A Q&A with filmmaker Paul J. Steinbroner, director of Welcome to Recovery Cafe
This Q&A, facilitated by Jeremiah Gardner of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, was published for Hazelden Betty Ford’s monthly Recovery Advocacy Update. If you’d like to receive our advocacy emails, subscribe today.
Let’s start by talking about the new film, Welcome to Recovery Cafe, which I really enjoyed and recommend. What did you love about that project, what did you learn, who should watch it, and how can they watch it?
I started visiting the first Recovery Cafe in Seattle in 2017. Killian Noe, the founder, is the real deal; she wanted to stand in the gap for folks that needed a supportive loving environment where they could feel safe and included. The Recovery Cafe model is about community and connection. It provides stability and a sense of being and belonging. The food is great too and there are a lot of things to do that I would consider soul expanding. They have AA, NA and recovery circle meetings there as well as writing classes, art, choir, and a running club. So many ways to belong and just feel comfortable about being yourself and living a substance-free life.
