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The shuttering of churches and other meeting spaces throughout the region due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19 left members of various recovery groups scrambling to keep up the communities they established to maintain their sobriety.
Advocates and people in recovery worry the self-isolation measures necessary to stop the spread of the coronavirus may actually be putting people in recovery and people with substance-use disorders at risk. Support groups rely on the consistency of in-person encouragement and human contact. People are having to make due with virtual contact, said Veronica Slack, founder of Recovery Journals and member of Narcotics Anonymous.
“We’re huggers,” Slack said. “And a hug, there’s a meaning to that. That’s a healing hug that helps us, and we’re lacking that human contact right now.”
Paul, who preferred to use only his first name to respect his anonymity, has been sober for six years and is a member of Alcoholics Anonymous in Georgia. He’s also the meeting coordinator for District 15A, which covers six counties in Northwest Georgia. He said the transition from in-person meetings to online video calls has been a challenge.