Sunday, July 13, 2014



Free Community Seminar
Presented by
Livengrin's Family Services Department






Monday, July 14, 2014, from 6-8 pm


Topic: What's Love Got to Do With It?
Understanding Co-Dependency

By Yvonne Kaye, PhD, MSC

Livengrin Counseling Center -- Oxford Valley
195 Bristol-Oxford Valley Road
Langhorne, PA 19047



Seating is limited.

These sessions often fill up, so please register as soon as possible.

To register for the sessions or for more information,
call Dana Cohen, Family Therapist -- 215.638.5200 x162

Ample free parking!

Friday, July 11, 2014

JULY 11 Chp 56 v 11 TWELVE STEPPING WITH STRENGTH FROM THE PSALMS


I trust in God , so why should I be afraid ? What can mere mortals do to me ?


STEP 3 - Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God .


That is the kind of confidence I got in my recovery . Notice I said confidence not cockiness . We still have to be careful ,I know folks who have relapsed after 30 years. There are people in your life will do anything to see you fail and I guess there motivation would be jealousy . There is nothing to worry or fear as long as God has control and your living the steps daily . 


Romans 8 : 28 - And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose.

By Joseph Dickerson
2014 Masthead
      Like us on Facebook                        www.RecoveryWalks.org                       Follow us on Twitter
Why Do We Walk?
Every meeting of our Recovery Walk Planning Committee begins with the question, "Why Do We Walk?" Here's a sampling of the answers, in no particular order:
  • To provide hope to those who have lost hope
  • To show that recovery is real and is happening now
  • Because life in recovery is fun
  • For loved ones, family and friends still suffering
  • To break the stereotype and end discrimination
  • To enjoy the spirit of community and unity
  • To instigate acceptance, advocacy, awareness, unity
  • To be the new face and voice of recovery
  • To end the stigma associated with our community
  • To give voice to those who have lost their battle
Want to share with us the reason you walk? Send an email to Marita here. Please join us onSeptember 20 in Penn's Landing. The gates open at 7 am and the Walk begins at 9 amthrough historic Philadelphia. Registration is free by clicking here. And if you can't attend the Walk but wish to join us in spirit, please make a donation here
Family Ed booth
You, too, could be a Recovery Walk Sponsor
 Your organization could benefit in many ways by being a Sponsor of PRO-ACT Recovery Walks! 2014. Would you like a booth at the walk where you can hand out literature, interact with 20,000 attendees, and hang your own banner? You can do that--click here to learn the opportunities and benefits of several levels of sponsorship. But you must submit your Sponsorship Agreement by AUGUST 1.Go here for sponsorship information.
Many thanks to our Top Walk Sponsors!
Top Sponsors 
National Recovery Night at the Baseball Game
Phillies vs. Miami Marlins
Friday, September 12, 7:05 pm
Tickets are going fast! Click here to order your tickets for our two alcohol-free sections. Tickets are only $20 each (which includes a donation to support PRO-ACT services).
 Helpful Tips
 In the interest of everyone's health, no smoking is permitted during the Recovery Walk or inside Penn's Landing. 
To learn about ordering customized team t-shirts, click here.
There are two additional Team Captains Kick-Off Meetings scheduled. Click here.
If someone needs a hard-copy Registration Form, print one for them from here.
The deadline for sponsorship is August 1--get information here
To donate to the Walk, click here.
To volunteer to help us with the Walk, click here.
To print a flyer for the Walk that you can post, click here
To find out what to do with donations you collected, click here.
Walk in the Honor Guard 
RibbonsWill you have 10 or more years of Recovery by September 20? You are among a very special group of people who make up the Honor Guard.

When you register, please go to the question, "Will you walk with the Honor Guard?" Select "Yes" in the box and then give your number of years in recovery. Help us raise the years represented into the thousands. Honor Guard members are honored with a purple sash and a button on which they write their number of consecutive years in recovery. It is a symbol of hope and proof that recovery is possible and it's happening NOW. The growing Honor Guard leads the walk and then separates to cheer the rest of the walkers on their way. It serves as the embodiment of the message we send---long-term recovery is real!
Register to walk, lead a team, or join a team 
PRO-ACT RECOVERY WALKS!
Saturday, September 20, 2014 
Penn's Landing, Philadelphia
Registration begins 7:00 am; Walk begins 9:00 am
Click here to see the video from last year
Join Our Mailing List
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White House Drug Control Strategy Emphasizes Opioid Addiction
July 10th, 2014/



The White House 2014 National Drug Control Strategy, released Wednesday, emphasizes the nation’s growing problem of opioid addiction, according to The Christian Science Monitor.

