One key outcome of defining the recovery community, as this process unfolded in the RCSP grant projects, is the gradual emergence of core values. Values are beliefs that members of a group hold in common and endeavor to put into practice. They serve as principles that help guide the group in all aspects of its functioning.

Lessons Learned

A group that needs the participation and commitment of its members to achieve its purposes needs to honor and reflect what is important to its members. After identifying members’ individual values, the leaders and members worked together to determine what they valued as a group and to define what they expected of themselves and each other.

Five Core Values

Because of the wide variation among types of RCSP grantees, some differences were found in the evolution of values and guiding principles. Yet the projects collectively distilled five core beliefs that they believe constitute common ground among them as recovery communities:

• Recovery—Recovery comes first in all that we do.
• Inclusion—Recovery is a big tent and there is room for everybody.
• Authenticity—Members of the recovery community use their direct experiences to identify the problems and needs in recovery and find ways to address them.
• Participatory process—The full participation and commitment of individual members helps build strong, vibrant recovery communities.
• Leadership development—Developing new leaders enriches the community and helps ensure the community's growth.