A&E Selects Youth Coalition Leader Abbie Hansen as Recovery Project Youth Delegate

Abbie Hansen grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah, a place that one might consider being relatively drug-free because of the strong Mormon demographic, yet she spent most of her life around drug and alcohol abuse. Although Abbie never used drugs, her mother, Holly, served time for cocaine abuse and was ordered by the court to seek counseling. As part of Holly’s four-year sobriety, she and Abbie continue their journey through recovery repairing their relationship, now considering each other best friends. With her mother’s blessing, Abbie started a support group for youth and their parents two years ago to help other kids who are coping with a loved one’s alcohol and other drug abuse.

KOPPIR (Kids of Parents and People in Recovery) meets weekly for dinner and discussion. They are about more than just talk, however. KOPPIR has been involved with the Salt Lake City Mayor’s Coalition against alcohol, tobacco and other drugs and are even conducting a media drug awareness campaign using billboards and bus advertising. Abbie brought some of the KOPPIR members to CADCA’s Mid-Year Training Institute in Phoenix, Ariz last week.

Abbie was recently selected to be the Youth Delegate for A&E’s The Recovery Project. The project, created by the network in 2008, is a national effort to raise awareness that drug and alcohol addiction has not only become an enormous public health problem in this country, but it is a health crisis that can be overcome. The network, like KOPPIR and other CADCA coalitions, see addiction as a treatable, recoverable disease and that those in recovery can return to society as productive people.

At the Recovery Walks! event being held Sept. 25 in Philadelphia, thousands of people in recovery – including Abbie and Holly and the 51 other Recovery Delegates selected to represent every state and the District of Columbia -- along with their friends, family and advocates, will walk together around Penn’s Landing to celebrate recovery.

According to data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), approximately 7.3 million children lived with a parent who was dependent on or abused alcohol and 2.1 million children lived with a parent who was dependent on or abused illicit drugs in 2008. Substance use disorders can have a profound influence on the lives of not only the individuals, but also their families, particularly their children. The children have an increased likelihood of abusing drugs and alcohol and often suffer from low self-esteem and have problems trusting others. Only a small percentage of the addicts who need help are getting it – either because they can’t afford it, or because the stigma associated with addiction is preventing them from pursuing it – and A&E thinks that has to change.

Abbie accompanied her mom to 12-step meetings and took advantage of all the resources offered to them such as family counseling. KOPPIR was created to be an additional, unique place for the children of addicts to convene and to heal. “Drug Court, Alcoholics Anonymous and the recovery community saved not only my mom’s life, but mine, as well,” Abbie wrote in her Delegate application. Abbie said recovery can be a selfish time for parents because they are focusing so much on themselves, for good reason, however, parents in recovery need to be reminded that their children are also recovering.

Holly Hansen said before her addiction she was the “model mother,” such as being a part of school parent teacher groups. When she started using, Abbie, like other children of parents in recovery, missed out on typical childhood experiences such as extracurricular activities. That's why KOPPIR participants make a list of “childhood wishes” that they strive to accomplish during their own recovery.

“We want to let others know that there are so many other options than going down the bumpy road of drugs and alcohol. Unfortunately, millions still suffer from this disease and I hope with the help of KOPPIR and the Salt Lake City Mayors Coalition, we can make an impact on our community,” Abbie wrote in her Delegate application.

CADCA is one of the national supporters of the Philadelphia Recovery Walks! event. We encourage coalitions in and around the Philadelphia area or surrounding areas to come participate in the walk. If your coalition plans to attend the event with Abbie, Holly and CADCA staff, please let us know by contacting Natalia Martinez Duncan at 703-706-0560, Ext. 256 or nmartinez@cadca.org. For more information about the Recovery Walks! event and The Recovery Project, visit www.aetv.com/real-life-change/the-recovery-project/index.jsp.