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Our Action Plan to Address the Opioid Epidemic On the heels of the White House’s declaration of a nationwide public health emergency and the final report of the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and Opioid Crisis, we have outlined our solutions to help address the opioid epidemic. Take a look at our detailed, four-point plan to help end this health crisis and empower families to take action. Join the conversation at #FamilesSpeakUp. Read More Help Us Continue to Empower Families:   Donate Now Tell a Friend   Responding to Overdose with Naloxone Our new resource, available in English and Spanish, explains how to use the emergency medication naloxone (also known by the brand name Narcan) to save a life. In case of an overdose to opioids (which includes heroin and prescription pain medication such as Vicodin, OxyContin, Percocet), naloxone can reverse the overdose. Learn More (English or Spanish)   MTF Survey: Almost One-Third of High School Seniors Used Vaping Device in Past Year According to The National Institutes of Health’s Monitoring the Future (MTF) Study, electronic vaping has become more popular among teens, with one-third of high school seniors reporting using some kind of vaping device in the past year. The substances teens are vaping range from nicotine to marijuana to “just flavoring.” Our President Fred Muench, said “teens might not fully understand that vaping is, in fact, just as addictive as smoking, but with unknown long-term health consequences. The research shows that teens are likely to move on to smoking regular cigarettes after vaping — making it critical for parents to educate themselves and stay on top of the latest trends in teen substance use in order to empower their kids from making harmful choices.” Read More   Winter Wish Gala Raises Over $1 Million for Families in Need We hosted our annual Winter Wish Gala at Gotham Hall in New York City on Tuesday, December 12 and we raised over $1.1 million dollars to help families struggling with their son or daughter’s substance use. Elizabeth Vargas, Award-Winning ABC News Co-Anchor of “20/20” and author of “Between Breaths” served as Master of Ceremonies. The event celebrated the people and organizations who work with us to support our mission, including Facebook; David A. Katz, Esq., Partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; Natasha Silver Bell, Founder and President, Silverbell Coaching; Christine Mack, Philanthropist; Thomas McLellan, Ph.D., Former Deputy Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy and our invaluable parent coaches and volunteers for their work in support of parents and families. Read More   Holiday Gift Guide Our holiday gift guide illustrates how you can help our mission during this time of year. It can be a very difficult time for the families we support, and you can still do your part by checking out some of the guide’s creative opportunities to raise awareness or to donate to the Partnership. Read More ICYMI: Parent Blog Roundup How These 8 Parents Are Giving Back If Love Alone Could Have Saved Me, It Would Have Everything My Parents Did to Get Me Addiction Treatment and into Recovery Secrets for Surviving Thanksgiving with an Addicted Son The Empty Chair at Our Holiday Table What to Look for — and What to Avoid — when Searching for an Addiction Treatment Program Withdrawing from ‘Withdrawal’: The Language of Addiction Matters Navigating the Holidays When Your Child is in Early Recovery from Addiction Is There Medicine to Help You Recover from a Heroin Addiction? 6 Steps to Find Addiction Treatment For Your Son or Daughter If You Don’t Have Insurance

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#MeToo: How the Pain and Shame of Sexual Abuse Can Lead to Substance Use by Pat A., Master Addictions Counselor I met Katie (not her real name) a few years ago when she came to see me to talk about her struggles with substance use. Katie is a beautiful 22-year-old woman with a warm smile and soft brown eyes that exude a kind of tenderness — tenderness that she rarely directs toward herself. She has dreams of being a healthy woman in a loving relationship, a house with a white picket fence and a job as a vet tech, but her substance use continues to ravage her happiness. When Katie was 16-years-old, she was sexually assaulted in her workplace. At first she told no one because of her overwhelming sense of self-blame and shame. After a few months, she shared what happened with her mom, and while they tried to address it through the legal system, it ended up being a “he said, she said” situation. Since so much time had elapsed, her case was dismissed. The case might have been over and done with from a legal standpoint, but trauma and shame became Katie’s constant companions. She began drinking, smoking marijuana and eventually using meth and heroin as she tried to exorcise the unwanted thoughts, images, touches, smells and tastes of her past. Read More

