Tom Allan
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Tom Allan |
Tom Allan first started coming to Kindred Spirits in 1992, when it was still called Recovery Camp and Steve Andrew and Satyena Ananda were directing. Tom and his wife, Desiree Lawrence, were struggling in their marriage and went to Steve for counseling. Steve told them about the camp and Dez decided she wanted to go, so Tom figured he better go. They first came to camp to work on their relationship and to find community.
Four years later, Tom became a staff-in-training, campers who helped run the camp, and he continued in that role for five years. He showed such potential that he jumped right past being a staff person and became a director-in-training in 2001. Tom is a client-centered therapist and the director of an outpatient addictions treatment center in Portland, Maine. He has a passion for men’s work, was active in the Men’s Resource Center of Southern Maine, and was on the board of the Mainely Men’s Gathering for many years.
Rowe and Kindred Spirits mean a lot to Tom. His marriage was strengthened and he and Dez found the supportive community they had been seeking. In fact, they decided Kindred Spirits had given new life to each of them individually and as a couple and they chose the Rowe Chapel as the place to renew their wedding vows on their fifth wedding anniversary. Tom and Dez invited the whole camp community, not expecting that many would make the drive for a day, but the Rowe Chapel was filled with the loving energy of joy and support from the Kindred Spirits Community.
 Emmy Rainwalker |
In the fifteen years, Tom has seen many changes. He saw the switch to goose energy, when Stephen Andrew left in 1997. Stephen had co-directed Liberation Camp for ten years before proposing the idea for a recovery camp. Lib Camp was growing very large and Stephen was growing more dissatisfied with what he felt was an inadequate kids program. The Recovery Movement was getting off the ground and Stephen saw this as a great opportunity. Sometimes dissatisfaction, vision, and opportunity come together to create something new. Recovery Camp began in 1989 with Steve and Emmy Rainwalker as the first co-directors. A high spirited, gifted, creative, charismatic leader, there were concerns that when Steve left it would be impossible to fill his shoes, but Tom credits Satyena Ananda, George Herrick-Lasua, and Susan Quinn for doing a masterful job of leading the camp through a difficult transition.
Tom recalls that, “Steve was an inspirational leader. He was great at bringing people together and helping them to be their most creative selves. His greatest gift was getting people interested in their own lives. He was the first person in my adult life that inspired me to really be me.”
As Tom looks back over his years in the Kindred Spirits community he reflects, “I am awed by how miraculous the whole process of recovery really is, how amazing the human potential for healing is, the ability of human beings to transcend their past and change, heal, and grow at any age.”
Tom’s commitment to the Kindred Spirits community has been admirable. He was ready to step down from directing a few years ago, but there wasn’t anyone ready to move into the lead position. It didn’t take much arm twisting to get him to reconsider. He is always willing to serve where needed. This year he will move back into the pack. (See article on goose energy ).
 Satyena Ananda |
One wonderful thing about goose energy is that when people stop directing, they don’t go away. Tom continues to be part of the Kindred Spirits staff. He believes in what Kindred Spirits has to offer and wants to spread the word so others can experience this amazing community. We thank Tom for all of his work over the years and for providing leadership to the camp through some tough transitions.
Tom is only one in a long line of folks who have given themselves in sustaining the program over the years. With apologies to anyone we may have overlooked, our thanks to Steve Andrew for the inspiration for Recovery Camp, Emmy Rainwalker for her leadership in the early years, Satyena Ananda, Susan Quinn, and George Herrick-Lasua for leading the camp through the big transition, Jona Bostwick , Julie Selwyn, Rodney Mashia, Robin Leal, and current directors Desiree Lawrence, Peter Hogan, and Lisa Silverman for their commitment to sustaining this amazing community.
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