August 15 Chp 34 v 4 TWELVE STEPPING WITH STRENGTH FROM THE PSALMS

I prayed to the Lord , and He answered me . He freed me from all my fears .

STEP 2 - Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity .

It is true ! I celebrated fourteen years sober this past June . To deal with my fear , I used until I was brave ,the problem with that was my life became more fearful because of the consequences of my addictions. Plus addiction gave me a false perception of reality which in turn created a delusional sense of security .

PRAYER WORKS ! ADDICTION DOSEN 'T !

John 14 : 27 I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. 

Conquering Grounds Music Fest 2014 ~ September 13th ~ Please Help and Support 

Hello Friends!

Hope you all are doing well and having a great summer! I wanted to spread the Word and ask you to save the date for theConquering Grounds Music Fest 2014. Our 2nd annual event is being held September 13th from 12noon to 8PM on the grounds of Christian Life Center in Bensalem, PA. This year the Music Fest is a FREE event with all proceeds going to help fight the Epidemic of Addiction. The Flyer for the event is below….

We are putting together a “Memory and Reflection” Tent for those who have lost someone they love to addiction. Our tent theme is White, Gold and Purple.

Do any of you have an outdoor tent/canopy that I can borrow for the day? We really need a tent(s) or canopy with a white top/sides. If not, do you know of anyone that may have one or two tents they can lend?

It would be greatly appreciated and well taken care of.

If any of you know anyone that would like to be remembered or know of a family who has lost someone to any form of addiction, please let me know. We are reaching out to families as we believe their loved ones deserve to be remembered. There is still time to honor them and have their names recorded and remembered in our Book of Memories.

I’m attaching a consent form to forward if you know of anyone who may be interested in participating. Please put them in touch with Nancy Lion directly - 

215 694 6014.

Remember! It’s Free to attend this year’s Music Fest 2014! This year promises to be a great event for everyone! We have Awesome Bands performing, Special Speakers, Testimonies and Worship,

Prayer Tent, Resource Tables and Vendors, Tons of Food and an expanded kids area with face painting, arts and crafts, a puppet show, moonbounce and kids playground!

Please spread the word! Bring your families out! We Need your support! It’s for a great cause…You never know when Addiction can strike someone you Love!

If you can’t make it, please consider making a tax deductible donation so that our Ministry can continue to help families and those struggling with addiction through our many resources, programs and scholarships.

Donations can be made by going directly to www.musicfest2014.org or visit our Facebook Page - Conquering Grounds Music Fest 2014 and “ LIKE” and “JOIN” the page! You can also find us on YouTube.

There are a few Sponsor packages available which start at only $100.00! We are still in need of Volunteers the day of the event. If anyone can help out that day, please contact Nancy ASAP at 215 694 6014

Along with Bob Sofronski, our Director of Christian Life Prison and Recovery Ministry and on behalf of the Board at CLPRM

I wholeheartedly thank each and every one of you for your support and commitment and I ask God to Bless you and your Families!

Nancy Lion

Secretary to CLPRM 

Bob Sofronski, Executive Director

Christian Life Prison and Recovery Ministries, Inc.

Po Box 1624

Southampton, PA 18966

www.clprm.org

215-833-2512

Robin Williams’ Death Highlights Increasing Suicide Rate Among Adults 45 to 64

/BY JOIN TOGETHER STAFF

August 13th, 2014/

U.S. health officials say Robin Williams’ death highlights the increasing rate of suicide among American adults ages 45 to 64, The Wall Street Journal reports. Williams, 63, died in an apparent suicide on Monday.

Suicide risk increases in people who are struggling with drug and alcohol use and depression. Williams had dealt with all of these, according to The New York Times. After a period of cocaine use early in his career, Williams quit in the mid-80s. He sought treatment for alcohol abuse in 2006, and had recently been treated for severe depression.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide rates for adults ages 45 to 64 increased 40 percent from 1999 to 2011. Jill Harkavy-Friedman, Vice President of Research at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, says the suicide rate for people in middle age to late middle age is higher than any other group. “We don’t hear about middle-age or older people who kill themselves unless they’re a star like Robin Williams,” she said. “Because it’s so shocking when a younger person dies, there’s a tendency of re-reporting and romanticizing.”

Possible reasons for the increased suicide rate in this age group could include economic pressures, health problems and the increased use and abuse of prescription drugs, Julie Phillips, Associate Professor of Sociology at Rutgers University, told the newspaper. She noted social isolation may also play a role.

Efforts to prevent suicide have largely focused on young people and the elderly, according to Alex Crosby of the CDC. “Middle-aged adults got kind of left out in the thinking of where to focus to resources for suicide prevention,” he said. “It’s important for us to examine more closely and put more resources into that population.”

Treating College Students for Opioid Dependence

/BY CELIA VIMONT

August 13th, 2014/

College students who are dependent on prescription painkillers can be successfully treated with buprenorphine/naloxone or sustained-release naltrexone, according to experts.

Some college students misuse their own prescriptions, while others go “doctor shopping” to obtain multiple prescriptions, obtain prescription drugs from friends or buy them from dealers, according to Staff Psychiatrist Joshua Hersh, MD of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. “They may be mixing drugs in a dangerous combination, or using higher doses of their own medication, which facilitates addiction,” he says.

