About Us
Sponsors
Recovery Month is sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA's) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT). CSAT, created in October 1992 by a Congressional mandate, provides national leadership in the Federal government's effort to improve the lives of individuals and their families affected by alcohol and drug abuse. CSAT works to improve access to clinically sound, cost-effective addiction treatment to reduce the health and social cost to our communities and the Nation. Such factors as inadequate capacity, limited public and private health insurance benefits, and stigma have contributed to the gap between the number of people who need treatment and the number who receive it.
CSAT works cooperatively with a myriad of public and private addiction treatment organizations and related entities to identify, develop, and support approaches and programs that expand and enhance treatment services. As a part of those efforts, CSAT produces a number of publications that provide technical assistance to providers seeking to deliver the most effective treatment services to their clients. CSAT also aims to assist the public with localized efforts to promote treatment effectiveness and encourage communities to invest in addiction treatment services.
What Is ?
Recovery Month is an annual observance that takes place during the month of September.
The Recovery Month observance highlights the societal benefits of substance abuse treatment, lauds the contributions of treatment providers and promotes the message that recovery from substance abuse in all its forms is possible. The observance also encourages citizens to take action to help expand and improve the availability of effective substance abuse treatment for those in need. Each year a new theme, or emphasis, is selected for the observance.
Recovery Month provides a platform to celebrate people in recovery and those who serve them. Each September, thousands of treatment programs around the country celebrate their successes and share them with their neighbors, friends, and colleagues in an effort to educate the public about treatment, how it works, for whom, and why. Substance abuse treatment providers have made significant accomplishments, having transformed the lives of untold thousands of Americans. These successes often go unnoticed by the broader population; therefore, Recovery Month provides a vehicle to celebrate these successes.
Recovery Month also serves to educate the public on substance abuse as a national health crisis, that addiction is a treatable disease, and that recovery is possible. Recovery Month highlights the benefits of treatment for not only the affected individual, but for their family, friends, workplace, and society as a whole. Educating the public reduces the stigma associated with addiction and treatment. Accurate knowledge of the disease helps people to understand the importance of supporting treatment programs, those who work within the treatment field, and those in need of treatment.