Thursday, June 7, 2012

CALLING All CHRISTIAN ...


Join us this  
Saturday, June 9  
@ 7- 10:00pm

For our FIRST Open Mic Night  Open Mic Night 
CALLING All CHRISTIAN ...
Singers, musicians, bands,
 poets and entertainers
Show us what you've got! 
  
FEATURING: 
     Solo artist | Darlene Van Dyke Sofronski
Singer  | Brenda Cartegena
Comedian  | Jim Peterson 
Singer  | Pam Williams
Singer  | Victoria Vines
Hip hop artist  | Virtuous 

 
PLUS FOOD, COFFEE, FUN AND FELLOWSHIP FOR ALL!  
ADMISSION IS FREE!
  (Donations appreciated to cover costs and for the band. 
Thanks for your prayerful consideration and generosity 
so we can keep this event FREE!)  
     
WHERE:  
The Edge at Christian Life Center 
3100 Galloway Rd., Bensalem, PA   

QUESTIONS:
Contact Michael Howard
or  


Conquering Grounds Cafe is a non-profit outreach ministry of Christian Life Prison and Recovery Ministries  

Get involved with the Commissioner’s Play Healthy Awards contest today!


Dear Joseph,
Do you know an inspiring youth coach? How about a teen with excellent sportsmanship?
The Partnership at Drugfree.org, in conjunction with Major League Baseball Charities, is celebrating extraordinary individuals on and off the playing field who embody the spirit of teamwork and healthy, drug-free competition.
Nominate your community’s youth sports heroes for the third annual Commissioner’s Play Healthy Awards contest! The awards are an extension of both organizations’ comprehensive efforts, including the Play Healthy website, to educate families on the risks of steroids and performance-enhancing substances.
One winning youth coach and one student athlete will receive prizes, including a trip for themselves and one special guest to New York City. They will also receive:
  • Two tickets each to The Partnership at Drugfree.org’s annual Winter Wish Gala at Gotham Hall on December 4, 2012, where they will be honored;
  • A $1,000 gift card to a sporting goods store;
  • A commemorative plaque presented at the gala; and
  • The opportunity to be featured prominently on drugfree.org.
We’re taking nominations now at drugfree.org/playhealthy.
Get involved with the Commissioner’s Play Healthy Awards contest today!
We look forward to recognizing our nation’s best youth sports leaders.
Thanks,
Courtney Gallo  
Youth Sports Advocate
The Partnership at Drugfree.org


Please note: A panel of judges will determine the winners by reviewing all nominees who demonstrate their commitment to fair, drug-free play and an overall healthy lifestyle. Additionally, the judges will evaluate the nominee’s commitment to leadership, sportsmanship and encouragement of others on and off the field. The deadline to enter is Friday, October 26, 2012.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Commentary: Peer Recovery Coaches: Expanding the Career Ladder




By Mary Jo Mather | June 5, 2012 | 1 Comment | Filed in Research


In a coffee shop. In a treatment center. At the library. At a sober living home. These are all settings where peer recovery services take place. Whether volunteers or staff, the role of a Peer Recovery Coach (PRC) is a legitimate and important one within the continuum of care, and IC&RC is proud to be developing the first, international credential for PRCs.

In recent years, a rapidly growing segment of the addiction recovery workforce has been made up of PRCs, who use their personal experiences of recovery to facilitate it and build resilience of persons with addiction, mental illness, or co-occurring substance and mental disorders. Many PRCs provide these valuable services as volunteers and in community settings, but seek the objective verification that certification provides.

A 2008 report from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment wrote:

“Recovery support services are non-clinical services. Many recovery community organizations have established recovery community centers where educational, advocacy and sober social activities are organized. Peer recovery support services are also offered in churches and other faith-based institutions, recovery homes/sober housing.”

Wherever they are, PRCs form the connecting tissue between professional systems of care and indigenous communities of recovery. They are specifically trained to assist people in accessing a broad range of support services including education, employment, health care, housing, day care, transportation and counseling for co-occurring problems.

