by Theresa Collins
on August 6, 2019
Many people have this idea that the city is “worse” than the suburbs when it comes to drug use. In some respect, numbers and statistics may support this but they tend to leave out some alarming obvious reasons. The obvious reasons are population and density. The city is flooded with people and wherever there is a high volume or high density of people there is always going to be more of something. For those outside of the city, it is easy to stereotype this and turn it into a negative. But more of something and high volumes of another can also be a positive. In this case, getting clean and sober in the city can be extremely beneficial for someone who is trying to navigate the waters of early recovery. Here are 5 reasons that staying in the city to achieve long-term recovery just might be the answer.
- More People Means More People In Recovery
Have you ever visited a small town in the middle of this wonderful country? Do you know the history behind AA? When Bill Wilson was trying to maintain his sobriety he had to seek out people who were willing to try getting sober. Fast-forward over 80 years later and this holds true for small town USA. Finding sober people in a sea of people may appear like a daunting task but I am here to tell you that finding sober people in a city is less challenging then finding sober people in the suburbs.
- More Meetings
More sober people also mean more meetings. I have been to Midwest towns that hold 2 meetings per week at the same time, at the same church and with the same people. That is your only option. You might have to drive over 60 miles just to find a different type of meeting or different group of people in recovery. Not only are there a number of meetings around the clock daily in the city, the type of meetings varying across fellowships. It is not hard to come across a NA, AA, CA, SLAA, GA etc. every single day and at every hour.
- Transportation
Most people at the end of their addiction struggle financially, which in turn causes them to not always have a car or any means of transportation. In other cases people have legal issues where they may have lost a driver’s license for a significant amount of time. This is another reason why getting sober in the city just makes those early times in recovery that much easier, transportation is everywhere. Early recovery is hard enough, by removing the difficulties of getting around whether it be to work or to a meeting, knowing that taking a bus, train, or taxi is at your disposal makes it that much easier.
- Work
In the city, jobs are a dime a dozen. Getting back into a regular routine and relieving yourself of some of those financial stressors can be significantly positive for your recovery process. Being in a city can help you easily come by that first “recovery job” which is so beneficial for recovery. Knowing the city has a lot to offer in the realm of employment can be relieving when a person early in recovery is taking those first steps toward employment.
- Come As You Are
The absolute greatest part about being in the city is you can come as you are. The city offers so many walks of life and for someone in early recovery who is already dealing with feelings of insecurity and uncertainty knowing that you can walk around a city free of judgment is liberating. It doesn’t matter what color your skin or hair is, how many tattoos you have, what gender you identify as or what gender you walk down the street holding hands with, no one really cares. The diversity is apparent and the judgment free zone is a mindset of almost everyone. Knowing you can come as you are, broken and beaten down, but rise up through the concrete to be whoever you want to be but a better and sober version of self may in fact be the best reason to be clean in the city.
Getting clean and sober in a city like Philadelphia has all these things and more. There is no shortage of people clean and sober in Philadelphia. There are endless meetings all day long in every section of the city. Getting around Philadelphia is easy and the jobs are easy to come by. We accept everyone, we help everyone, we love everyone we are the city of brotherly love. Philadelphia is the place to get clean and sober and start a new life in achieving long-term recovery.