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Joseph, If there was ever a year where people needed to be empowered with the tools to make a difference, it was 2017. This year family members fought powerful insurance companies to get lifesaving treatments for their loved ones. In the aftermath of disasters like Hurricanes Harvey and Maria, people stepped up to help communities get the relief they needed. There were countless campaigns that saved an animal from being put to death or led to the passage of a law addressing animal cruelty. These were just a few of the examples of the more than 2,100 petitions that won this year in the U.S. alone. And they won because of supporters like you. Even the petitions that didn’t go on to become a victory this year had an impact. They put a spotlight on important issues, brought communities of supporters together, and built the momentum that makes winning possible. Whether you started a petition or signed one in support of an issue you care about, you are the reason millions turned toChange.org in 2017. On behalf of the Change.org family, thank you for your support, compassion, and belief that together we can make a difference. Your petition or signature meant more than you may know. You gave people hope when they needed it the most and helped change people’s lives. For that, we can’t thank you enough. We look forward to an even more empowering 2018. Together, we can turn hope into progress. Thank you, Amanda Luther North America Campaigns Team PS: What will you change in 2018? Make your 2018 New Year’s resolution to take on an issue facing your community, state, or the nation. Your petition just may be what we are talking about at the end of 2018. Change.org is a Public Benefit Corporation dedicated to empowering everyone to create the kind of change they want to see. Contributions from people like you help keep our platform free, open and independent.

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January 2, 2018 2018 NAADAC Advocacy Webinar Series NAADAC is launching a new Advocacy Webinar Series in 2018 to provide you with the tools and information to be a powerful and effective advocate for the addiction profession! This exciting eight-webinar series is kicking off in January.  Learn about advocacy, NAADAC’s public policy initiatives, and the many resources NAADAC provides to help you stay current on important state and national public policy issues that impact addiction professionals through this new series of webinars!  Here's what is coming up in January!   What’s Advocacy Got to Do With You and the Future of Addiction Services Thursday, January 4, 2018 @ 2:00 - 3:00 pm ET (1 CT/12 MT/11 PT) Description: This webinar will focus on the NAADAC Advocacy Series and what the NAADAC Advocacy Series will present and the importance to addiction professionals. Issues addressed will be the Series Itself, NAADAC’s public policy initiatives, and the NAADAC Advocacy webpages and how to stay current. Participants will also get an overview of major legislative issues currently before Congress and strategies for contacting their legislators for inclusion and support of those related to our profession. Presenters: Gerard J. Schmidt, MA, LPC, MAC, and Cynthia Moreno Tuohy, NCAC II, CDC III, SAP Gerard J. Schmidt, MA, LPC, MAC, is the President of NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals and is Chief Operations Officer at Valley HealthCare System in Morgantown, WV. He has served in the mental health and addictions treatment profession for the past 45 years and has been active within West Virginia in advocating and supporting state legislative issues related to addictions and addiction treatment. Cynthia Moreno Tuohy, NCAC II, CDC III, SAP, is the Executive Director of NAADAC. She previously served as the Project Director of Central East Addiction Technology Transfer Center, the Program Director for Volunteers of America Western Washington, and the administrator of multi-county, publicly-funded alcohol/drug prevention/ intervention/treatment centers. Moreno Tuohy has been a state, national, and international trainer for over 25 years on a variety of topics. Price: Education is FREE to all professionals Continuing Education Credit: Earn a certificate of completion for 1 NAADAC CE credit by passing an online CE quiz upon completion of the webinar. FREE for NAADAC members (Join now!). $15 for Non-members. Questions or comments about NAADAC Education? Take a look at our Webinar FAQs or email NAADAC. Medicaid Innovation Accelerator Program: Reducing Substance Use Disorders Wednesday, January 17, 2018 @ 3:00 - 4:00 pm ET (2 CT/1 MT/12 PT) Description: In July 2014, CMS launched the Medicaid Innovation Accelerator Program (IAP), a collaborative between the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) and the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI). The goal of IAP is to improve the health and health care of Medicaid beneficiaries and to reduce costs by supporting states’ ongoing payment and delivery system reforms. This webinar provides an overview of the IAP SUD program area, including recent efforts and upcoming opportunities, and highlights ways to engage in Medicaid SUD delivery system reform. Presenter: Tyler Sadwith Tyler Sadwith is a Health Insurance Specialist at the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and lead for the Medicaid Innovation Accelerator Program (IAP) initiative on Reducing Substance Use Disorder (SUD). The Medicaid IAP, launched in 2014, provides technical support to states’ ongoing Medicaid delivery system reform efforts across programmatic areas, including substance use disorders. Price: Education is FREE to all professionals Continuing Education Credit: Earn a certificate of completion for 1 NAADAC CE credit by passing an online CE quiz upon completion of the webinar. FREE for NAADAC members (Join now!). $15 for Non-members. Questions or comments about NAADAC Education? Take a look at our Webinar FAQs or email NAADAC. More webinars are being added to the 2018 Advocacy Webinar Series each month! Stay tuned for upcoming webinar announcements.  NAADAC, The Association for Addiction Professionals 44 Canal Center Plaza, Suite 301, Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone: 703.741.7686 / 800.548.0497 Send to Friend |