Center for Life Resources and Winners Circle Peer Support Group is celebrating Recovery Month, September 2011, by sponsoring a Recovery Walk and Picnic in Coggin Park on Saturday, September 24, 2011 from 8:30am until noon. We will gather at 8:30am and begin the Recovery Walk at 9:00. We ask participants to wear a red shirt if possible. In addition bring your lawn chair and a sack lunch. Drinks will be provided. Booths will be setup by a variety of recovery service providers, a proclamation of Recovery Month will be read, and several recovery speakers will be sharing their personal recovery stories.
Every September since 1989, people throughout the Nation celebrate the annual National Recovery Month: Prevention Works, Treatment is Effective, People Recover (Recovery Month) observance, a national initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT).
I’m urging all members of Brownwood area to take a few minutes and recognize the importance of recovery through a variety of treatment resources and recovery support programs. Recovery Month highlights the benefits of treatment and recovery for not only the individual, but for their family, friends, workplace, and society as a whole. Every year a new theme, or emphasis, is selected for the observance. This year’s Recovery Month theme, “Join the Voices for Recovery: Recovery Benefits Everyone”.
According to the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 22.5 million people aged 12 or older in the United States met criteria for substance use disorders and an estimated 45.1million adults aged 18 or older in the United States met criteria for a mental health problem in 2009. The annual economic cost of mental health problems is estimated to be at least $79 billion. Most of that amount—approximately $63 billion—reflects the cost of lost productivity in the workplace. Substance use disorders costs employers more than $100 billion annually through increased accidents, increased health care claims, and lost productivity. Between 70 and 90 percent of individuals with a mental health problem have significant reduction of symptoms and improved quality of life with a combination of medication, therapy, and other support. For every $1 invested in treatment, taxpayers save at least $7.46 in costs to society. As a responsible community, we must acknowledge and embrace the positive impact of treatment and recovery assistance.
Having worked in the recovery field for 15 years, I have firsthand knowledge of the devastation that addiction and/or mental illness brings to individuals and their families. By educating the public that prevention works, treatment is effective, and people can and do recover from these conditions, discrimination associated with substance use and mental disorders and treatment services can be eliminated. It is our duty to educate the public about the effectiveness of treatment, and we hope that you can support this initiative by attending the Brownwood Recovery Walk. Substance use and mental disorders affect our entire community, and I urge local businesses, community organizations, colleges, schools, administrators, and government agencies to support individuals in need of help, and those in recovery.
Additional information about Center for Life Resources can be found at www.cflr.us and Winners Circle Peer Support Group by contacting Denise Stratton, local president of the Brownwood Winners Circle Group, at 325-646-9574 ext. 382 or Tammie McKelvy at 325-646-9574 ext. 291 for more information.
Submitted by Tammie S. McKelvy, M.Ed., LPC, Co-Occurring Disorders Counselor for Center for Life Resources.
