Young People in Recovery from Addiction

Faces & Voices of Recovery Community Listening Forum
Young People in Recovery from Addiction
May 19, 2012, 9:30am - 12:30pm CST
Hartford, Connecticut


Faces & Voices of Recovery is partnering with Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery and Connecticut Turning to Youth & Families to host a Community Listening Forum on issues facing young people 35-years old and under, their family members, friends and allies. Join us to make our voices heard, raise issues of concern and develop support for action to make it possible for more young people to find recovery.

What: Community Listening Forum on Young People in Recovery from Addiction
When: May 19, 2012 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Check-in begins at 8:30a.m.
Where: St. Francis Hospital's Gengras Auditorium, 1000 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, Connecticut 06105

Young people in recovery face a variety of issues. Some of the areas we will be addressing include:

* Connecting young people to recovery supports across the continuum of care, including before, during and after treatment
* Recovery school programs in high schools and colleges
* The role of family members, peers and community resources in supporting and enriching recovery for young people
* The impact of addiction and recovery on parents
* Developing recovery-oriented social networks and opportunity

The forum will be in an open dialogue/town hall meeting format. Approximately twenty people will speak for five minutes each about the experiences of young people in or seeking recovery. They will share their lived experiences to help educate the public and policymakers about barriers to recovery and strategies to sustain long-term recovery. Speakers will address a Listening Panel composed of policymakers; State, municipal, and federal agency officials; and community leaders.

This format allows traditional “experts” to listen to and learn from the real experts – people in recovery, their family members, friends and allies. After the testimonies from speakers, the Listening Panel members will respond by addressing themes and issues raised by the speakers. Faces & Voices will transcribe the forum and prepare a report based on the information gathered. Members of the media are also invited to attend the forum.

We invite you to participate. We are looking for attendees and speakers from all walks of life who are:





* Young people in recovery
* Parents and family members of young people in or needing recovery
* Educators
* Recovery support service providers
* Primary care providers
* Experts in addiction, mental health, and co-occurring recovery
* Policymakers
* Representatives from other service systems (e.g., juvenile justice, child welfare, social services, etc.)

If you have any questions, or would like more information about speaking or attending, please call Eric McDaniel at 202-737-0690 or email him at emcdaniel@facesandvoicesofrecovery.org. We look forward to hearing from you. Join us!




Event LocationSt. Francis Hospital's Gengras Auditorium
1000 Asylum Avenue
Hartford, CT 06105

America Honors Recovery

Join Us!
America Honors Recovery

Carnegie Institute for Science
1530 P Street NW
Washington, DC 20005

June 27, 2012
6-8 pm





America Honors Recovery is the addiction recovery community’s annual awards event to recognize the over 20 million Americans in recovery and recovery community organizations. Congratulations to this year's honorees!

Sponsored by Faces & Voices of Recovery and the Hazelden Foundation’s Center for Public Advocacy, the event highlights the extraordinary contributions of the country's most influential recovery community leaders to the growing movement to promote the reality of recovery from addiction.

America Honors Recovery salutes the legacies of two dynamic recovery trailblazers who dedicated their lives to removing barriers for individuals and families affected by addiction - Johnson Institute founder, Dr. Vernon E. Johnson, and recovery advocate, Joel Hernandez.

In 2011, Faces & Voices established a special award in the name of its founding board chair, Lisa Mojer-Torres.

America Honors Recovery will salute 2012's most influential recovery community leaders and organizations as well as the legacies of Joel Hernandez, Vernon Johnson and Lisa Mojer-Torres during an evening reception on June 27, 2012 in Washington, DC. We hope you'll join us.
About Joel Hernandez, Vernon Johnson and Lisa Mojer-Torres
Become a Sponsor
Past Joel Hernandez awardees
Past Vernon Johnson awardees

Help Us Put a Face on Recovery

Help us change public perceptions about recovery from addiction by contributing to our effort. Let's show the nation that recovery is a reality for over 20 million Americans!

For questions, please email or call (202)737-0690.

More About America Honors Recovery

In 2004, The Johnson Institute founded America Honors Recovery, an annual awards program to recognize people who are in long-term recovery from addiction to alcohol or other drugs and have given back to their communities so that future generations can experience the reality of recovery. Four years later, Faces & Voices of Recovery started the Joel Hernandez Voice of the Recovery Community annual awards program to recognize one local, state or regional recovery community organization for its success in assessing the specific needs of their community and carrying out a vision and mission of mobilizing resources within and outside the recovery community to increase the prevalence and quality of long-term recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs.

