There is a recent story that originated out of Spotlight PA by reporter Ed Mahon that keeps intruding in my thoughts as quite disturbing, Prior misconduct rarely an obstacle for doctors in Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program. Before delving into the details and why it is one that I find so troubling, first I would note … Continue reading Bias Against Recovery in PA Cannabis Certification Program
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.
The Recovery We See – Healing Across the Spectrum of SUDs
A decade ago, there was a viral moment on social media called “the Dress,” millions of people saw the picture here and chimed in on what color that they perceived the dress to be. It has its own Wikipedia reference. Viewers either see a black and blue dress, or white and gold dress. One article … Continue reading The Recovery We See – Healing Across the Spectrum of SUDs
Preserving & Building on Our Knowledge: The Vanishing Role of Special Libraries – Bill Stauffer & William White
“How Can an Academic Field Come So Far and Then Erase Itself?” – Andrea Mitchell Et Al, Collective Amnesia: Reversing the Global Epidemic of Addiction Library Closures (2012) Libraries and Librarians are unsung heroes--knowledge custodians who have played a critical role in human endeavors across the eons. Every major institution has seminal documents and generations … Continue reading Preserving & Building on Our Knowledge: The Vanishing Role of Special Libraries – Bill Stauffer & William White
Swimming In the River Lethe: Immersion in Un-mindfulness of our Own History
“Lethe is the river of forgetfulness that runs through the underworld, so the classics tell us, and there is nothing more potent than forgetfulness.” ― Kate Quinn As I wrote about in a recent piece, Ways of Knowing and Our AOD Treatment & Recovery Workforce, a major source of information about addiction and recovery is … Continue reading Swimming In the River Lethe: Immersion in Un-mindfulness of our Own History
Ways of Knowing and Our AOD Treatment & Recovery Workforce
In the addiction and recovery space, we often fail to see issues and related solutions through multiple lenses. We want simple answers and even simpler solutions to our most profoundly complex challenges. The proverbial silver bullet solution that ever fails us. As my colleague Jason Schwartz writes, we have multiple approaches to addressing drug problems, … Continue reading Ways of Knowing and Our AOD Treatment & Recovery Workforce
Revisiting the Algorithm of SUD Care Discrimination
In May of 2022, I wrote about the use of algorithms in substance use care and related discrimination against persons with substance use disorders, this is a revisit on that piece. The recent article in Wired Magazine, Eventbrite Promoted Illegal Opioid Sales to People Searching for Addiction Recovery Help, on how data about peoples addiction … Continue reading Revisiting the Algorithm of SUD Care Discrimination
A Recovery Disoriented System of Care
Bill Stauffer and Kevin Hyer, Esq. CEO of The Hyer Calling Foundation, Inc. There has long been a dream of a care and support system that would be informed by, facilitated by and funded to offer what people need to heal over the long term from one of our most pressing challenges, substance use disorders. … Continue reading A Recovery Disoriented System of Care
We Keep Pressing the Easy Button and It Still Is Not Working
"For every complex problem, there's a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong." - H.L. Mencken A recent article, The addiction crisis is even worse than headlines can convey highlights how Americans are dying in a myriad of ways beyond overdose. Embracing overdoses as the primary metric has myopically focused us on what is one … Continue reading We Keep Pressing the Easy Button and It Still Is Not Working
Building a Recovery Community of Barn Raisers
Establishing and sustaining recovery can be a complex process requiring multiple components to withstand the environmental challenges. It has a foundation that it is built on load bearing beams and columns to sustain it, and an outer shell and a roof to provide support and safety from the elements. A great deal depends on a … Continue reading Building a Recovery Community of Barn Raisers
The Keel of the New Recovery Advocacy Movement: Our Steering Concepts
Just over four years ago, in the first weeks of the great pandemic isolation of March, 2020, I wrote Let’s focus the recovery community on hope, connection, and purpose. In those first days, it was clear that recovery community could do a great deal to save lives and build community resilience in that most uncertain … Continue reading The Keel of the New Recovery Advocacy Movement: Our Steering Concepts
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