{"id":41926,"date":"2022-03-01T23:55:35","date_gmt":"2022-03-02T06:55:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/local-film-highlights-rafting-recovery-program-in-the-durango-area\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:04:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:04:19","slug":"local-film-highlights-rafting-recovery-program-in-the-durango-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/local-film-highlights-rafting-recovery-program-in-the-durango-area\/","title":{"rendered":"Local film highlights rafting recovery program in the Durango area"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Cruz
Cruz Baca, left, Candice Seay, center, Dante Downey, Chuck Dickenson and Kiva the dog on All Forward Adventures and Young People in Recovery's Colorado River rafting trip for those who have experienced substance abuse. (Courtesy of Shane Nelson)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

A local documentary premiering at the Durango Independent Film Festival tells the stories of some of those affected by substance abuse in the Durango area, following them as they participate in an adventure rafting trip for those in recovery.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Flow We Find\u201d documents a five-day float trip along the Colorado River led by All Forward Adventures\u2019 Rafting 4 Recovery program and the Durango chapter of Young People in Recovery for those who have been impacted by substance use.<\/p>\n

The film features the stories of three Durango-area community members as they recount their and their loved ones\u2019 experiences with addiction. It aims to localize substance abuse and reveal opportunities for redemption while highlighting the recovery solutions that already exist in Durango and destigmatizing recovery.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are very few people that become addicts for no reason. It just doesn\u2019t work that way,\u201d said Shane Nelson, owner and founder of All Forward Adventures and the film\u2019s director. \u201cThere are contributing factors, and when you\u2019re able to acknowledge those, you can work on your responsibility to heal and to address them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Flow We Find\u201d captures the personal stories of Sara Molitor, Lauri Schell and Cruz Baca, three Durango-area community members whose lives have been affected by addiction.<\/p>\n

Molitor struggled with substance abuse before becoming active in Durango\u2019s recovery community, and Schell lost her son Jake, a Durango High School alumnus, to an accidental overdose.<\/p>\n

\"Baca\"
Baca<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Parts of Baca\u2019s story will be familiar to those in Durango. He was arrested and sentenced<\/a> to two years in community corrections and 10 years of probation after a hit-and-run on College Drive that seriously injured two people.<\/p>\n

But after spending time in jail in La Plata County and Albuquerque and entering recovery, Baca began working with Young People in Recovery, a Denver-based recovery advocacy group, and mentoring those who struggle with substance abuse.<\/p>\n

Baca become a certified recovery coach and now works as the general manager of a hotel while helping to lead the local chapter of Young People in Recovery.<\/p>\n

All three participated in the rafting trip, which was a partnership between All Forward Adventures and Young People in Recovery. In September, the two organizations brought together 17 people affected substance abuse for the experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole trip is oriented around recovery and bringing a community together,\u201d said Candice Seay, national chapter coordinator for Young People in Recovery and the head of Durango\u2019s local chapter. \u201c\u2026 Every single activity that we did was curated to help foster connections; a popular phrase is the opposite of addiction is connection. We wanted to make sure that we were providing a space where people felt like they belonged.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the trip, Nelson, Seay and others led hikes and other group activities and discussions that focused on identity. The goal was to disconnect participants from their addictions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you get people out of their environment and away from the things that keep reinforcing their identity \u2013 what they are and what they are not \u2013 you get them in that place of wilderness,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cIt provides you room to reflect on who you are and how you got to be this way.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Baca, the rafting trip was profound.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach of us picked something and we released those pieces of ourselves and left them there in Moab,\u201d he said. \u201cWords do not do it justice, the emotions and the freedom that I experienced on that trip.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\u201cThe
\u201cThe Flow We Find\u201d follows All Forward Adventures and Young People in Recovery\u2019s Colorado River rafting trip. The documentary tackles addiction recovery and highlights the stories of some of those in the Durango area community who have been affected by substance abuse. (Courtesy of Shane Nelson)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

In addition to following the trip and the stories of some of its participants, the film points to Young People in Recovery and Rafting 4 Recovery as ongoing solutions to substance abuse in Durango.<\/p>\n

Young People in Recovery serves as a hub for those in recovery in the area, offering a community of supporters, recovery meetings and social events.<\/p>\n

Seay, Baca and the Durango chapter organize barbecues, art nights and other sober activities. They even have a kickball team in the city\u2019s recreation league that calls itself \u201cKicking the Habit.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Young People in Recovery model is designed to meet the diverse needs of those struggling with abuse.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really embrace the many paths of recovery,\u201d Seay said. \u201cThere are some traditional recovery modalities that are really well known (like Alcoholics Anonymous) and have been very effective for a lot of people, but they\u2019re not appealing to everybody. There needs to be like multiple doors for people to walk through if a particular program doesn\u2019t fit their niche.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of the organization\u2019s mission is to show young people that the cycle of addiction can by broken by meaningful connection with others, Baca said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we can provide these services like Young People in Recovery for these younger kids before they go down that road that I went down, which is 20-plus years of addiction and struggle, it will literally change the world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Like Young People in Recovery, Nelson and Rafting 4 Recovery offer an alternative to more traditional recovery programs that are often centered on faith. Instead, Nelson uses the power of the environment to help those in recovery or struggling with addiction heal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe wilderness is honest. It doesn\u2019t have the capacity to lie to you,\u201d Nelson, a licensed school psychologist who has also worked at Animas High School, said. \u201c\u2026 Nature is so pure and raw and it cuts right to the core of a person, directly to the root of the problem. That core of the person is also the root of the solution.\u201d<\/p>\n

While rafting, participants must be present, and the desert environment and activities of the trip help people undergo the intensive and emotional introspection that ultimately leads to change, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the solutions within us, we just need help to cultivate them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Nelson also runs rafting trips that help veterans, many of whom struggle with trauma and substance use.<\/p>\n

When fundraising for the trips, which are free or low-cost, Nelson finds immediate and widespread support. But donors quickly dry up for trips that serve community members who have experienced substance abuse.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I say I\u2019m raising money for people in addiction, the hands go to the hips, and they\u2019re like, \u2018Good for you. I hope that works out,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cThere is absolutely a change in the way a person sees an addict versus a veteran (with) addiction issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baca has experienced the stigma of addiction firsthand. He hopes that by showing his story the film can help the Durango community realize that substance abuse affects many families in the area, and that recovery is possible.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Addiction and recovery) doesn\u2019t look like the people under the bridge,\u201d he said. \u201cAddicts and drug users that are really deep into their use turn into people like me with the right resources.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nelson and Seay envision the film paving the way for greater community support and investment in substance abuse services and programs, as well as prevention.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more people start to understand why addiction happens, it helps create more compassion because these stories are rooted in trauma,\u201d Seay said. \u201cWhen people can gain some compassion and then also see that people can and do recover, it helps increase support.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Flow We Find\u201d premieres during the Durango Independent Film Festival at 8 p.m. Friday at the Durango Arts Center.<\/p>\n

ahannon@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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