Women’s positive talk inspires hope in recovery

THREE women who are in recovery from addiction gave an enlightening and empowering talk in the Tallaght Rehabilitation Project (TRP) in Jobstown on Monday evening, to mark International Women’s Day.

The speakers at the event were Siobhan Fermoyle, Jessica Wade and Marian Nolan, who are all linked in with the Tallaght Rehabilitation Project.

The three women detailed their own experiences of being in recovery from addiction, to an audience of approximately 20 women, some of whom were at earlier stages of recovery.

Donna Doyle, the TRP project worker who organised the event, told The Echo: “Because this year’s theme for International Women’s Day is ‘Breaking the Bias’, especially considering the bias women face when accessing recovery, I thought having these three speakers would inspire hope in recovery.”

Having to account for childcare and dealing with the social stigma around accessing recovery are just some of the additional barriers women face when accessing treatment for addiction, according to Ms Doyle.

“Women face a multitude of biases, especially when you’re looking at women in recovery,” she explained.

“When you’re looking at women accessing treatment, they can have a fear of speaking up about their issues because they feel like they have to be the perfect mother or they feel that they’re supposed to stay home with the children and they can’t get childcare.

Jessica Wade, Siobhán Fermoyle and Marian Nolan spoke at the event

“Whether that bias is intentional or not, it’s quite layered and feeds into a lot of other things.”

For the women who gathered in TRP’s Kiltalown House premises on Monday, the talk gave them an opportunity to feel united and hopeful about their pursuit of recovery from addiction.

“The women were sitting and listening to other women who have been through it,” said Ms Doyle.

“They hear how those women got through things, and they’re things that a lot of the women who were listening could be going through right now.”

The uplifting impact of the talk was echoed by the manager of TRP, Pat Daly, who added: “It was very positive and very inspirational.

“And it shows that there is recovery in Tallaght, and people are getting better.”

TRP will also be holding a coffee morning in Kiltalown House this Friday, March 11, from 10.30am to 12.30pm to mark International Women’s Day.

Women from Tallaght and surrounding areas who are in recovery are invited to attend the event, which will feature a discussion on ‘Breaking the Bias’.

Light refreshments will be provided for attendees.