Photo of lady via Shutterstock. Background pic via SF Pride.
Epiphany Center, a residential drug and alcohol addiction recovery center and trauma treatment programs for women and their young children in San Francisco, has reportedly decided to not allow anyone to leave on passes this weekend because it’s Pride.
Nextdoor user S.B. posted on Thursday, June 25, calling people to spread the news in the hopes that “some people [will] come and protest against the blatant homophobia.” But commenters responded that because Epiphany is an addiction and rehab center, the decision to keep residents indoors during Pride weekend is the right one.
This topic is highly nuanced and a high-stakes debate within the recovery community. Treatment facilities, especially those who are serving as part of the justice system as an alternative to incarceration, have a duty to residents and their loved ones to ensure structural and systemic safety. If they allow folks out during a potentially triggering celebration, especially one known for party drugs and centering alcohol, someone could easily relapse. But Pride Weekend isn’t just about partying.
S.B. claims that the restrictions are examples of “bigotry and oppression.” For LGBTQ people, Pride Weekend is an important time to celebrate identity with friends and loved ones. But it’s also one of the highest risk environments of the year. Day passes are ways for recovering individuals to put themselves in “real world” situations while having the safety nets of their recovery center to return to. But when does the “real world” become too real for safety?
A day pass allows a resident to practice their coping mechanisms and ability to set strong boundaries when confronted with triggers. And because isolation is a known factor in using drugs and alcohol, it makes sense for recovering people to have access to day passes. It allows for controlled amounts of agency, a chance to test free will while balancing an often critical or dire need for restraint in the recovery journey.
Commenters on Nextdoor aren’t, of course, indicative of real world thoughts and opinions. Social media at large is often a place where the strongest and loudest voices shine out. So you might find yourself strongly disagreeing with the responses shared there, which in large part supported Epiphany’s policy choice.
But at the end of the day, people like S.B. will one day be free again, no counselor or facility to control their movements and plan their day. So what’s the right thing for places like Epiphany to do?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
