The SOAR Initiative

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AA and NA were never designed to be treatment.

That raises an important question:
Why are we requiring participation in a voluntary peer-support fellowship instead of offering evidence-based, individualized care?

One of the biggest misconceptions in SUD care is that Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) are treatment programs.

They aren’t.

AA began in 1935 as a voluntary, peer-led fellowship of people helping one another stay sober. NA followed decades later using a similar model. Neither organization was created to replace medical care, professional counseling, behavioral health treatment, or individualized recovery planning.

Yet today, many treatment programs make 12-step meeting attendance mandatory or treat participation as the primary intervention.

Recovery isn’t one size fits all.

For some people, AA or NA becomes a life-changing source of connection and support. For others, SMART Recovery, Recovery Dharma, medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD), therapy, faith communities, harm reduction, cali sober, or another pathway may be a better fit.

People deserve choices.

Peer support is valuable, but peer support is not treatment. Treatment is treatment. Recovery support is recovery support. Conflating the two can leave people without the clinical care they need or the autonomy to choose the recovery pathway that works for them.

At SOAR, we believe in meeting people where they are, respecting self-determination, and supporting multiple pathways to recovery. The goal isn’t to fit people into one model, it’s to help people find the approach that gives them the best chance to survive and thrive.

Recovery is personal. Choice matters. Evidence matters. People matter.

Yellow Springs Pride stop by and see us right across from the rainbow grab a keychain and some unconditional love 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