New Year’s Raven - artwork by Julie Miller of Haggis Vitae Studios, used by permission Sitting here on the last Sunday afternoon of the decade, I find myself reflecting on recovery and where we are at this moment in time. Much has occurred to expand recovery opportunities for every American with a substance use condition … Continue reading Reflections on Recovery at the end of the decade
Author: billstaufferpa
William Stauffer has been the Executive Director of Pennsylvania Recovery Organization Alliance (PRO-A), the statewide recovery organization of Pennsylvania. He is in long-term recovery since age 21 and has been actively engaged in public policy in the recovery arena for most of those years. He is also an adjunct professor of Social Work at Misericordia University in Dallas Pennsylvania. He holds a Bachelors in Social work degree from Cedar Crest College and a Masters Degree from Kutztown University.
William Stauffer has initiated numerous workforce expansion initiatives for persons in recovery. A major focus of his work has been aimed at moving our entire SUD care system towards a five-year care paradigm to dramatically expand the numbers of Americans in Recovery while saving lives, resources, and communities. Mr. Stauffer has been a staunch advocate for strong SUD Patient Privacy Protections at both the state and federal levels for many years. He ran a recovery house taskforce for the Pennsylvania that helped inform PA Act 59 of 2017. In 2018, he testified in front of the US Senate Special Committee on Aging on the opioid epidemic and older adults, and in 2019, he conducted a hearing with the PA House Human Services Committee to expand recovery opportunities for young people.
He is 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. Mr. Stauffer was also the 2002 Recipient of the Lecie G. Machell prize in Social Work and, prior to taking the position of executive director of PRO-A , received Pennsylvania Recovery Organization Alliances award of the Recovery Advocate of the year, in 2008.
Houston, we have a problem – narrowly focused care is not the bridge to recovery we need
Reflecting on articles on addiction and recovery that has come my way over the last week. Some encouraging, some more than a bit worrisome. In this post, I will try to weave them together in the context of long-term recovery. History shows us that framing addiction in narrow, single drug strategies sets us up time … Continue reading Houston, we have a problem – narrowly focused care is not the bridge to recovery we need
The neurology of addiction – never enough and no easy pathway of quick fixes
I wanted to post this February 2019 NPR interview with Neuroscientist Dr Judith Grisel. She is a scientist studying addiction and also a person in long term recovery. She confesses that after she got into recovery that she pursued studying the neuroscience of addiction in the hopes she could figure it all out and use … Continue reading The neurology of addiction – never enough and no easy pathway of quick fixes
Disparate Care Reinforces Low Expectations of Recovery
Earlier this week, the Washington Post published an article on how affordable treatment for mental health and substance use is getting harder to find. The article, published December 1st can be found here. It does not paint a pretty picture of our care system and shows that the main law, intended to protect persons seeking … Continue reading Disparate Care Reinforces Low Expectations of Recovery
Gratitude, the Brain and Recovery
grat·i·tude /ˈɡradəˌt(y)o͞od/ noun - the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. It is a great day for a post on gratitude – and first, thank you for reading this post and being involved in whatever you do to support recovery efforts in your community, I am grateful for … Continue reading Gratitude, the Brain and Recovery
Low expectation treatment for OUDs will yield poor outcomes over the long term
photo - Death Valley in bloom Currently, there is a lot of discussion about treatment for opioid use disorders. Here in Pennsylvania part of our policy discourse is on the prescribing of MAT such as suboxone and whether there should be some requirement to include treatment with the prescribing of the medication. Missing in most … Continue reading Low expectation treatment for OUDs will yield poor outcomes over the long term
Social Movements end – so how will the “new recovery advocacy movement” end?
Last Fall, I had the opportunity to spend time with David Mactas, he was the first Director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, and was instrumental in establishing the funding for recovery community organizations nationwide through the Recovery Community Service Provider – State Network (RCSP-SN) grants from SAMHSA. I was talking with him about … Continue reading Social Movements end – so how will the “new recovery advocacy movement” end?
