Better Together: Connection as the Heart of Recovery at Lighthouse Recovery Community Center 

The opposite of addiction isn’t sobriety. It’s connection. 

In the warm, welcoming glow of Lighthouse Recovery Community Center’s (LRCC) Tuesday Family Dinner, this truth revealed itself with quiet power. Our healthcare students gathered around tables filled with tacos and stories—both equally nourishing in their own way. 

When Healing Happens Over Tacos 

There’s something profoundly human about sharing a meal. Barriers fall. Guards lower. As our Community Health Immersion (CHI) participants broke bread with LRCC participants, they witnessed something profound: recovery in action, not as a theoretical concept but as living, breathing reality. 

“The safe space of Lighthouse stood out to me. There was so much laughter and a family feel,” shared Janyssa Zipperer, a student at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. 

This wasn’t a clinical observation of recovery—it was immersion in a community where healing happens naturally, in the spaces between shared stories and passed plates. 

The Myth of Self-Reliance 

“People get better, and recovery works,” LRCC participants told us. Not through isolation, but through integration. Not through judgment, but through acceptance. 

One speaker’s words particularly resonated with CHI participants: “You cannot recover by yourself, but you need to recover for yourself.” This powerful paradox captures the essence of effective recovery—finding oneself through connection with others walking similar paths. 

Many Roads, One Destination 

What struck our CHI participants most was the diversity of recovery journeys. “There are many twists and turns on the road to recovery,” one student noted. 

Each story shared over dinner reflected unique experiences—different substances, varied traumas—but common threads emerged. Many battled self-worth issues. Many endured traumas. All reported that breathing techniques, mindfulness, and most importantly, community, helped them heal. 

“Everyone’s journey to and through recovery is different,” observed Talia Brach, a Public Health student from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Yet, the goal—a connected, meaningful life—remains the same. 

Self-Love as a Radical Act 

Perhaps most powerful was the emphasis on self-love as essential to recovery. 

“Find yourself and love yourself. Self-love is so important. If you don’t like yourself, it’s hard to change and make positive choices,” shared Cortny Racine, a Viterbo University nursing student. “It’s an eye-opening moment when people realize how much they are loved and supported.” 

One LRCC participant was moved to tears recounting what it meant to hear someone say, “I am proud of you.” For someone carrying the burden of unworthiness, these simple words of affirmation can become revolutionary acts of healing. 

Our CHI participants recognize that the struggle with self-worth is a natural human experience. Recovery magnifies the challenges many quietly endure, offering a mirror to our collective need for connection and belonging. 

A Different Vision of Healthcare 

For our CHI participants, the evening transformed their understanding of what healing from addiction truly requires. Beyond medications and interventions lies the profound healing power of community. 

“Lighthouse offers community support, acceptance, love, and safety to all. They do not turn anyone away,” noted Racine. 

Another CHI participant reflected, “Hearing the progressions that led people to more dangerous substances opens up a lot of thought for how we can better work as a society to address external factors.” 

Our future healthcare providers left transformed, carrying forward powerful new commitments:

• “I will use this knowledge to evaluate and recommend social support and find ways to support my local community.” 

• “I will provide messages of support, hope, and self-love.” 

• “Support shouldn’t be conditional. As a provider, in whatever stage someone is in, support is something people need.” 

The Lighthouse Effect 

LRCC stands as both metaphor and reality—providing a light of hope through the darkness of addiction. Their comprehensive approach honors all pathways to recovery through peer support, skill development, wellness management, mindfulness, and family support. 

But what makes LRCC truly special isn’t its programs. It’s the simple, profound understanding that recovery happens in community, in connection, in the web of relationships that remind us we belong. 

As one LRCC participant observed, “People spend as much time as they can at LRCC.” When a recovery center becomes a place people want to be rather than have to be, something transformative is happening. 

The Ripple Effect 

What begins as personal healing at LRCC often ripples outward. Many staff members started as volunteers. Those who receive support often become recovery coaches themselves. The healed become healers. 

This creates what sociologists call positive deviance—a community that succeeds against the odds by nurturing internal solutions rather than imposing external ones. 

Better Together 

Our evening at LRCC reinforced a vital lesson: true healing isn’t something professionals do to patients. It’s something communities do with each other. 

In a world often focused on individual achievement, LRCC reminds us of an essential truth: we heal better together. We grow better together. We become better together. 

And sometimes, that healing begins with something as simple as sharing tacos and stories around a table where everyone belongs. 

Looking Ahead: Manitowoc County Drug Court 

In our next Better Together blog post, we’ll explore another vital component of Manitowoc County’s recovery ecosystem: the Manitowoc County Drug Court Program (MCDCP). 

Drug Courts offer a structured, multi-phase program designed to break the cycle of addiction and crime. The mission of MCDCP is to enhance public safety through partnerships across the criminal justice system, creating accountability while fostering rehabilitation. 

Through coordinated, comprehensive approaches, the court works to promote behavioral change and interrupt addiction cycles using evidence-based practices delivered in culturally competent, strength-based, and trauma-informed ways. 

Court is held every Wednesday from 9:00–10:00 AM in Branch 4 and is open to the public—offering another window into the community-based solutions making a difference in recovery journeys. 

Wisconsin AHEC’s Community Health Immersion program partners with community organizations like Lighthouse Recovery Community Center to provide healthcare students with transformative learning experiences that shape more compassionate, effective healthcare professionals. 

To learn more about Lighthouse Recovery Community Center’s services in Manitowoc and Sheboygan, visit lighthouserecoverycommunitycenter.org. 

Interested in attending a Community Health Immersion?   

Priority is given to AHEC Scholars, but other students may join as space allows! These impactful experiences cover diverse healthcare topics and are offered across Wisconsin.   

👉 Learn more about Community Health Immersions   

👉 Discover the Wisconsin AHEC Scholars Program