What can be done? What does this mean for certified peer specialists? •
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• Substance use What unique biases or stigmas may relate to this lived experience? What is the nature of the potential biases or stigmas? • There is a widespread stigma associated with people who use certain substances. Some substances may be seen as culturally acceptable. Others are not. • Many people attribute challenges relating to substance use to moral failing, personal weakness, or lack of will power. • Many systemically marginalized communities face historical and intergenerational traumas. The stigmas placed upon them related to substance use challenges are informed by a history of colonization. • Recovery movements have a history of trying to separate people navigating substance use challenges from their communities and connections of importance simply because they are seen as drinking/using friends. What can go wrong through not challenging or addressing our potential biases? What are the negative impacts on people? • Black communities as well as other communities of color, are disproportionately impacted by the criminalization of behaviors related to substance use, resulting in vastly different outcomes. One person may be supported on a path to recovery wellness, while another person faces harsh sentencing and incarceration. • Certified peer specialists may further perpetuate the pathologizing of substance use and one-size-fits-all approaches to recovery instead of recognizing a person- centered and culturally relevant importance. • Due to its prevalence and longevity, the 12-step recovery model has become synonymous with recovery and intertwined with the traditional substance use service system, sometimes to the exclusion of other support options. Many people have been funneled into the 12-step recovery model by the court system without the chance to explore other recovery pathways. Some have found 12-step recovery to be an alienating experience. This can limit self-determination and future help seeking.
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