“I know that when I went to the other 12-step program literally there were five other Jewish people,” one person in recovery says in the JEEP film. “We sort of stood out like sore thumbs. There was some discomfort there because some of the prayers are not prayers that I was raised with.”
Cincinnati Jewish Recovery is a 12-Step meeting and class. It brings together the spiritual 12-Step approach and a deeper understanding of Judaism.
Sober Shabbos and holiday meals bring people together. “A lot of them have met at our table and build a beautiful community where they support each other,” one of the hosts says in the film. They have “become like a Jewish family for each other.”
At the recovery Passover Seder, one guest was struck by “the willingness to speak openly about recovery and to create an environment where there would be no social awkwardness.”
“…having a community of friends, which we actually call family… it’s absolutely needed in the recovery process because we don’t recover by ourselves.”
A member of the Jewish recovery community
Nan Franks, CEO of the Addiction Services Council, says: “…recovery is hard wherever you come from and whatever you’re recovering from. But it’s maybe even harder in the Jewish community because we don’t maybe talk about it enough.”
The Open Jewish Recovery Meeting meets on Wednesday evenings. Call or text 513-307-2386 for the location or the Zoom link.
About Cincinnati Jewish Recovery →
From the JEEP film.