A welcoming space for recovery expands to Bellingham

Bellingham has joined a unique nationwide support network that got its start in Seattle in 2004.

The new Recovery Café at First Baptist Church on Flora Street is now one of 67 cafes that offer support to people who are struggling, regardless of past trauma. That may include mental illness, emotional trauma, or addictive behaviors.

Sharayah Lane is the Bellingham location’s executive director. She told KUOW’s Kim Malcolm about the Recovery Café mission and its place in Bellingham.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

Kim Malcolm: Your journey to this new place and this role started years ago when you walked into a Recovery Café in Seattle. Tell me a bit about that point in your life. What was going on for you, and how did being there help?

Sharayah Lane: When I walked into Recovery Café Seattle, I was very new on my recovery journey. And in that place in my life, what I was really looking for and really in need of was a physical place that I could go, that would be affirming to my recovery and my newfound sort of journey in recovery at that time. I had grown up on the Lummi reservation. I had moved to Seattle and was having some issues with addiction, and didn't really have a place or people that I could go to that would be supportive during those earliest days of my recovery. So, that was how I found recovery Café Seattle.

Tell us how Recovery Café works? What happens there?

Recovery Café has a membership model. In order to participate there, you become a member, with just a few very simple requirements. We ask that you be clean and sober while you're at the Recovery Café space, that you give back to the space through acts of service — whether that's helping out with chores or volunteering in some other capacity — and that you participate in a weekly recovery circle, which is just a peer-run check-in group. So, that's how the membership model works, and what happens there is really connection. That's what's at the core of our work and what's happening at the space. People getting an opportunity to come together, to connect with one another, to support one another, to find the support that an individual may need, and to be a part of a community, which we know is key in combating issues with addiction.

For someone walking through the doors for the first time, what would they see? What would be going on?

The first thing they would smell is coffee. The first thing they would hear is lots of conversation. And they might see some laughter and hugs going around, and they would be welcomed. We have a person right at the front door who welcomes people right off the bat, whether it's their first time visiting or whether they've been a long time member. We will have a meal provided every day. We'll be serving lunch each day that we're open and try to have different activities and opportunities for engagement going on. So, when a person comes in, they can expect to be welcomed, and they can expect to be walking into a community that is safe and affirming to their recovery.

This is the first Recovery Café in Bellingham. What's the reception been like so far?

It's been really incredible. We served over 90 people on our first day open. We've also been getting some incredible support from partners and local organizations in the community. We've only been open for a couple weeks, but each day that we are open we have a full house. We get the opportunity to see the beauty and the magic that happens in these spaces. We get to see it at work in our community in Bellingham.

I can hear how proud you are and your gratitude for the reception in the community. I know it's early days so far, but what are your hopes for the future?

To grow. As of now, we are open two days a week, four hours a day. That's the capacity that we have. The core team has been largely acting as volunteers in these roles. Our hope for the future is to have our doors open every day for the community, or at least five to six days a week, to be able to grow into a larger space that we can sort of call our own, and really just to be able to grow to sufficiently meet the needs of recovery in our community. That's the hope for the future.

Listen to the interview by clicking the play button above.