Comments by Zoe Ma

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  • Many thanks for this eye opening article. I will never forget the warm welcomes I received from community members at both the Springfield and Holyoke RLC’s, when I was at one of the lowest points in my life. I was encouraged to see how many of us pulled together to speak with our state reps and senators in Boston about the budget cuts. Our community keeps people alive. We are the evidence because we are here.

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  • I can only speak from personal experience about the difference the Recovery Learning Community has made in my life. During one of the most difficult times I’ve experienced, I discovered the RLC while looking for community supports. While I struggled with overwhelming depression and panic, I waited the weeks it would take for traditional mental health support.

    In contrast, I was able to instantly connect with the RLC, no questions asked. It was a place where I could openly share my struggles, and where no one was scared off by my words or my symptoms. What I received in return was acceptance.

    Now I am in a better place and able to welcome and support others who come into the space. The ability to fill that role in a community that gave so much to me furthered my recovery in a way that no medication or mental health treatment ever could. The thought that our community could be devastated by a 50 % cut that would only save .5 % in a budget is both heartbreaking and terrifying. It inspires me to see so many of us come forward to prevent that from happening.

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