About Us
About Recovery Walk Cape Town
Recovery Walk Cape Town (RWCT) is an independent group collaborating with like-minded organisations. We support open recovery. We support inclusive clean & sober events. We are not affiliated with any organisations, corporations, 12-step groups, political parties, or religions. We strongly challenge the stigma that shames and silences us. Seldom are events organised that focus primarily on supporting and enhancing our mental health.
We are a team of volunteers. Our aim is to create an event that celebrates recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs, and mental illness, to show that we do recover, and to honour the many pathways to recovery.
Recovery Walks internationally have been encouraging open recovery for over 30 years. The first Cape Town Recovery Walk ran successfully in 2014 and has grown to attract over 700 people.
History of recovery walk cape town
A meeting was called in 2014 for people who would be interested in learning about the Recovery Walks that happen internationally during September, the month of international recovery awareness. On the 24th of September 2015, Heritage Day in South Africa, the first Recovery Walk was held in Cape Town.
The route from the Central Methodist Mission in Green Market Square to The Labia Theatre ran successfully for four years and grew to attract around 400 people who gathered together to celebrate recovery. Messages of support were received from Recovery Walks around the world. In 2018 a message of support was received from the Mayor of Cape Town.
In 2019 the Recovery Walk moved from the CBD of Cape Town to the Joseph Stone Auditorium in Athlone. Again a successful and well-attended event was held. Cape Town Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health was the guest speaker at the official opening. The RWCT team planned to run the 2020 Recovery Walk at the same venue but due to the coronavirus pandemic, the team had to rethink the event.
The Covid-19 regulations made it impossible for large gatherings. In 2020 a Recovery Drive was held and by hiring a truck the message of recovery was brought to seven areas around greater Cape Town. It was successful in that a recovery event was held under severe pandemic restrictions.
In 2021 the Recovery Walk was held at Maynardville Park in Wynberg in person with a host of activities and recovery stalls including a short Recovery Walk. Due to Covid-19 uncertainty keeping many at home, the event was live-streamed. It was a recovery day in the park that was enjoyed by all who attended.
2022 saw the Recovery Walk Cape Town finding a new home through The Spring Foundation and Lentegeur Psychiatric Hospital. This was the biggest Recovery Walk yet with more than 700 participants taking to the streets of Mitchells Plain. This was an incredibly well attended and successful event. Lentegeur Psychiatric Hospital agreed to host future Recovery Walk Cape Town events.
2023 we decided to continue building the Recovery Walk Cape Town at Lentegeur in the aim of capacitating this community to independently run Recovery Walk Mitchells Plain as a satellite recovery walk space with the goal of hosting a main event in Cape Town City Center by 2026. We plan to create a model for how communities around South Africa, and the world, can independently set up their own Recovery Walk events.
Fundraising
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Email us recoverywalkcapetown@gmail.com