In 2009 The Johnson Institute transferred key programs including America Honors Recovery to Hazelden's Center for Public Advocacy to keep the Johnson Institute's 43-year legacy alive. In 2010 Faces & Voices and Hazelden's Center for Public Advocacy came together to recognize one outstanding recovery community organization with the Joel Hernandez award and three outstanding individuals with the Vernon Johnson award.


Faces & Voices of Recovery and Hazelden's Center for Public Advocacy have joined together to host America Honors Recovery honoring the legacies of Joel Hernandez, Vernon Johnson and Lisa Mojer-Torres. All contributions to the America Honors Recovery awards event will go to Faces & Voices of Recovery.

Drinking hand sanitizer sends Calif. teens to hospital drunk, doctors warn

ByRyan JaslowTopicsNews ,Kids and family



(CBS News) Would you drink hand sanitizer? The idea may sound repulsive to most people, but California doctors are warning parents of what may be a fast-growing dangerous trend after six local teenagers were hospitalized in separate incidents with alcohol poisoning from drinking the soapy stuff.

Popular "cinnamon challenge" has potential to be deadly
Dangerous "games" that may harm kids and teens


The Los Angeles Times reported some of the teenagers used salt to separate the alcohol from the sanitizer using instructions found online. If a liquid hand sanitizer contains 62 percent ethyl alcohol, that means a "drink" can be as high as 120 proof, whereas a shot of hard liquor such as whiskey or vodka is typically 80 proof.



"All it takes is just a few swallows and you have a drunk teenager," Dr. Cyrus Rangan, director of the toxicology bureau for the county public health department and a medical toxicology consultant for Children's Hospital Los Angeles, told the Los Angeles Times. "There is no question that it is dangerous."

Teens who presented to the emergency room had symptoms such as slurred speech and a burning sensation in the stomach. Some teens were so drunk they needed to be monitored in the emergency room.

Rangan said although there have been only a handful of cases, the practice could become a nationwide problem since hand sanitizers are cheap and easily available, and teens can easily look up how to extract alcohol from a bottle. KTLA in Los Angeles reports there were no such cases last year, and the recent spate of cases in recent weeks is surprising.


"It is kind of scary that they go to that extent to get a shot of essentially hard liquor," Rangan said.

A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Department of Health told HealthPop there was no official city-wide warning or statement at this time.

Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency medicine physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said he has taken care of some teens out who had ingested hand sanitizers at school as a "dare," only to come to the ER drunk with dizziness, nausea and vomiting.

"They denied drinking any 'alcohol', had no smell of alcohol on their breath, but when their blood alcohol was quite elevated, they later admitted to drinking the hand sanitizer," Glatter told HealthPop.

Glatter said it's essential that warning labels be placed on hand sanitizers to educate parents and the public of potential risks.

"Officials in institutions where these products are available - including hospitals, schools, offices, heath clubs, and day care centers - have a duty to inform people about the alcohol content in these products, and subsequent dangers if ingested," he told HealthPop.

Doctors told the L.A. Times that parents should purchase foam hand sanitizers since they're harder to extract alcohol from compared with gel-based products, and they should monitor hand sanitizer bottles around the house as if they are liquor or medicine bottles.

"Over the years, they have ingested all sorts of things," Helen Arbogast, injury prevention coordinator in the trauma program at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, told the Times. "Cough syrup had reached a very sexy point where young people were using it.... We want to be sure this doesn't take on the same trend."

The industry trade organization, the American Cleaning Institute, responded to the recent reports.


"One case of product misuse - intentional or otherwise - is always one too many," Nancy Bock, vice president of education at the American Cleaning Institute said in an emailed statement. "But let's not lose sight of the fact that millions of people are not abusing these products and do responsibly use them as needed."

Prescription Drug Addiction 'Could Happen to Anyone'

A family shares their story of the effects of addiction, and Detective Sgt. Sean McKenna offers advice on what to do when it comes to prescription drug abuse.

By Bryan Littel
Email the author
3:00
Connie and Andy Tighe were like many other parents a decade ago, unaware of the escalating problem of prescription drug abuse.

