September 05th, 2022

September is National Recovery Month (rm.facesandvoicesofrecovery.org/). What is Recovery Month?  You may have noticed that some of our content and materials resemble those from last year. We have adopted last year’s theme of “Every Person. Every Family. Every Community.” as our permanent tagline. Moving forward there will no longer be a new theme announced each year. As a result, you may see some familiar elements incorporated into this year’s branding and content. Recovery Month celebrates the gains made by those in recovery from substance use and mental health, just as we celebrate improvements made by those who are managing other health conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, asthma, and heart disease.  
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Recovery Month works to promote and support new evidence-based treatment and recovery practices, the emergence of a strong and proud recovery community, and the dedication of service providers and community members across the nation who make recovery in all its forms possible.  Faces and Voices of Recovery now has 140 members of ARCO (Associations of Recovery Community Organization) and is growing. These are centers for communicating resources to all on what is being offered during our 2022 National Recovery Month activities. Under the guidance and work of the California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals (CCAPP), the recovery movement will come together on September 7 on the steps of the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The event is free and open to the public.  Click here for more information.

I want to repeat what I wrote in a previous blog:
We have faces and voices with a message. We have Medically Assisted Recovery (MAR) to diminish craving, with necessary fellowship meetings and therapy with recovery information. We have faces, voices, tools, and a variety of paths to recovery. The recovery movement is growing but in the face of an election year and the noise of the day’s events, we need more passionate, and dedicated faces and voices of recovery to carry the message. Nora Volkow, Director of NIDA, told us at the end of 2021 how important that we acknowledge the need for social contact, community friendship, and community involvement. I recall her words. We know how stress brings us together to face difficulty and help others. We can overcome most of the troubles that come from our daily lives. We have the capacity to overcome whatever we face, and we all do better with coming together. It will lead us to a better tomorrow and of coming together as a community and appreciation of family and friends.  

Stand up, stand out, speak out, and be proud about it!

Merlyn Karst, Recovery Ambassador