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.

On Mattering & Belonging in Addiction Recovery, Older Adults and Beyond

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Mattering definition: being of importance; having significance in our own lives and the lives of others. Belonging definition: a feeling of being happy or comfortable as part of a particular group and having a good relationship with the other members of the group because they welcome you and accept you. Mattering, belonging and connection have … Continue reading On Mattering & Belonging in Addiction Recovery, Older Adults and Beyond

Revisiting William White: Can Recovering People Drink? – A Historical Footnote with Current World Relevance – William Stauffer

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"So what does one take from this interesting historical footnote? History promises us important lessons if we sit at her feet and listen carefully to her stories.” – William White, Can Recovering People Drink?  I recently ran across a 2007 Paper by William White, Can Recovering People Drink? A Historical Footnote. He documents facets of … Continue reading Revisiting William White: Can Recovering People Drink? – A Historical Footnote with Current World Relevance – William Stauffer

The Tragic & Predictable Known Unknown Challenges of Medetomidine and Xylazine – William Stauffer

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Medetomidine and Xylazine have been in our drug supply for years, but their use is becoming increasingly prevalent on streets across America. They are typically being mixed with short acting opioids, primarily Fentanyl in order to enhance the synergistic effects. For readers, this is two plus two equals eight as anyone who ever had a … Continue reading The Tragic & Predictable Known Unknown Challenges of Medetomidine and Xylazine – William Stauffer

C-CHIME: Seeing the connected forest through the individual trees – A cascade model of building recovery capital through community and connections – Dr David Best, Bill Stauffer June 2025

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We can think about the people in recovery like individual trees in a forest. A forest is not just a group of individual trees; they are interconnected in what has been termed the “wood wide web.”  All the trees, plants and microbial organisms in a forest are in reality connected to each other. The wood … Continue reading C-CHIME: Seeing the connected forest through the individual trees – A cascade model of building recovery capital through community and connections – Dr David Best, Bill Stauffer June 2025

Tobacco Recovery in the Addiction Recovery Space: Time for Action!

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“For decades, people in recovery from addictions to other drugs have their lives cut short by tobacco-related diseases. Their drear friends, patients, and colleagues died from nicotine addiction, but it could also be said they died from blindness – the failure to see nicotine as an addictive drug and the failure to see smoking cessation … Continue reading Tobacco Recovery in the Addiction Recovery Space: Time for Action!

Constricted Ways of Knowing and the Loss of Recovery as a Focus of Our Institutions

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“The experts on recovery are people in recovery” – Rallying Cry from the Era of the New Recovery Advocacy Movement. We once, not long ago, had a movement in America embraced broadly across our society in which people in recovery began to inform the fledgling research on our healing. It influenced a strengths orientation within … Continue reading Constricted Ways of Knowing and the Loss of Recovery as a Focus of Our Institutions

The Arc of Recovery Movement History Ultimately Bends Towards Expansion – William Stauffer & Dr David Best

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I recently wrote a piece, Considering the Facets of Whites Laws of Recovery Dynamics to further the dialogue on how the New Recovery Advocacy movement fits into a broader dynamic of cresting and ebbing efforts to expand long term recovery in America as the norm in our society. As an aside and to be candid, … Continue reading The Arc of Recovery Movement History Ultimately Bends Towards Expansion – William Stauffer & Dr David Best

Building Bridges Between Islands of Healing – Revised from Jan 2022

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“Let us use whatever power and influence we have, working with whatever resources are already available, mobilizing the people who are with us to work for what they care about.” – Margaret Wheatley I have reposted this from time to time and in this version corrected some wording and added citations. The title of this … Continue reading Building Bridges Between Islands of Healing – Revised from Jan 2022