Equal SRQ

05/17/2026

Progress over perfection. Whether you’re starting, restarting, or maintaining recovery, has your back. This , explore tools, peer support, and community. Find tips at: https://www.samhsa.gov/recoverme

05/14/2026

A healthy garden doesn’t always start with sprays and products — sometimes it starts with what you plant together 🌿

Herbs and flowers like basil, rosemary, marigolds, chives, and nasturtiums naturally help discourage common garden pests while supporting a healthier ecosystem overall. Some repel insects through scent, some confuse pests, and others even work as trap crops.

The best pest control strategy might not be a chemical plan at all — it might be a planting plan
Addie Klein Angie Johnston

05/14/2026

This week’s recovery news points to a tension we keep circling but don’t always name.

Overdose deaths fell again in 2025. That matters. Lives were saved. But the same week, we’re watching federal support for drug-testing strips get pulled back, even though they are one of the simplest tools people have to avoid a poisoned supply. And in Ulster County, a new Center for Well-Being opens with 24/7 crisis support and peer services under one roof—a reminder that recovery gets stronger when systems are easier to reach, not harder.

So what story are we actually telling ourselves?

That progress is real? Yes.
That it’s secure? Not even close.

If deaths are falling, the smartest move should be protecting the mix of things helping drive that decline—naloxone, treatment access, peer support, crisis stabilization, and practical harm-reduction tools. Instead, we keep acting like survival supports are optional or politically disposable.

Recovery doesn’t fail because people lack motivation. Often it fails because the system asks them to navigate contradiction, delay, and instability.

That’s the part worth paying attention to now: not just whether progress is happening, but whether we are building something stable enough to hold it.

[1] Associated Press, US overdose deaths fell again in 2025, but some worry about policy and drug supply changes
[2] The Guardian, Trump's sudden cut in substance testing is 'going to kill people', experts warn
[3] Times Union, Ulster County opens Center for Well-Being in Kingston

05/14/2026

Final day at the Floridians for Recovery Leadership Summit at the Brannon Center and the conversations ended on a strong note. 💜

Today’s sessions focused on turning inspiration into action — strengthening recovery communities, supporting self-directed pathways, and building sustainable systems of care that continue long after someone first reaches out for help.

This morning’s programming included conversations on:
- Recovery housing and long-term community integration through the Oxford House model
- Motivational Interviewing and Smart Recovery approaches that support self-directed change
- Building stronger recovery support systems across communities and organizations

The summit closed with a collective commitment forward, recognition of Recovery Ambassadors, and a statewide reminder that recovery is not a solo journey — it is something communities build together.

One of the biggest takeaways from these last few days has been seeing peers, advocates, organizations, policymakers, and recovery leaders all in the same rooms having honest conversations about what is working, what needs to improve, and how we continue advancing peer-positive policies and recovery-oriented systems of care across Florida and beyond.

Grateful to Floridians For Recovery, the presenters, organizers, and everyone willing to show up, share openly, and keep pushing this movement forward.

Recovery happens in communities.
And the future of recovery truly is collective.

05/13/2026

05/13/2026

Day 2 at the Floridians For Recovery Leadership Summit was one of those days that stretches your thinking and reminds you why this work matters.

From systems-level conversations to deeply personal stories of recovery and resilience, the day was filled with leaders who are not just talking about change — they are actively building it.

We were especially inspired by presentations from Laurisa Barthen & Brian Kite of the Georgia Council for Recovery on strengthening recovery supports through a public health framework, Melissa Rea’s The Nehemiah Project Inc. powerful reminder that recovery is about more than incentives — it’s about helping people reconnect to meaning and purpose — and Matthew Federici from The Copeland Center, who challenged us to think carefully about how peer support can grow authentically without losing the heart of lived experience that makes it so powerful in the first place.

Jeff Breedlove from American Addiction Recovery Association presentation on policy and the addiction epidemic pushed the conversation even further. One message that stayed with us was the idea of building a “constituency of consequence” — people willing to advocate publicly, shape policy, and move recovery conversations out of the shadows. Recovery cannot remain whispered about behind closed doors while communities continue to suffer openly.

The workforce research and evaluation session led by Paige Alitz & Kathleen Moore of Florida Center for Behavioral Health Workforce also reinforced something many of us are seeing firsthand: peer support is no longer emerging work — it is essential infrastructure. As the field grows, we need thoughtful workforce development, strong leadership pathways, better support systems for peers, and data that demonstrates the impact communities already feel every day.

Equally meaningful were the conversations between sessions — networking with people across Florida and neighboring states who are doing this work in real communities, often with limited resources but enormous heart. There is something energizing about being surrounded by people who genuinely believe recovery should be visible, accessible, community-driven, and protected through policy.

Grateful to the Floridians For Recovery team and South Florida Wellness Network for bringing together such a powerful cross-section of advocates, organizations, peers, and leaders. And grateful for the opportunity to be here together as a team representing Equal SRQ and learning alongside others committed to strengthening recovery-oriented systems of care.

Recovery is the mission.
Recovery happens in communities.
And the future of recovery really is collective. 💜

05/12/2026

Day one at the 2026 Leadership Summit and already feeling the impact of what it means to gather with recovery leaders from across Florida.

One of the most valuable parts of today was hearing directly from the keynote speakers — not just from a podium, but in ways that felt accessible, honest, and connected to the real work happening in communities every day. Conversations around systems change, workforce development, advocacy, and the future of peer support reminded us that recovery work is growing into something larger, more collaborative, and more visible statewide.

A special thanks to Senator Rosalind Osgood, Monty Burks and Sam “Chuck” Rivera. What a line up!!

What stood out most was the reminder that none of us build this alone. Being here together as a team matters. Traveling together, learning together, reflecting between sessions, laughing, decompressing, and representing EqualSRQ side-by-side has been just as meaningful as the conference itself.

Grateful for the opportunity, the connections, the leadership being shared so openly, and for every peer professional and recovery advocate helping shape what comes next. 💜

05/10/2026

There’s something deeply healing about not feeling alone in this work.

This week, members of the EqualSRQ peer team are traveling to the 2026 Recovery Leadership Summit in New Smyrna Beach Inlet for three days of learning, leadership development, and connection with recovery community organizations and peer professionals from across the state.

For many of us, recovery once meant isolation, instability, shame, or simply trying to make it through the day.

Now recovery looks like:
packing for conferences,
sharing rooms with friends in recovery,
representing our community professionally,
learning about systems change,
and building a future we never thought we’d have.

Sometimes self-care is being in rooms where your lived experience matters.
Sometimes it’s laughing in the car with your recovery family on the way to something meaningful.

We’re honored to represent Equal SRQ and Sarasota’s recovery community this week. 💙

05/10/2026

☀️ Mindful Walks at The Bay Sarasota was one of those simple little things that just fealt good for the soul.

It was HOT, bright, breezy, and beautiful.
And while these photos may not show a whole lot of “walking” happening 😄 sometimes recovery, wellness, and connection look more like slowing down… sitting in the sun… watching the water… laughing with good people… and letting your nervous system finally exhale.

That counts too.

We spotted seabirds, soaked in the bay views, talked life, decompressed, and reminded ourselves that healing doesn’t always have to happen in a classroom or around a table. Sometimes it happens barefoot in a beach chair with people who get it.

Have you been to The Bay Park yet? Sarasota really did something special here. 🌴🌊

Thanks to everyone who came out and shared the afternoon together.