My organization, PRO-A recently joined 36 other state and regional recovery community organizations across America and sent this letter to Congress to educate them on the woefully inadequate funding for grassroots recovery community organizations. Disparate funding is the norm even as Billions of supplemental dollars flow out to the states. Even when these allocations specifically … Continue reading Attempting to Strengthen Recovery Capital Against a Tide of Disenfranchisement
Author: billstaufferpa
Reflections on the historic 2001 Recovery Summit in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the start of the New Recovery Advocacy Movement Article One – The Thoughts of Recovery Historian Bill White
Background: History is incredibly important to how we understand ourselves, where we came from, where we stand now and to assist us in determining our pathways forward. Few things are more important to me than understanding the New Recovery Advocacy Movement and to support efforts to move us towards an expanded recovery community across America. … Continue reading Reflections on the historic 2001 Recovery Summit in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the start of the New Recovery Advocacy Movement Article One – The Thoughts of Recovery Historian Bill White
A System that Fails to Retain its History or Prepare for the Future
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana The other day I was on a zoom call and I could see a poster of local recovery history behind one of the persons I was talking to. I asked about it, and he told me he had stumbled on the … Continue reading A System that Fails to Retain its History or Prepare for the Future
The Piper Must be Paid, Sooner or Later
America has been using more substance during the COVID-19 pandemic, a result of increased stress and isolation. We are starting to glimpse the repercussions of these dynamics. There is early evidence of the consequences of heavier use across our society. The Los Angeles Times recently reported that hospitals affiliated with the University of Michigan, Northwestern … Continue reading The Piper Must be Paid, Sooner or Later
Gratitude and Recovery, Revisited
This is not my first post on gratitude, I posted this one back in 2019 and more recently this one in 2020 writing about what I call my “Eeyore Brain.” This is a subject I am deeply reflective on because I have struggled with it over my life. As this 2016 article from Forbes notes, … Continue reading Gratitude and Recovery, Revisited
We All Want to Flourish, Those Served in Substance Use Care Deserve Nothing Less
A few weeks back, fellow writer and colleague Jason Schwartz posted a piece titled Meaning and purpose in the context of opioid overdose deaths. It and the related article of the same title written by outgoing Editor in Chief, Dr. Eric Strain of Drug and Alcohol Dependence deeply resonated with me. Dr Strain lists some … Continue reading We All Want to Flourish, Those Served in Substance Use Care Deserve Nothing Less
The More Things Change…
Our systems of care have never actually been designed to meet the needs of persons with substance use disorders. I am not disparaging those early pioneers or those that came after who have worked very hard to implement even small elements of what an effective care system should include. All the way back to the … Continue reading The More Things Change…
Pushing the Gear Shift of Conduct Back from Neutral to Good
The recovery connection to this post may be a bit tangential, but I do see the processes of critical thinking, self-evaluation and a stance of empathy towards others as vital to the recovery process. As a person who has lived in addiction and experienced conducting myself in ways that were far out of my value … Continue reading Pushing the Gear Shift of Conduct Back from Neutral to Good
Moving Beyond Narrow, Whack-A Mole Care System Design
While there is much we do not know about addiction and recovery, there are things we know well but do not apply to our care system design. I am going to attempt to cover three of those in this blog posts because they interrelate. The first is that we have long term drug use patterns … Continue reading Moving Beyond Narrow, Whack-A Mole Care System Design
Alcohol Use Disorders– the Silent and Common Killer Amongst Us
Thinking a lot these days about alcohol, like all drugs it is neither good nor bad, but even among those who can moderate, there are always a cost. As behavioral neuroscientist Dr Judith Grisel notes, every time you use a drug there is a good feeling, but there is always a “payback” as the brain … Continue reading Alcohol Use Disorders– the Silent and Common Killer Amongst Us