That all changed when their son, Kevin, started showing the telltale signs of painkiller addiction, which led to what Connie Tighe described as “a rollercoaster of treatment and relapse,” eventually ending in Kevin’s untimely death a little more than two years ago at the age of 29.

And when their nephew also died after becoming addicted to prescription drugs, the Tighes said it was time to speak.

“I wasn’t aware of prescription pill abuse,” Connie Tighe said during a presentation at West Deptford High School Tuesday night. “It really wasn’t on our radar screen.”

As photos of Kevin—from his youth soccer team, or hanging out with family, or as a stony-faced football player in his No. 55 jersey—played out behind her, Connie Tighe unfolded her son’s story of addiction, which eventually escalated to him to the deadly combination of OxyContin and Xanax.

The painkiller abuse likely started after Kevin, a 1999 West Deptford High School graduate, battled through multiple knee and hand injuries as a teenager, Connie Tighe said, when he was prescribed powerful drugs like Percocet or Vicodin after surgeries.

Those prescriptions created a scenario where addiction became more likely, Connie Tighe said, and it would take time before they could see anything was wrong—in fact, not until Kevin’s college grades slipped and he shifted between Rutgers-Camden and Rowan did it really become apparent.

“He was good at hiding his pill abuse from us,” Connie Tighe said.

Outpatient rehab didn’t work—Kevin was too good at manipulating the system, Connie Tighe said—and a shot at inpatient rehab fell apart, leading to frustration and heartbreak.

“The entire family becomes victim to addiction,” she said.

And though the Tighes—a tight-knit family, involved in their children’s lives, with a strong support network—might not seem a likely family to be hit with drug abuse, West Deptford Detective Sgt. Sean McKenna said there’s no blueprint when it comes to prescription drug abuse.

“This doesn’t just happen to people with broken families,” McKenna said. “This could happen to anyone.”

Prescription drugs are particularly insidious, McKenna said, given their easy availability. While a teenager might have to hop in a car and drive 15 minutes to Camden to score street drugs, prescription painkillers could be sitting in a medicine cabinet a few rooms away.

“They don’t even have to get on the highway,” he said.

Worse, McKenna said, is the relative ease in getting prescribed something like oxycodone with just a simple doctor’s visit. Doctors wrote out 200 million pain medication prescriptions in 2010, according to the National Institutes of Health, and McKenna quoted statistics that indicated about 70 percent of doctor’s visits result in some kind of prescription.

“You’re going to walk out with some painkillers,” he said. “It’s becoming a problem.”

It’s gotten to the point where teens are experimenting with painkillers or other medications instead of traditional gateway drugs, like marijuana, McKenna said.

“Prescription drugs are right there now,” he said.

While painkiller abuse is common, McKenna said, other prescription drugs—Valium, Klonopin, Xanax—also end up being used recreationally, and around 40 percent of teens think abusing prescription drugs is safer than street drugs.

“This is the silent killer in our society,” he said.

And given the high price of those painkillers on the street, where OxyContin sells for $20 or $40 per pill, what starts out as a prescription drug addiction could turn into a heroin habit in a hurry, McKenna said.

Parents need to be aware of the signs of prescription drug abuse—changes in behavior or friend groups, loss of interest in activities, major grade slips—and act early to try to head off problems before they get out of conrol, McKenna said.

Since prescription drugs are frequently in a medicine cabinet with easy access, steps need to be taken when it comes to medication—McKenna suggested parental oversight when it comes to using any powerful prescription drugs, and the Tighes said it could be worth considering locking up any potentially addictive drugs.

When it comes to intervention, West Deptford High School principal Brian Gismondi and student assistance counselor April Sanford said parents consistently use the school as a resource for addressing concerns about potential drug abuse, usually going through administrators or guidance counselors.

“We move forward with them from there—offer them support, reach out, if they want,” Sanford said. “It’s been really impressive.”

The high school offers a range of services, from individual and group counseling for students and families, to drug and alcohol intervention programs to crisis intervention.

And the random drug testing program at the high school can detect prescription drug abuse, Gismondi said. Students who test positive at any one of those tests have to go through substance abuse counseling and have a clean test after that, under current guidelines at the high school.Related Topics: Kevin Tighe, West Deptford police, and prescription drug abuse

Commentary: Teen Alcohol Use — Parents Have More Influence Than They Think

By Jan Withers | April 20, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed in Alcohol,Parenting, Young Adults & Youth


Underage drinking is in part a youth problem, but it’s also an adult issue. Over half of all high school age drinkers get their alcohol from an adult, according to SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Plus, half of those adults providing alcohol are parents or other family members.