When Dr. Hersh treats students for prescription drug abuse, he has them sign a release form that allows him to speak with their treating doctor and pharmacist. “If there is an issue with misusing a drug, I can communicate with their treatment providers about concerns I have,” he says. He also checks the Ohio prescription drug monitoring database, to see where students are getting their medication. If the student is from out of state, he can’t always check. Ohio’s database works in conjunction with some states, but not others.

He tries to treat students on an outpatient basis whenever possible. “If they need inpatient care, it costs more, and they have to withdraw from school, so all the work they have done up until that point in the semester is gone. They have to retake the classes when they return,” Dr. Hersh says. Once they return to campus, they often return to the same friends who used drugs with them, making recovery difficult.

Outpatient treatment, while allowing students to stay in school, keeps them in the same environment that got them into trouble in the first place. “They’re around the same people they were using with, so they have to learn to create a new environment, with new housing and friends,” Hersh notes.

At Miami University, buprenorphine/naloxone (sold as Suboxone) has been administered to students by a school nurse to prevent diversion, Dr. Hersh says. The medication is infused into strips that are placed under the tongue.

A study published in 2012 by researchers at Temple University in Philadelphia found opioid-dependent university students can be safely and effectively treated with buprenorphine in a university counseling center. The students were being treated for heroin or prescription opioid use. Lead researcher Peter DeMaria, Jr., MD, noted some students continue to use marijuana while being treated, which presents a challenge.

Since college students are young, those who have become addicted to opioids usually have not been using them for a long time, says Dr. DeMaria, Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Temple University School of Medicine. “The good news is we can intervene early in their addiction. The challenge is their level of denial is higher, and their willingness to connect with services is less,” he says. “Sometimes they’ll use buprenorphine for awhile and they think the problem is cured, and they don’t want to continue treatment. They don’t want to go to counseling or 12-step meetings.”

Dr. Hersh prefers treating students with sustained-release naltrexone (Vivitrol), which is given as a once-monthly shot. “If we can put students on sustained-release naltrexone, we don’t have to worry about diversion and having to taper them off. With naltrexone, you can just stop treatment when the student is ready.”

Naltrexone works by blocking opioid receptors in the brain, without activating them, therefore blocking the effects of opioids. Buprenorphine partially blocks the effects of opioids, so that they produce less of an effect than a full opioid when they attach to an opioid receptor. When a person takes a partial opioid such as buprenorphine, they may feel a very slight pleasurable sensation, but most people say they just feel normal or more energized.

College students being treated for opioid dependence on campus can’t completely change the people they are exposed to, so they are at risk of falling back into harmful drug use patterns, Dr. Hersh notes. “When they’re on naltrexone, they know they can’t get high, since the drug blocks opiate receptors. It’s like a shield around them that prevents them from engaging in opiate abuse.” A disadvantage to naltrexone, he pointed out, is a person using the drug has to detox from opioids about a week before they can start treatment.

Not all college counseling centers provide opioid addiction treatment, but they can refer students to doctors in the area who can help them, says Dr. Hersh. He urges all colleges to provide their safety officers with naloxone nasal spray, known as Narcan, to reverse overdoses of opioids, including prescription painkillers and heroin. “It’s important for college campuses to have as prescription drug abuse becomes more prevalent,” he says.

26.6 Percent of People Living on the Street Report Chronic Substance Abuse

/BY JOIN TOGETHER STAFF

August 13th, 2014/

A survey of the U.S. homeless population indicates 26.6 percent of people living on the street report chronic substance abuse, according to The Washington Post.

The findings come from a 2013 survey of about 600,000 homeless people. Two-thirds were in shelters or temporary housing, and one-third were living on the street, the article notes. The survey found 19.3 percent of people living in shelters reported chronic substance abuse.

The 100,000 Homes Campaign, a group that aims to permanently house 100,000 chronically homeless people, conducted interviews among the unsheltered homeless. They found more than 60 percent of homeless men and women living on the street have struggled with some form of substance abuse in their lives.

The group is focused on helping the chronically homeless—people with mental health problems, addiction or other disabilities who have been homeless for more than one year, or who have been homeless at least four times in the past three years. About one-third of the homeless living on the street are considered chronically homeless.

Many programs aimed at helping chronically homeless people with addiction problems first put them in temporary housing. These programs expect homeless people to demonstrate their substance abuse problems are under control before they can move on to living independently, according to the article. Often, people in the program are not able to comply with the requirement that they be totally abstinent. The requirement scares away many from participating in the first place, the newspaper notes.

A study published in 2012 found heavy drinkers who were formerly homeless, and are provided with housing, cut down on their drinking if they are allowed access to alcohol. The study followed participants in a program call Housing First, which was developed by a housing agency in Seattle. The program provides housing to chronically homeless people, and does not require that they stop drinking in order to obtain housing.

August 13 Chp 25 v 5 TWELVE STEPPING WITH STRENGTH FROM THE PSALMS

Lead me by your truth and teach me , for you are the God who saves me . All day long I put my hope in you . 

Step 3 - Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God .

NO GOD ! NO PEACE !

KNOW GOD ! KNOW PEACE !

Yes it is that simple ! Surrender ! Follow the 12 Steps pray and read instructions in Gods Big Book ( Bible)
By Joseph Dickerson