Advisory

Recovery Month PSAs Highlight Success of Alcohol and Drug Treatment

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today unveiled television and radio public service announcements (PSAs) to be used as part of the 16 th annual National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month observance in September. Recovery Month spotlights the need for alcohol and drug abuse treatment and recovery, and honors both those in recovery and treatment providers.

“Over 22 million Americans need treatment for a drug or alcohol problem. Recovery Month and these new PSAs, as they are aired across the country, can provide inspiration for those in need to seek help,” said SAMHSA Administrator Charles Curie. “The journey to recovery can sometimes start from just one phone call.”

The materials for this year’s Recovery Month, “Join the Voices for Recovery: Healing Lives, Families and Communities”, include SAMHSA’s Recovery Month planning kit, TV and radio public service announcements and other web-based and print materials. These materials were developed by more than 75 organizations and coalitions within and outside the alcohol and drug addiction treatment field.

The Recovery Month kit has been distributed to 75,000 individuals and organizations throughout the country. The Recovery Month kit contains information on each of the target audiences identified by the national planning groups; a full section on materials that can be adapted by each participating community; and multiple lists of alcohol and drug addiction treatment agencies and program resources. In 2004 over 400 events were held in local communities.

The TV and radio public service announcements, produced in both English and Spanish, aim to dispel negative characterizations about individuals who have achieved sobriety and are now in recovery, as well as the reconnection to society that is associated with recovery from substance abuse disorders.

SAMHSA, a public health agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the lead federal agency for improving the quality and availability of substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment and mental health services in the United States.

This page was last updated on  June 15, 2005
SAMHSA is An Agency of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Service