“Our Mission is to serve anyone seeking recovery from substance use concerns, with or without mental health complications, by creating safe and healthy recovery friendly communities in northern Lower Michigan.”
We had the opportunity to sit down with Caitlin Koucky, Executive Director of Community Recovery Alliance (CRA), to learn about the work they are doing to build and support a recovery community in Petoskey.
CRA is our April Cents of Community recipient. Incorporated in 2018, they became a recovery community organization in 2019 and, by 2023, opened the first non-Alano Club recovery-based community center in northern Michigan.
CRA is a multiple pathway recovery organization. Catlin shares, “We really believe in building your own pathway to recovery and what that means to you.”
All services at CRA are free. They are primarily grant-funded and are also building a donor base to make sure they can keep offerings at no charge to all. Everyone who works at CRA has lived experience and is ready to meet people where they are. Keeping services low-barrier is a priority, so they do not bill insurance and keep intake simple.
At the community center, visitors can stop in for coffee and conversation. The space includes a rec room with a foosball table and a Nintendo Switch—designed to be welcoming and a place where people belong. Catlin reminds us, “Recovery doesn’t have to be boring.” They have a lot of fun at CRA, be sure to check out their events.
They host multi-pathway recovery meetings Monday–Friday at noon, including LifeRing, SMART Recovery, and All-Recovery, plus a Tuesday evening All-Recovery meeting at 6 pm. All meetings are hybrid, allowing participation in person or via Zoom and reducing barriers like transportation and weather.
CRA also offers peer recovery coaching for pathways not currently represented in meetings. These eight-session programs include Dharma recovery, which is a Buddhist meditation-based recovery, and Seeking Safety, which addresses trauma in Substance Use Disorder (SUD). They also offer SMART Family and Friends, a 12-week series that helps participants understand and support their loved one better. Participants can come and go as they want, picking and choosing which lessons they want to work on.
CRA also focuses on harm reduction, offering Narcan trainings and access to the nasal spray that can reverse an opioid overdose. You can learn more about harm reduction here.
A major focus of CRA’s work is reducing the stigma around Substance Use Disorder (SUD), both internal and external. Due to stigma, CRA has faced challenges finding rental space in Petoskey; many support the idea of a recovery center, but not next door.
CRA is helping shift this by recovering out loud and addressing stigma within the recovery community itself, including judgments around different recovery pathways and the use of medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD), which Catlin notes is no different than other prescribed medications.
“We believe that we recover together, and that we can’t recover in silence or in silos. So, people only know about the hope and possibility of recovery if other people also show that.” She went on to share that not all people can recover out loud due to the positions that they hold but for those that can, it helps to shine a light that shows others recovery is possible.
Another way CRA is fighting stigma is through their Recovery Friendly Workplace certification, which we are proud to have completed in early 2026. This program helps organizations better support employees in recovery or those with loved ones in recovery.
This work is especially meaningful to us because it was championed by beloved Grain Train Owner Kate Winnell, who helped lay the foundation for what began as One Voice, One Vision and later became CRA. Kate, who passed away in 2024, cared deeply about this mission, and we know she would be proud to see her Co-op now recognized as a Recovery Friendly Workplace.
When we asked what Catlin wanted the Grain Train community to know, she said, “I would like the Grain Train community to know that recovery is possible. We like to say that the opposite of addiction is connection. We are so grateful that the Grain Train Community is part of our local recovery community. Together, we can support more people on their recovery journeys. We are excited to be celebrating recovery this month with the Grain Train and thank you for your support.”
We hope you will consider rounding up this April to support CRA. Your donations help keep services free and support plans for a forever location for our Community Center.
Until next time keep cooperating—we’ll see you at the stores.
