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Recovery Month Celebrated

National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, sponsored by SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, celebrated its 17th year with poetry slams, banquets, walks, and many other community events.

Thousands of people across the Nation participated to honor the successes of people and families in recovery and those who serve them.

At the National Press Club launch of National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, Dr. H. Westley Clark (at podium), Director of SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, talks about new findings from the Agency’s 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Seated (l to r) are John P. Walters, Director of National Drug Control Policy, and Dr. Eric Broderick, SAMHSA’s Acting Deputy Administrator. Photo by A. Martín Castillo.

The annual event, celebrated each year in September, serves to educate the public that substance abuse is a national health crisis. Recovery Month encourages Government, businesses, and individuals to work toward increasing access to alcohol and drug treatment programs.

The message is treatment is effective and recovery is possible!

Recovery Month highlights the benefits of treatment not only for affected individuals, but also for their friends and co-workersy.

In 2006, SAMHSA sponsored 39 community events including the Second Annual California Recovery Month “Ride, Rally, and Celebration.” This event, hosted in collaboration with United for Recovery, included motorcycle vendors and their recovery-related exhibit spaces, entertainment, and prizes.

In Hartford, CT, SAMHSA sponsored the 7th Annual Walk for Recovery from Alcohol and Other Drug Addiction. Participants enjoyed music by performers in recovery, short speeches, testimonials, and activities for children.

To mark Recovery Month, many people submitted personal stories to the Recovery Month Web site. To date, more than 50 personal recovery stories have been posted there.

For more information, visit www.recoverymonth.gov.