Celebrate Recovery Month

For the 29 Reclaiming Futures sites using evidence-based practices to break the cycle of drugs, alcohol and crime, September holds special promise. This is the 23rd year the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has designated September Recovery Month to promote the message that prevention works, treatment is effective and people recover. 
This year's Recovery Month theme is "Join the Voices for Recovery: It's Worth It." The theme emphasizes the benefits of preventing and overcoming mental and/or substance use disorders and the importance of involving everyone in these efforts.
Please visit Recovery Month on SAMHSA.gov to find events, planning tools and other resources to help your community participate. Involvement can be as simple or robust as you choose. 
A few ideas include:

• Send an e-card to someone in recovery
• Customize a public service announcement
• Use use the hashtag #recoverymonth to find and promote information on Twitter
• Issue an official proclamation in your community

How do you celebrate Recovery Month? We appreciate hearing from you. Please share your ideas and comments below.  

Related Recovery Month blog posts:
http://www.reclaimingfutures.org/blog/samhsa-releases-2012-recovery-month-toolkit-1
http://www.reclaimingfutures.org/blog/after-treatment
http://www.reclaimingfutures.org/blog/sneak-peak-road-recovery
http://www.reclaimingfutures.org/blog/families-are-frontline

Susan Richardson is national executive director for Reclaiming Futures. Formerly, she was a senior program officer in the health care division of the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust in North Carolina, where she led a three-year effort involving the state's juvenile justice and treatment leaders to adopt the Reclaiming Futures model by juvenile courts in six North Carolina counties. She received her B.S. in Public Health, Health Policy and Administration, from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.