Unlike a sponsor, the PRC usually works – as a volunteer or staff member – within a formal organization that is bound by accreditation, licensing and funding guidelines. Another distinction is that PRCs start coaching clients before they have formally entered recovery, continue the relationship even in the face of relapse and check-in with clients after they have disengaged from active participation in mutual aid groups.

Responding to demand in their jurisdictions, several IC&RC Member Boards – Florida, Georgia, Illinois and Pennsylvania – developed Peer Recovery credentials, and it soon became clear that there is a growing need for a credentialing process at the reciprocal level.

An IC&RC Task Force, headed by Kristie Schmiege of Michigan, explored and recommended standards for two levels of PRC, which were adopted by board vote in October, 2011. The organization is in the process of developing the formal job task analysis and written examination for the credential.

The 2008 report emphasized that “maintaining the peer-ness of peer recovery support services and resisting the pressure to professionalize these services is a key challenge.” As we developed the standards for the first-ever international PRC credential, IC&RC believes we have met this challenge.

Mary Jo Mather is the Executive Director of IC&RC, the largest addiction and prevention credentialing organization in the world. Today, IC&RC represents 78 member boards and 45,000 professionals from 25 countries and 47 U.S. states and territories. IC&RC’s seven credentials include counselors, clinical supervisors, prevention specialists, criminal justice and co-occurring disorders professionals.

Help support PRO-ACT!


 PRO-ACT Recovery Walks! 2012
  Saturday, September 22, 2012
Register Online Here
 
Join the Voices for Recovery: It's Worth It!
   Your Logo Could Be Up Here This Year!
Billboard Photo
On 2 Huge Billboards Over I-95 for 2 Months
 
How?
        Become a Recovery Walks! 2012 Grand Sponsor ($25,000); Presenting Sponsor ($15,000); or Gold Sponsor ($10,000) and submit your Sponsorship Agreement by 5:00 pm on Friday, July 6 (fax it to             215-348-3377       or e-mail it).
       
        While having a logo on the billboards is the envy of everyone who sees them, we have many other sponsorship levels and benefits. We have levels to suit all budgets. But remember, the earlier you submit yourSponsorship Agreement, the earlier you will begin reaping the benefits of supporting this history-making celebration of recovery. Please contact Marita with any questions.
And We've Heard That Some of You Missed This!
 New White House Drug Policy Highlighted PRO-ACT
 
        When the White House issued the 2012 National Drug Control Strategy Reportrecently, it featured the work of PRO-ACT, accompanied by a photograph of Beverly Haberle, PRO-ACT Project Director, and Gil Kerlikowske, Director of National Drug Control Policy. The article appears on page 18 of the Report, in the chapter on integrating treatment for substance abuse disorders into health care and expanding support for recovery.

        PRO-ACT is pleased that the new strategy is guided by the fact that addiction is a chronic brain disease that can be treated and that people with substance abuse disorders can recover. The new policy calls for expansion of community-based recovery support programs, including recovery community organizations. Peer-based recovery support services help individuals access and sustain long-term recovery. PRO-ACT has a positive impact on individuals and their families and the community at large. At each of PRO-ACT's recovery centers, peer-led programs are tailored to the specific needs of recovering individuals in the local community.

        In 2009, the Obama Administration established the Recovery branch of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy to support the estimated 23.5 million Americans in recovery by eliminating barriers to recovery and lifting the stigma associated with drug addiction.
        To read the full report, click here.
Don't forget to register online for the Walk

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Workplace Insurers Spend More Than $1 Billion on Narcotic Painkillers




By Join Together Staff | June 4, 2012 | 1 Comment | Filed in Insurance &Prescription Drugs

Costs related to narcotic painkillers are growing for workplace insurers, which are currently spending an estimated $1.4 billion on the drugs, The New York Times reports. The companies are facing payouts to workers with injuries who are being treated with opioids, including many who do not return to work for months—or who don’t return at all.

Opioids can increase disability payouts and medical expenses by delaying employees’ return to work, if the drugs are used too often, too early in treatment, or for too long. A study by the California Workers Compensation Institute conducted in 2008 found workers taking high doses of opioids to treat injuries, such as back strain, were out of work three times longer, compared to those with similar injuries who took lower doses of medication.

