2001 National Alcohol & Drug Addiction Recovery Month Kit

The 13th annual National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month (Recovery Month) will be observed during September 2002. The month is set aside to highlight the strides made in substance abuse treatment and to educate the public that addiction is a chronic, but treatable, public health problem that affects us all.

The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in conjunction with its national planning partner organizations and treatment providers, has created a comprehensive toolkit to address this issue.

This user-friendly toolkit will help you deliver the message that recovery from drug and alcohol addiction can become a reality by utilizing accredited professionals and programs, family support, and peer help services. It allows you to easily tailor a community outreach program that matches your time and resources, while helping you educate key constituent groups about improving treatment in your community.

The kit emphasizes five guidelines for positive action defined by Changing the Conversation: The National Treatment Plan Initiative to Improve Substance Abuse Treatment, which was released in November 2000, and focuses on action steps that the community can take to expand collaborative efforts. This year's observance highlights each person's responsibility with the theme "Join the Voices of Recovery: A Call to Action," and encourages everyone to help incorporate community treatment and recovery services as an integral part of the public health system.

Implementing an effective Recovery Month campaign in your community takes only six simple steps.

1. Read through the kit and familiarize yourself with its contents.
2. Select two or three key constituent groups in your community to target.
3. Select activities to accomplish your objectives.
4. Plan and execute the activities.
5. Post your events nationally on the official Recovery Month web site at http://www.samhsa.gov.
6. Complete and return the Customer Satisfaction Form (see Resources) and share your successes and lessons learned.

Whether this is your first Recovery Month campaign or you are building on past efforts, you will find materials tailored to key constituent groups that offer concrete steps they can take to improve treatment and recovery. Other materials are designed as templates that can be customized for your needs. There are also suggestions to help inform your community about the success stories being created by treatment and recovery.

If you'd like to order more kits free of charge or download a PDF version of the kit, please visit http://www.samhsa.gov or call SAMHSA's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information at 1-800-729-6686 or 1-800-487-4889 (TDD). The Recovery Month web site—http://www.samhsa.gov—also provides additional planning resources, media updates and alerts, web events, and an official record of activities occurring across the country.

 

 


Media Outreach

Select two or three media communiques from the samples provided to broaden awareness that substance abuse treatment needs everyone's involvement to make it work in your community.

Sample Media Advisory — A one-page media alert about an event you want local press to cover. This sample illustrates the format, basic information to include, and suggests methods of distribution.
Sample Press Release — A guide for your own releases about special activities your organization is planning to promote Recovery Month.
Sample Op-Ed Article — An opportunity to express a strong opinion on a particular issue. Tailor this sample to your needs, or use it as a guide for your own article.
Sample Proclamations — Two different versions that allow you to tailor a proclamation that can be issued by mayors, governors, or other leaders to promote and encourage support of Recovery Month in your community.
Promotional Event Ideas — Suggestions to publicize and commemorate Recovery Month. Radio
PSA Scripts — Announcer-read public service announcement scripts promoting Recovery Month that can result in free air time.
Logo Sheet — Camera-ready artwork of the official logo for Recovery Month is provided for customization of your materials.
Letterhead — Camera-ready artwork to copy for your Recovery Month-related correspondence.

Targeted Outreach

Select key constituent groups to help you promote substance abuse treatment services in your community. Use the fact sheet designed for that audience—or a combination of fact sheets—to create an information packet to disseminate. At the end of each fact sheet are suggested action steps to help your audience start or expand their involvement. Also included are statistics, examples of success stories, and resources to help you promote National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month.

Fact Sheets Include:

Partners

Planning Partners — A comprehensive list of organizations that are participating in planning this year's National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month observance.
Allied Organizations — A list of groups affiliated with this year's National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month observance.

Resources

Clearinghouses, Web Sites, and Additional Resources — A list of relevant substance abuse treatment-related clearinghouses and resource centers; Internet addresses of online web sites; and pertinent national organization addresses, telephone numbers, and web sites.
State Substance Abuse Directors — State drug and alcohol abuse office contacts for local information and support.
Diversity Resources — A list of national organizations that focus on diverse populations and multicultural efforts.
Customer Satisfaction Form — Please share your reactions to this year's kit and the initiatives you implemented in your community. Directions are provided on the form.