September is Recovery Month

This week, the President proclaimed September 2010 as National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month stating, "Across America, we must spread the word that substance abuse is preventable, that addiction is treatable, and that recovery is possible." This observance provides a great opportunity to not only raise public awareness about substance abuse prevention addiction and recovery, but also to highlight the importance of prevention.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is offering a variety of materials to help local organizations and leaders reach out to their communities throughout the month to raise awareness of substance abuse issues. Available materials include:

• 2010 Recovery Month Toolkit - Focuses on the effectiveness of substance abuse and mental health prevention and treatment services, and features helpful statistics, resources, event ideas, suggestions, and samples on how to reach local media, as well as fact sheets for key constituency groups, special audiences, and more.
• 2010 Recovery Month Commemorative Poster - Features the 2010 theme with graphics.
• 2010 Recovery Month Flyer (in English or Spanish) - Describes the 2010 National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month observance and theme.
• 2010 Recovery Month Brochure (in English or Spanish) - Provides description of the 2010 National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month observance and 2009 accomplishments.

All of these are available at http://ncadistore.samhsa.gov/recoverymonth/pubsSC2010.aspx.     

Many local organizations observe Recovery Month by hosting community and media events, which is an exciting and important way to make a difference within the community. Recovery Month events, no matter how large or small, can go a long way in promoting the benefits of recovery. SAMHSA offers an online database of more than 600 events to help people search for activities in their area, as well as a Recovery Month Event Widget for community organizations to post on their websites so visitors may search the database available online.