On the 28th of April, 1972, Jimmy Reid, a blue-collar shop steward at the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders in Glasgow Scotland gave his inaugural address as the Rector of the University of Glasgow. The Rector is a senior official of the University, elected every three years to represent the interests of the students. It was a … Continue reading Beyond the Rat Race – Resilient Society in the Age of Alienation
Author: billstaufferpa
William Stauffer is the Director of Pennsylvania Recovery Organization Alliance (PRO-A). In recovery for well over 3 decades, he is a nationally recognized trainer and writer addiction and recovery. He has testified to the US Senate Special Committee on Aging and in 2019, he organized a hearing with the PA House Human Services Committee to expand opportunities for young people. He is a past co-chair of the public policy committee for Faces & Voices of Recovery and the 2019 recipient of the Vernon Johnson Award Individual Recovery Advocate of the year. He teaches Social Work at Misericordia University. He was recently named to the Leadership Council of Foundations for Drug Policy Solutions (FDPS) a national think / do tank where he serves alongside some of the most respected leaders in the SUD service system. In December 2022, Mr. Stauffer was invited to serve Governor-Elect Josh Shapiro & Lieutenant Gov-Elect Austin Davis on the state Human Services transition team.
Fostering Recovery Community: Mutual Support with Broad Societal Benefit
“People are social creatures who need human interaction to drive and sustain their physical, intellectual and emotional development. The determination of who they interact with from the time of birth throughout their lifetimes is critical to who they become, how they behave, and how they are perceived (or misperceived) by others outside their immediate social … Continue reading Fostering Recovery Community: Mutual Support with Broad Societal Benefit
Gratitude and Addiction Recovery: Validating Experiential Ways of Knowing – William Stauffer
Gratitude is an example of a recovery tool that is grounded in experiential knowledge. A tool used across history in a myriad of mutual support communities. It evolved from indigenous recovery community trial and error practices. That is to say that people in recovery for a very long time have been practicing gratitude as a … Continue reading Gratitude and Addiction Recovery: Validating Experiential Ways of Knowing – William Stauffer
The Coproduction of a Recovery Evidence Base on the Frontiers of Future Recovery Research
Frontiers of Recovery Research Series – William White Interview with Bill Stauffer What an honor it is in my life to do this interview. I think the first time I ever heard the name William White was when I read the book Pathways from the Culture of Addiction to the Culture of Recovery: A … Continue reading The Coproduction of a Recovery Evidence Base on the Frontiers of Future Recovery Research
Recovery Management Nestled in a Recovery Grounded System of Care – an Interview with Dr Michael Flaherty
Frontiers of Recovery Research Interview Series – William Stauffer What is this series of interviews? In April of 2024, I had the distinct honor of being asked by William White author and thought leader of the new recovery advocacy movement to present his words as the keynote to open up the first annual NIDA Consortium … Continue reading Recovery Management Nestled in a Recovery Grounded System of Care – an Interview with Dr Michael Flaherty
The Social Model of Recovery: Where the Change Happens
William Stauffer, LSW, PMAC, PECS & Enid Osborne, PhD, MPH, MSW In September, at the 2025 National Association of Recovery Residences Best Practices Summit, held in Sandusky, OH, one of the most notable presentations was that of Dr. Thomasina Borkman. While younger readers may not know her name, they should. She is a pioneering sociologist … Continue reading The Social Model of Recovery: Where the Change Happens
Gatekeeping Out the Recovering Workforce: Repeating History
A generation ago, in the early 1970s, the substance use treatment field was born. What it lacked in evidence base, which is a challenge for any emerging field, it more than made up for in vigor. People in recovery were eager to help others into recovery. Bill White noted pervasive volunteering in the field in … Continue reading Gatekeeping Out the Recovering Workforce: Repeating History
Listening to Echoes of Our Own History
Authors Note: A version of this is currently in Counselor Magazine. I submitted it for consideration in May 2023 and received notice of it being used last week. My credentials have changed since then and there were substantive changes to the work. The citations here are consistent with what was submitted. I am pleased that … Continue reading Listening to Echoes of Our Own History
Long Term Recovery – the Policy Opportunities of Demand Reduction to Strengthen Our Nation
Many years ago, I met with a conservative member of Congress from my home state of Pennsylvania who eventually went on to the US Senate. I was relatively new to legislative meetings but quite passionate about recovery, even in those days. His background before serving politically was in international economics. When I got done explaining … Continue reading Long Term Recovery – the Policy Opportunities of Demand Reduction to Strengthen Our Nation
History Repeating – the “Opioid” Epidemic Supplanting the Recovery Movement: Pathology Over Resiliency and Healing
“The historical sense involves a perception, not only of the pastness of the past, but of its presence” ― T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets The New Recovery Advocacy Movement got off the ground in America roughly three decades ago, during a time when addiction recovery policy and practice had fundamentally lost its way. In that era, … Continue reading History Repeating – the “Opioid” Epidemic Supplanting the Recovery Movement: Pathology Over Resiliency and Healing
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