During National Recovery Month, the King County Council honors David Coffey, Recovery Café with 2023 Recovery Champion Award

September 5, 2023

During National Recovery Month, the King County Council on Tuesday presented Recovery Café and its Executive Director David Coffey with the 2023 Recovery Champion Award.
"Recovery Café, under David Coffey’s leadership, is an exemplary organization that offers life-changing services for folks who struggle with addiction and mental health,” said Dunn. “Because of their work, countless people have found hope and community along their recovery journey. Today we honor their contribution to helping folks in King County recover.”

Created in 2022 through legislation proposed by Councilmember Reagan Dunn and co-sponsored by Councilmember Sarah Perry, the Recovery Champion Award recognizes a person or organization within King County that has demonstrated hard work and passion in helping those with substance use disorders. The award coincides with Recovery Month, a nationwide observance that occurs every September to celebrate the gains made by those in recovery from substance use and mental health.
“I am profoundly grateful to the King County Council for their support of recovery services and for this award,” said David Coffey. “Along with prevention and treatment, recovery support is the critical third leg of the stool to successfully address substance use disorders. Being a part of the recovery movement and Recovery Cafe has been one of the greatest gifts of my life.”

Since 2003, Recovery Café has provided a variety of services that build a comprehensive network of recovery solutions, giving people access to helplines, support groups, treatment programs and overdose prevention all throughout King County. Recovery Café is designed to help reduce relapse and maintain recovery, providing clients with nutritious meals, peer-to-peer accountability groups, volunteer and educational opportunities, 12-step meetings, and referral services in a drug and alcohol-free environment.  

“Each time that I visit the Recovery Café, I am consistently and increasingly impressed. David Coffey’s dedication to the vitality of the café, its programs, and the safety and wellbeing of its members is unparalleled, and it is a pleasure to honor such distinguished work and leadership,” said Kohl-Welles. “David and the Recovery Café staff and volunteers do the inspiring and necessary work each day to create a supportive community for those recovering from addiction, and truly exemplify what it means to be selfless.”

The King County Council today also recognized National Recovery Month in King County. The tagline of Recovery Month is “Every Person, Every Family, Every Community”—a reminder that no one is alone on their journey and that we are all in this together. Recovery Month works to promote and support new evidence-based treatment and recovery practices, the emergence of a strong and proud recovery community, and the dedication of service providers and community members across the nation who make recovery in all its forms possible.

"I am grateful for SAMHSA and all the places across our country that take the time to celebrate recovery every September. Currently, there are over 23 million Americans who are in recovery from substance use,” said Heather Venegas, Director of the King County Recovery Coalition. “Recovery Month gives us an opportunity to bring this into the conversations we are having and hearing - that We DO Recover, that recovery is possible and that there is always hope. We matter.”