The Model
The Model includes three Membership Agreements: being drug- and alcohol-free in the space, participating in a weekly Recovery Circle, and contributing to the Café. These agreements create a practice of loving accountability through which Members can gain stability in their recovery, deepen their sense of purpose and discover they have unique gifts to share.
Recovery Cafés offer food and beverage, and invite Members, volunteers, staff, and others into meaningful relationships. These practices of radical hospitality cultivate connection, belonging and support, transforming the larger community.
Membership Agreements
Recovery Cafés welcome all individuals seeking healing and community to become Members. While Membership is free, it involves making a meaningful commitment to shared agreements that support personal growth, mutual respect and collective care.
Be drug and alcohol free when in the Café community.
Participate in a weekly Recovery Circle.
Contribute to the Café community.
Why a Membership model?
We believe being part of a community contributes to a sense of belonging. By being held to Membership Agreements with loving accountability, we invite others to know us, hold us and support us in our ongoing journey of becoming–even when we struggle. They help us be deeply known and loved in all moments of our recovery, creating the foundation for healing relationships and authentic community.
All Recovery Cafés— regardless of location, size, or setting—offer the same programs and services that define what it means to be a Recovery Café.
A healing space fosters dignity and safety for everyone on the recovery journey, offering a welcoming, supportive environment to practice healthy ways of relating to ourselves and others.
Recovery Circles are small, weekly peer-led groups of up to 10 people, where Members come to be deeply known and share their recovery journeys, challenges, and successes. Circles are a core practice of loving accountability where we don’t come to fix each other, but rather support each other with honesty and compassion.
Shared meals offer nourishment and connection. Larger Cafés may run commercial kitchens serving free, healthy meals, while smaller or newly opened Cafés often provide simple options like snacks and coffee. Some partner with local organizations for meal delivery.
Cafés are places where Members discover that we all have gifts to share. Whether it’s showing up with kindness, helping out with food service, or eventually leading a Recovery Circle, every contribution matters. This empowers individuals to move from receiving care to becoming valued, active participants in the community.
For many, the journey of recovery is about discovering and re-discovering that we each have unique gifts to share with others. Member Leadership continues to expand on the idea that contributing to the community supports self-esteem, peer connections, and new skills development.
School for Recovery classes are designed to share knowledge, provide learning opportunities and invite companionship in the hard work of making healthier choices—wherever we are in our journey of recovery. There is no one set curriculum for the School for Recovery, and it can be built around Member needs and interests. Classes generally run 6-10 weeks and cover topics ranging from the recovery-specific to job and life-skills, to healthy living, and the creative arts.