The plan calls for increased access to the opioid overdose medication naloxone. “The widespread use of naloxone in the hands of law enforcement, firefighters and emergency medical personnel will save lives. It can also serve as a critical intervention point to get people into treatment and on the path to recovery,” Michael Botticelli, Acting Director of National Drug Control Policy, said in a White House blog post.

The strategy does not change the Obama Administration’s stance on marijuana. Among the challenges the nation faces, according to the policy statement, are “the declining perceptions of harm – and associated increases in use – of marijuana among young people. These challenges have gained prominence with the passage of state ballot initiatives in 2012 legalizing marijuana in the states of Colorado and Washington.”

The policy “rejects the notion that we can arrest and incarcerate our way out of the nation’s drug problem,” Botticelli said. “Instead, it builds on decades of research demonstrating that while law enforcement should always remain a vital piece to protecting public safety, addiction is a brain disorder—one that can be prevented and treated, and from which people recover.”

The White House called for reforms to the criminal justice system that provide alternatives to incarceration, and effective interventions to get people the treatment they need. “The plan we released today calls on healthcare providers to prevent and treat addictive disorders just like they would treat any other chronic disorder, like diabetes or heart disease,” Botticelli noted. “It calls on law enforcement, courts, and doctors to collaborate with each other to treat addiction as a public health issue, not a crime.”

Studies Used to Approve ADHD Drugs Did Not Address Long-Term Safety

July 10th, 2014/

Studies used to approve drugs to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) did not address long-term safety, according to new research.

Drug manufacturer clinical trials conducted for drugs such as Ritalin and Adderall showed they alleviated ADHD symptoms, but few were designed to look at the drugs’ long-term safety, The Boston Globe reports. The Boston Children’s Hospital researchers say this doesn’t mean the drugs are unsafe.

The investigators looked at 32 clinical trials on the 20 ADHD drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Only five of the studies focused on drug safety. Each drug was given to an average of 75 patients before receiving FDA approval. The studies lasted an average of just four weeks. The FDA asked for six follow-up safety studies to look at long-term safety risks, but only two were conducted.

An expert group on drug development, the International Conference on Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use, recommends that drugs intended for chronic use in non-life-threatening conditions (such as ADHD) should be tested in a minimum of 300 to 600 patients for at least six months, in 100 patients for at least one year, and in 1,500 patients total before receiving approval.

The findings appear in the journal PLOS One.

“This is a wake-up call for what’s lacking in the drug approval process and what we want to see in the future,” said study co-author Dr. Kenneth Mandl. “Our findings are particularly troubling since these drugs are so widely used and used for years, not weeks.”

Approximately 11 percent of children ages 4 to 17 have been diagnosed with ADHD, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 6 percent of children in this age group take ADHD medication.

Harvard-Affiliated Hospital Will Screen All Patients for Alcohol and Drug Use
July 10th, 2014/


Massachusetts General Hospital, affiliated with Harvard Medical School in Boston, has announced it will screen all patients for alcohol and illegal drug use starting this fall.

All patients will be asked a series of four questions related to drinking and drugs, The Boston Globe reports. If the answers reveal a possible addiction, a special addiction team can be called to do a “bedside intervention” and arrange for treatment. While many hospitals screen patients for substance use when they come into the ER, Mass. General will screen all patients, whether they are coming in for a routine procedure or being treated in the emergency room.

The screening is part of its plan to improve addiction treatment, the article notes. Almost one-fourth of patients nationwide who visit hospitals for routine medical problems have active substance use disorders, according to the newspaper. Dealing with substance abuse in traditional medical settings can help hospitals better coordinate care and lower costs. The Affordable Care Act is pushing hospitals and doctors to reach both these goals.

Dr. Sarah Wakeman, Medical Director for Substance Use Disorders at Mass. General’s Center for Community Health Improvement, said the hospital wants to shift the culture to make it easier for people to access care for addiction. Being in the hospital is “a reachable moment,’’ when social workers and psychiatrists can bring treatment to the patient at the bedside, she said.