recovery cafe members are reflecting on their first year.
A: there's different alternatives than other recovery, standard recovery meetings.
And it's more of a social outlet and i think in recovery, we need some other alternatives and different pathways of recovery.
M: that's the cafe's mission -- providing new ways for people in recovery to connect and heal.
Manager rebecca maslanka is happy they've been able to achieve this goal despite the tough year this pandemic brought.
R: this year has been a very wild ride.
And i would say, i have nothing but gratitude for the recovery community in lafayette.
M: maslanka says she's proud of the members who've stuck with the cafe even with all the changes they've had to make.
For the first several months after opening, the cafe moved virtually to practice social distancing.
Then in the fall they shifted to in-person gathering, with required masks and social- distancing inside the building.
R: we just do the best with what we have and that's totally part of recovery, whatever you're recovering from, that's part of it, it's learning to adapt to situations so that they don't become triggers or stressers.
Nat: bingo m: in addition to celebrating one year in lafayette, the cafe is also hosting its first christmas holiday party.
Maslanka and members are looking forward to more years of success.
R: for next year, i just want to see us continue to reach people.
Be able to start in person outreach again because that is really powerful.
M: reporting in lafayette, micah upshaw.
News 18.
Recovery cafe is connected to the bauer community center in lafayette.
It's located on fountain street.
If you're interested in learning how to become a member, you can find that information on our website wlfi.com.
A carroll