Adrienne Edwards-Goodbee is no stranger to the power of compassion. That’s clear from the gentle energy she brings to Recovery Café Longmont on the days she volunteers. She seems to create a space of calmness around her, a real gift in the sometimes-frenetic environment of the Café.
A nurse practitioner by training, Adrienne says her 20 years in the field taught her to be very perceptive to compassion. When she began volunteering at the Café, she was struck by what she saw. “I think one of the most notable things for me is how compassionate the members are towards each other,” she says. “It’s been amazing to see them lift each other up and celebrate things that are really important to each other.”
OPTIMISM & HOPE
Although she recognizes that what goes on in the Café is not therapy, she notes that relationships and community are both therapeutic in a broader sense. “Recovery Café Longmont is a safe place where people can come and maybe try out some interpersonal relationships that are healthy,” she says. “It’s really a huge place of optimism and hope.”
From what she sees, members are already doing the work to make the Café a positive community. Her role as a volunteer is simply to support what is already in place, something which shows in her ability to adapt to whatever the day brings.
In addition to volunteering, Adrienne stays busy spending time with her 14-year-old daughter and working in her garden. After leaving the nursing field a few years ago, she is now exploring her passion for wellness coaching. Wellness coaching is a practice that helps motivated people create and move towards goals they set for themselves. Adrienne will be offering this as a School for Recovery course at the Café starting in mid-August.
FEELING HONORED
Reflecting on what she likes best about Recovery Café Longmont, Adrienne says, “I feel honored to get to know some brave people who are trying to make their lives better, whatever that might mean for them.”
Whatever that might mean for them. In those six words, Adrienne beautifully encapsulates what we are striving to do at the Café: to accept people as they are while also supporting them to become their best, truest selves. We are so thankful that she brings this perspective and her many other gifts to the Café.
