This session educates participants on gaming and gambling disorders, emphasizing peer coaching’s vital role in recovery. This course covers diagnostic criteria, impact, and treatment options, distinguishing between professional and peer-led support. Participants learn about practical wellness tools and strategies, including mindfulness and community building, to aid recovery. The presentation aims to reduce stigma, highlight the importance of shared experiences, and empower individuals with knowledge and resources. Through interactive elements and real-world examples, it promotes hope and encourages help-seeking, while providing access to community support and prevention strategies.
Sarah Matthews – CPRC
Christopher Keils – CPRC
For Indigenous people, healing is not just personal, it’s deeply cultural, historical, and communal. This panel brings together Indigenous voices to explore how reconnecting with culture, ceremony, land, language, and community serves as a powerful foundation for sustaining recovery. Panelists will share personal stories, discuss cultural connections and can answer questions that highlight the strength they have found while “Walking the Red Road.” Acknowledging and supporting the importance of cultural reclamation as a pathway to recovery can be helpful when supporting folks from tribal communities.
Anna Winters – CPRC, RCPF
Lacey Mandoka – CCAR-RC
Eric Sowmick – Skaabewis
“Helper” Bob Storrer- CADC, CCAR-RC
Sarah Deaton – MA, LLPC, NCC,CPRC
Eli Bennet – SCIT Member
Mindfulness is the practice of grounding yourself in the present moment with acceptance and non-judgement. There are many ways to practice mindfulness, and this presentation aims to teach key concepts and exercises that can be integrated into daily life. Attendees will have the opportunity to practice mindfulness skills as a group through breathwork, meditation, and journaling workshops. These skills can be used for peers in crisis setting, everyday activities, and with individuals served. Additionally, peers will be given tips to teach each of these learned skills to their consumers and continue the mission of creating a more conscious and fulfilling life.
Amaya Guthrie – CPSS
A hands-on, welcoming workshop for peer mentors, advocates, and everyday leaders who believe real change begins with connection. Together, we will use plain language, real life examples, and simple activities to explore how small actions- like offering support, listening with care, and sharing our lived experiences- can spark stronger, more inclusive communities. We will also talk about creating informal support circles around shared experiences, like dating as a woman with a disability, the pressure of being a service provider with lived experience, and the very risk of burnout. Along the way, we will look at trauma-informed ways to care for ourselves and others. Everyone will leave with practical tools, renewed confidence, and a clear first step to grow connection and community wherever we go.
Jamie Junior – BA, CCHW, RSST
Kenya R. Harper
Join us as we explore how recovery-focused employment support and workplace culture reform come together to create real opportunities for individuals in recovery. We will dive into practical, person-centered strategies that help job seekers succeed – from pre-employment, preparation to john placement, smooth transitions, and long-term retention. You will also learn how the Recovery-Friendly Workplace initiative is transforming company cultures and strengthening communities across Michigan so that job seekers and individuals in recovery can continue employment in a supportive environment. This session will demonstrate how partnerships with Recovery Community Organizations are bridging the gap by providing community-led education through lived experience and resources. Together, we will break down barriers, open doors to meaningful employment, and build workplaces where everyone has the chance to thrive.
Amy Miller
Nicki Gabel
Imagine what it would be like to get your point across with more clarity. What would it be like if you could structure your language into patterns that would help you get the results you want? The presenter will share 20 years of Powerful Communication Patterns so you can “plug and play” the words you need to shift people’s thinking and behavior to move further into recovery. For example- when you want to encourage someone and motivate them to change something in the future. Let’s have fun hearing ways to communicate with the unconscious mind too. Come and learn all these powerful communication patterns.
Chuck Hendrix – CPSS
This interactive training equips Michigan’s peer workforce with practical tools and collaborative strategies to effectively assess, engage, and support patients with SUD. Participants will explore evidence-based approaches to treatment, principles of trauma-informed care, and models for coordination between medical, behavioral health, and social service providers. Designed to break down silos and foster a unified approach to care, this training emphasizes communication, cultural humility, and recovery-oriented systems of support within acute care environments.
Darin Szczotka – LMSW, CPRC
James Decker – CPRC
Yolanda Preston – BSN, RN, CARN, CCM
