Adam Avila wore a full hockey uniform while he skated in Treadwell Ice Arena, but he wasn’t there for a game.<\/p>\n
Avila does play league hockey, but he was skating as one of the attendees of the Great Bear Recovery Collective’s Second Annual Disco on Ice: Recovery Ice Skating Party.<\/p>\n
“This is my second skating special,” Avila said. “I’ve never met a group of people who were so willing to help each other. There’s one thing we all share in common. It melts all the differences away.”<\/p>\n
Great Bear Recovery Collective<\/a> is a network of people in recovery in Juneau and is partnered with Juneau Alliance for Mental Health Inc. Health & Wellness, Juneau Reentry Coalition, Juneau Opioid Work Group and Juneau Suicide Prevention Coalition. The collective is about two years old, said Carrie Amott, peer support coordinator for JAMHI and board member for Great Bear Recovery Collective.<\/p>\n [Master Tlingit carver makes totem for aware as part of recovery journey<\/a>]<\/ins><\/p>\n Amott said the second-year skating party attracted a much larger crowd of people than last year’s and many of those in attendance were not people she recognized as being part of the recovery network.<\/p>\n “It’s actually half and half,” Amott said. “A lot of these faces I have seen before. A lot of them, I haven’t.”<\/p>\n Jason Burke and 3-year-old Vinny Burke were there to enjoy an afternoon of skating, disco lights and maybe a cup of complimentary hot chocolate.<\/p>\n “This is our third time skating,” Jason Burke said. “He’s just learning.”<\/p>\n Embracing the program<\/strong><\/p>\n Avila, who is from Sitka, was one of several people in recovery at the Saturday afternoon event who found their way to the program through Juneau Therapeutic Court, an 18-month program that serves as an alternative to jail time for people with drug or alcohol addictions.<\/p>\n “You’ve got to embrace the program,” said Gary Piper, who is part of the collective thanks to JTC<\/a>.<\/p>\n