We do this together. Our recovery takes place not only as individuals, but also as friends, neighbors, communities and as a human family. We use modern ideas about human rights as a frame of reference. We recognize that every way of looking at things is in some way incomplete. At the same time, we find that a rich understanding of human rights can provide a useful starting place for beginning our
journey. We welcome anyone, anywhere to draw and build on these ideas. Our group is very new. Yet, we believe Human Rights Recovery has broad application. We see it as a useful approach for people and groups working on a broad variety of social concerns. Human Rights Recovery stands on the shoulders of giants. Yet, it also offers some new ideas and new perspectives that we hope others may find useful. It starts with an accepted standard - international human rights. It uses this standard as a lens to take a deep and thoughtful look at human experiences that many people find difficult, confusing or troubling. Each person creates a human rights narrative of their own life journey. Challenging human experiences are then examined through the trajectory of the person's unique human rights story. A core inquiry of Human Rights Recovery includes many phenomena that currently are labelled "mental illness." This includes things like mental distress, intensity, alternate realities, unique ideas or beliefs, loss of memory or awareness, and experiencing images, visions, voices, taste, smell or touch that others don't seems to:
1. How might such experiences make sense in terms of the material, relational and personal human rights deprivations a person has endured?
2. How can these deprivations be repaired?
3. How might "illness" and "symptoms" change once access to human rights is restored or made secure? We apply the same critical human rights inquiry to difficult or confusing things that human beings sometimes do. This includes behaviors that are commonly labelled "addictive", "self-harming" "unhealthy" or "anti-social" - including substance use, rituals, ways of eating, grooming patterns and appearance, verbal/physical/sexual ways of expressing feelings or power. It also extends to actions that are currently labelled "criminal" such as violence, trafficking and theft. Human Rights Recovery thus seeks to place important social concerns in a larger context of human experience. It provides a straightforward, reasoned, ecumenical framework to understand much of what is happening. It also offers a way to orient ourselves, reflect deeply, and mine the information value of human difference. More and more, we are able to notice and appreciate human nature's innumerable "gems in the rough" for the precious local and national treasures they are. We don’t pretend to have all the answers. We also don’t claim to provide a complete set of answers for any one person, issue or group. If life has taught us anything, it’s that there are a zillion ways to make sense of human experience. There are also a zillion ways to create "a better world." We don't pretend to know what this means for you or anyone else. Our hope, here, is merely to begin the conversation. Surely, with your participation, it will become a very rich one! Thank you for visiting us! Sarah
Human Rights Recovery
