SAMHSA’s Road to Recovery Update

The Road to Recovery Update keeps you informed about activities leading up to National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month (Recovery Month) in September. Feel free to forward this information to friends and colleagues, include it in newsletters or listservs, or link to it from your Web site.

Help us to continue to grow in our efforts to improve the lives of individuals and their families affected by alcohol and drug use disorders!

Last chance to submit questions for the June Ask the Expert: Ms. Renata J. Henry, M.Ed., Deputy Secretary for Behavioral Health and Disabilities, Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

As Deputy Secretary, Ms. Henry provides executive direction to three program administrations—Mental Hygiene, Developmental Disabilities, and Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Ms. Henry has over 30 years of experience in the behavioral health field, serving in various clinical and administrative positions in community-based mental health and substance abuse organizations, as well as in state and county government.

Questions for the June Road to Recovery Webcast, Recovery and the Health Care/Insurance Systems: Improving Treatment and Increasing Access, are due by Friday, June 19, 2009.

Submit your questions to Ms. Henry by contacting us. Answers from Ms. Henry will be posted on the Recovery Month Web site in early July. Contact information for questions will be kept confidential.

Recovery Month Launches a Newly Designed Web Site!

To improve accessibility to resources and usability of materials for you, Recovery Month announces the launch of the new Recovery Month Web site! Please visit our new Web Site and tell us what you think!

The 2009 Recovery Month Posters and Flyers Are Now Available!

Recovery Month is pleased to announce the release of the 2009 Recovery Month toolkit designed to help you plan and publicize your activities during Recovery Month in September and throughout the year. The toolkit includes three sections:

			"Media Outreach" offers tips for planning and promoting your Recovery Month activities.
			"Targeted Outreach" offers details about substance use disorders, tailored for specific audiences.
			"Resources" can help you prepare for your Recovery Month events, as well as consider potential partnerships with other organizations to share resources. The 2009 toolkit can be ordered by calling 1-800-662-HELP and will be available online within the next week for ordering and downloading.

To help you promote Recovery Month, posters and small and large flyers that outline the 2009 Recovery Month campaign, as well as the 2008 Recovery Month successes, are available for download via our Web site. You can also order them by calling 1-800-662-HELP or sending an email to SHIN@samhsa.hhs.gov.

Post Your Events and Urge State and Local Officials to Submit Proclamations!

Gather attention and support for your Recovery Month events, and the nationwide campaign’s 20th anniversary, from key leaders in your community to elevate the general public’s and media’s attention to the issue. Sponsor community events, which can be held all year long, to increase the education and understanding of addiction, treatment, and recovery issues. In addition, ask your state and local officials to issue proclamations recognizing September as Recovery Month. Start planning your events, proclamations, and observance and post them to http://www.recoverymonth.gov.

Recovery Month Wants To Post Your Press Releases, News, Studies, and Reports

Recovery Month is interested in posting your news, press releases, studies, reports, calls for releases, and other information on our new Web site. If you have materials related to substance use disorders, treatment, and recovery, please send them to recoverymonth@samhsa.hhs.gov.

Please Join In The Rooms—An Online Social Networking Site for the Recovery Community

Join In The Rooms—the Web's newest and most comprehensive social networking site for the worldwide recovery community. In The Rooms provides resources for people seeking help or treatment, for people in recovery, and for friends, family, and allies of those in recovery. You can join online meetings and affinity groups, browse the library for articles, connect with other resources for recovery, and take an active role in promoting recovery. Join here: http://www.intherooms.com/.

About Recovery Month

National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, celebrating 20 years of observance in 2009, is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. For more information about Recovery Month, visit http://www.recoverymonth.gov.