Although adults can be part of the underage drinking problem, they can also be part of the solution. About three-quarters of teens say parents are the biggest influence on their decision on whether or not to drink.

Most parents want to do the right thing, but don’t know how. Part of that can be knowledge – one out of every five teens binge drink, but only one out of every 100 parents think their teen binge drinks. Sometimes parents take an authoritarian style of parenting that causes them to lose their ability to influence their teen through reason. While others take a hands-off approach, or allow their teen to drink under their supervision, which makes it even more likely that their teen will drink more when away from their parents.

Fortunately, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has teamed up with Dr. Robert Turrisi of Pennsylvania State University to create thePower of Parents handbook. Based on Dr. Turrisi’s research, this handbook gives proven tips on how to talk with your teens about alcohol in a productive, positive way. Parents who read the handbook and have the intentional conversation with their teens about alcohol can reduce underage drinking behaviors by as much as 30 percent. We encourage you to start the conversation this Saturday, April 21st, PowerTalk 21 day — the national day for parents to start talking with their kids about alcohol.

Here are some tips from Dr. Turrisi’s research:

1. Communicate before a problem starts. It’s important to have discussions before incidents happen – prior to any blaming, anger, or punishment.

2. Discuss rules and consequences. Explaining how and why you expect your teen to behave, should allow for rational discussion of a sometimes emotional issue. Still, it’s important to impart that you don’t want your teen drinking. Discuss and agree on consequences of broken rules.

3. Show you care. Sometimes a gentle touch can help show affection for your teen during this tough conversation. Telling your teen you love them and want them to be healthy and safe is the reason why it’s important to talk about the dangers of underage drinking together.

4. Pay attention. Even when life is stressful, it’s important to make time to listen to your teen, know where your teen is and what your teen is doing.

5. Share family activities, including events such as dinner, to build a bond with your teen.

6. Give and get respect. When your teen talks to you, it’s important to listen and reply respectfully, and to insist your teen do likewise.

7. Enforce consequences consistently. If your teen breaks the rules, stay calm and enforce the consequences you’ve agreed upon.

You can learn more or download the handbook atwww.madd.org/powerofparents.

Jan Withers, MADD National President

DEA DIVERSION CONTROL PROGRAM!

NATIONAL TAKE-BACK INITIATIVE
April 28, 2012
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM


The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has scheduled another National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day which will take place on Saturday, April 28, 2012, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. This is a great opportunity for those who missed the previous events, or who have subsequently accumulated unwanted, unused prescription drugs, to safely dispose of those medications.


Americans that participated in the DEA’s third National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on October 29, 2011, turned in more than 377,086 pounds (188.5 tons) of unwanted or expired medications for safe and proper disposal at the 5,327 take-back sites that were available in all 50 states and U.S. territories. When the results of the three prior Take-Back Days are combined, the DEA, and its state, local, and tribal law-enforcement and community partners have removed 995,185 pounds (498.5 tons) of medication from circulation in the past 13 months.


“The amount of prescription drugs turned in by the American public during the past three Take-Back Day events speaks volumes about the need to develop a convenient way to rid homes of unwanted or expired prescription drugs,” said DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart. “DEA remains hard at work to establish just such a drug disposal process, and will continue to offer take-back opportunities until the proper regulations are in place.”


“With the continued support and hard work of our more than 3,945 state, local, and tribal law enforcement and community partners, these three events have dramatically reduced the risk of prescription drug diversion and abuse, and increased awareness of this critical public health issue,” said Leonhart.
Collection Site Locator:


Find a collection site near you. Check back frequently as collection sites are continuously being added.
Law Enforcement Agencies Only:


For law enforcement agencies that wish to host a collection site please call the POC in your area.
Take-Back Day Partnership Toolbox:


Here you will find a list of files that you can download to use for your own purposes.
General Public Inquiries:


Inquiries can be made at 1-800-882-9539.
News Releases
DEA’s Third National Prescription Drug Take-Back Event Collects 188.5 Tons (November 3, 2011)
Another Huge Turnout At DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Event (May 06, 2011)
Additional Resources
DEA would like to express our appreciation to the following.
Drug Disposal Information
FDA – How to Dispose of Unused Medicines
FDA – Disposal of Unused Medicines