CORE VALUES:
#InviteConnection #ModelIntegrity
#EngageCommunity #PromoteRecovery
#CultivateTeamwork #EncourageGrowth
Founded in 2016, Acceptance Recovery Center opened its doors to provide quality addiction services to individuals that may not otherwise have access; individuals that society typically “casts aside”—low income, criminal, homeless, indigent, high risk/need. We are advocates for those that have never gotten a chance or are on their 15 th chance. Our programming is rooted in evidence-based and informed recovery support, and our policies are written to uphold the highest ethical standards. ARC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. As such, it will make all employment decisions (including decisions about hiring, promotion, transfer, demotion, evaluation, compensation, and termination) without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, service in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other classification protected by federal, state or local law. ARC does not and will not permit harassment of its employees based on race, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, service in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other protected class. ARC will not tolerate harassment in any form, whether it is committed by managers and/or supervisors, employees, or non-employees. All managers and supervisors will be responsible for preventing and eliminating harassment. Violation of this policy will result in disciplinary action, up to and including immediate termination.
In 2020, we were challenged by the worldwide social justice movements to take a hard look at what we were doing to truly address discrimination and systemic racism for those we serve and the community overall. As a result, we recognized that while we were generally “all inclusive,” there was still much more work to be done. In Fall of 2020, ARC spearheaded the “Athens Recovery Diversity & Inclusion Initiative,” which was designed to engage the community in combating systemic racism, especially in the judicial system. Through a series of interviews and a panel discussion with several community leaders, the purpose was “to create space for candid, courageous conversations about diversity, inclusion, and intersectionality to ignite sustainable change, equitable access to resources and movement to transform the recovery community.”
The information gathered was eye-opening to say the least. While there are still more changes to come, we immediately got to work. One of several changes was adding a “Cultural Competency” course to our Admissions Group curriculum to create a therapeutic environment to educate residents on social injustices, micro and macro aggressions, and LQBTQ sexualties and genders. We have also recently teamed up with Atlanta Pride and received grant funding to further improve our current curriculum, which is underway at this time.
flective of the people of color receiving treatment or recovery support for Substance Use Disorder, with the local community approximately only 35% African-American. The exact “cause” of this is believed to be multifaceted, but one suggestion was that this is due in-part to the lack of education targeting addiction and the associated stigma held in the African-American community. One idea to address this was to host informational events at locations within areas of our community in which predominantly people of color reside. This is absolutely something we have since included in our planning of future events when COVID-19 protocols recede and we are able to get back to regular community engagements.
Lastly, as a result of this initiative, a list of commitments were created which we plan to incorporate in our current revision of our employee handbook:
- Commit to listen, learn, and observe
- Commit to continue having conversations
- Commit to continue raising awareness
- Commit to examine systems, policies, procedures that may unintentionally disadvantage groups
- Commit to incorporate awareness and knowledge building opportunities among colleagues
- Commit to create an individualized growth plan- including categories of weakness and concrete steps forward
- Commit to prioritize acceptance, compassion, and change
