September is Substance Abuse Recovery Month
Treatment is the Focus for Alcohol and Drug Addictions
Aug 31, 2009
Every September, thousands of treatment programs around the United States celebrate their successes and share positive messages to help educate the public about the importance of alcohol and drug treatment. Substance abuse treatment providers have made incredible accomplishments by transforming the lives of thousands of Americans.
National Health Crisis
Recovery Month is an education vehicle to teach the public that substance abuse is a national health crisis and that addiction is treatable. Recovery is possible for those who want help. This annual celebration highlights the benefits for not only the affected individual, but for their family, friends and society as a whole.
Public education reduces the stigma associated with addiction and treatment. Knowledge about addictions helps people to understand the importance of supporting treatment programs, supporting those who work in the field and those in need of treatment.
CSAT and SAMHSA
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) know the importance of getting the message about addiction, treatment and recovery into every community across the United States.
Recent statistics help in showing government how important funding is in this area. In 2007, according to SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health approximately 23.2 million Americans over the age of 12 needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol abuse problem. That is equivalent to 9.4% of the population.
September 2009
SAMHSA announced in June 2009 that this year's Recovery Month theme is "Join the Voices for Recovery: Together We Learn, Together We Heal." This year, people across the country will celebrate the continued gains in addressing addiction treatment. It supports the need to strengthen the efforts to reach those who are still in need to find and successfully complete addiction treatment services and to join those in long-term recovery from substance abuse.
Hundreds of Recovery Month celebratory events took place from coast-to-coast in September 2008. Local communities held forums, festivals, health fairs, walk-a-thons and other innovative activities. Also, SAMHSA hosted a national kick-off media event in Washington, D.C. and sponsored over one hundred community events nationwide. With this year being the 20th Annual Recovery Month, celebrations are expected to be even more spectacular than last year.
To date, this worthy annual event has won over forty awards for the work they have accomplished. The media exposure that has been generated has caught the attention of education leaders, judges, policymakers, health providers and many other sectors across the country.
The Recovery Month web site holds a wealth of materials, information and activities. This web site was launched in June 2009 and it allows communities to post their news about local events and provides everyone the opportunity to be a voice for recovery.
If you know a person who is need of help, visit the Recovery Month web site or call 1-800-662-HELP.
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