A 2010 study by the insurer Accident Fund Holdings found that when disability payments and medical care are combined, the cost of a workplace injury is nine times higher when a strong painkiller such as OxyContin is used, compared to when an opioid is not used, the article notes.

“What we see is an association between the greater use of opioids and delayed recovery from workplace injuries,” Alex Swedlow, the head of research at the California Workers Compensation Institute, told the newspaper.

Although there is little evidence that opioids provide long-term benefits in treating common workplace injuries such as back pain, these drugs are widely prescribed for these problems.

Insurance industry data shows that between 2001 and 2008, opioid prescriptions as a percentage of all drugs used to treat workplace injuries rose 63 percent. Costs have also increased. To reverse this trend, some states have issued new pain treatment guidelines, or are expected to do so.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Get State Certified in Pennsylvania





 REGISTER ONLINE BY CLICKING HERE
        Recovery support is a critical component of the planned healthcare reform initiative and the addiction treatment process. Recovery support services are expected to help prevent relapse and promote long-term recovery, helping to reduce the strain on the overburdened addiction treatment system. The CRS serves as a role model, mentor, advocate and motivator to recovery individuals throughout the state. The CRS credential emphasizes training, specifically in the areas of recovery management, education and advocacy, and ethics and responsibility. The Council of Southeast Pennsylvania's Education Center is launching a new comprehensive program for two weeks beginning on June 25, 2012, for individuals interested in obtaining their CRS credential.
Training Curriculum for the CRS Certification 

        The initial requirement incluldes a high school diploma/GED or college degree. The training is organized into five modules with a total of 54 hours of educational training. The cost of this two-week program is $540.00.

        Recovery Management -- 18 hours
        Education and Advocacy -- 12 hours
        Professional Ethics and Responsibility -- 12 hours
        Confidentiality -- 6 hours
        Additional Addiction Training -- 6 hours

        Following the completion of these five modules, the CRS candidate must pass the written PCB exam for this position as well as submit their apploication, documentation and cettification payment fee. The PCB exam is scheduled for Saturday, July 21, 2012.
Certified Recovery Specialist Curriculum

MODULE 1: RECOVERY MANAGEMENT
This module explains the key concepts of the pathways to recovery including planning, recovery capital, skills and core functions of peer recovery, and the defined support services.
        Course Hours: 18
        Foundations of Recovery, 3
        Many Pathways to Recovery, 3
        Defining Recovery Support Services, 3
        Fundamentals of Recovery Coaching, 3
        Facilitating the Stages of Readiness and Recovery, 3
        Trauma Concerns and the Recovery Process, 3

MODULE 2: EDUCATION AND ADVOCACY
This module defines the concepts of addiction, co-occuring disorders as well as effective communication skills and advocacy strategies.
        Course Hours: 12
        The Science of Addiction, 3
        Co-Occurring Disorders and Related Issues, 3
        Communication Skills for Individuals and Group Facilitation, 3
        Message, Media, and Advocacy Issues, 3
  
MODULE 3: PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND RESPONSIBILITY
This module focuses on ethical issues relating to addiction counseling.
        Course Hours: 12
        Basic Concepts of Ethics in Peer Culture, 3
        Values, Ethics and Boundaries in Peer Culture, 3
        The Evolving Role of Self Disclosure, 3                        
        An Ethical Responsibility for Self Care, 3

MODULE 4: CONFIDENTIALITY 
This module defines federal and state legislation and professional confidentiallity guidelines for peer recovery services.
        Course Hours: 6
        Confidentiality Principles and Practices, 3
        Implementing Confidentiality Practices, 3

MODULE 5: ADDICTION TOPICS
This module includes relevant topics for recovery planning.
        Course Hours: 6
        Process Addictions, 3
        Family Impact of Addiction, 3

PREPARATION FOR THE CRS EXAM, 3
REGISTER ONLINE BY CLICKING HERE  
The Council of Southeast Pennsylvania, Inc., an affiliate of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD), is a private nonprofit organization serving Bucks County, Chester County, Delaware County, Montgomery County, and Philadelphia County. The Council provides a wide range of services to families, schools, businesses, individuals and the community at-large regardless of ability to pay, ethnicity, race, gender, age, and/or sexual orientation.