Denver, CO | June 2-5, 2024
Skip the Monday morning line!
Arriving Sunday? We encourage you to consider visiting our registration table on the third floor from 3:00 - 5:00 PM MDT.
Grab your swag bag and enjoy some hang time with other guests before the night's events start.
RLS Agenda
If you plan to participate in the first day of events, we recommend arriving in Denver no later than 4 PM MDT. Activities kick off at 5:30 PM MDT!
We invite our community to join us for dinner in a space for conversations to encourage curiosity and exploration of equity in recovery spaces. DEI work is at the forefront of our efforts and our organization’s values. When we lead by example, we can be a part of the change we want to see.
The power of peer will be about the ability to harness and enlighten, the audience on the collective knowledge and expertise of a group of individuals that come together with our strengths and lived experiences, to generate innovative and effective solutions. When peers come together to propose ideas, we can draw upon our diverse perspectives, experiences, and skills to address complex problems or challenges, and walk alongside each other while we figure it out. Peers working together in partnerships and collaboration of different ideas, identifying potential risks or limitations, with non-judgement, helps us to fight together to take our lives back, and with that, we are forces to be reckon with.By leveraging the power of the peer individuals can tap into the intelligence and strength we hold as peers to become the whole person, mind, body, and spirit. With that we are able to enhance the quality and impact to the industry of mental health and addiction. As a facilitator of peers and a peer myself now for 4 years and a person in longterm recovery for 5 years, the world has been changing drastically and all of us, that are choosing to walk along side others in this epidemic are bold. I say bold because as a peer not only do we have to make sure we are taking care of ourselves and staying sober, we also have to be ready to walk with other peers in some of their most beautiful disasters. So what’s the power of the peer?Topic 1- The power of the peer collaboration- Topic 2- The importance of integrating peer support into organizations successfullytopic 3- The potential for building a supportive and inclusive community, that creates togetherness consistentlyTopic 4- Peer support Training ProgramsTopic 5- Peer support roles and responsibilities
Retreat to the wellness room to practice simple meditation techniques that you can use anywhere and at any time to reset. Practices will include breathwork, visualization, body awareness, yoga nidra, and simple yoga poses. Bring your questions and requests and we will tailor these to your needs!
It is an interesting (and challenging) time to be an advocate, to say the least. There are over 7,500 state legislators and 435 members of Congress, and the 118th Congress is on track to be one of the least productive sessions since the Great Depression. But that cannot deter advocates, like you, from advocating! With countless issues and advocates competing for their attention, how do you ensure your representatives are champions for legislation that will reduce overdoses and expand access to treatment for opioid use disorder nationwide and in your community? The core factor in the success of legislation is whether its advocates can successfully persuade elected officials to support it. Not everyone can hire an expensive lobbying firm, but everyone can be an advocate and form effective coalitions. This session will teach attendees basic advocacy skills on substance use issues in a way that is persuasive, respectful, and efficient. By including this panel, Faces & Voices of Recovery will support their attendees in becoming better advocates and stand out in Congress and state legislatures.
During this session, David Awadalla, MSW, BSHP from SAMHSA’s Office of Recovery will present on SAMHSA’s efforts to ‘bridge the gap’ between harm reduction and recovery. Attendees will learn about federal efforts such as SAMHSA’s Office of Recovery and National Recovery Agenda; CSAP’s harm reduction grant program and framework; and various other policies, programs, and initiatives that are promoting collaboration across the continuum of care. Attendees will all also engage in a discussion on the similarities and differences between recovery and harm reduction; identify some of the misconceptions that exist surrounding each; discuss how community harm reduction programs and recovery community organizations might be able to work more effectively together to prevent substance use and overdose and promote recovery; and explore ways that these organizations are actively incorporating these other strategies across the continuum.
Explores the traditional and contemporary cultural practices that form the foundation of healing for Indigenous communities. This presentation delves into the importance of indigenous values, cultural identity, healthy family systems, language, and community connection in the recovery journey, highlighting how these frameworks can inform and enhance modern recovery approaches.
Leading from the heart can be challenging when historically fear-based leadership has taken the front seat. Leaders who are called to lead through an empathetic lens face many challenges. There are many questions seasoned & emerging leaders might have. Like how do we lead with love while getting the job done? How do we advocate for self-care & stay in integrity by not getting burned out? This session will help leaders further understand how to lead with compassion while maintaining self-care & personal boundaries.
I will provide an in-depth explanation of how MoNetwork has integrated harm reduction practices and principles into our operations as a recovery community center. Additionally, I will elaborate on the core principles of harm reduction and elucidate why it constitutes an essential component of the recovery continuum.
Slide 1: IntroductionWelcome to "Unlocking Change: The Butterfly Effect"Today, we explore the power of understanding Co-Occurring Disorders in advocacy as a Certified Peer Specialist.Slide 2: What is the Butterfly Effect?The Butterfly Effect: Small actions can lead to significant changes.Every interaction, no matter how small, can create a ripple effect of impact.Slide 3: Introduction to Co-Occurring DisordersCo-Occurring Disorders: The intersection of mental health and substance use disorders.Understanding the complexities and challenges individuals face.Slide 4: The Role of a Certified Peer SpecialistCertified Peer Specialists: Individuals with lived experience who provide support and advocacy.Peer support as a catalyst for change and recovery.Slide 5: Advocacy through UnderstandingImportance of understanding Co-Occurring Disorders in advocacy work.Breaking down stigma and promoting holistic approaches to treatment and support.Slide 6: The Ripple Effect of AdvocacyAdvocacy as the starting point for change.Small actions leading to significant shifts in perception and policy.Slide 7: Case Study: Slide 8: Strategies for Effective AdvocacyBuilding rapport and trust with individuals facing Co-Occurring Disorders.Providing resources, education, and support for recovery.Slide 9: Creating Lasting ChangeCollaborating with communities, organizations, and policymakers.Advocating for systemic changes to support individuals with Co-Occurring Disorders.Slide 10: Empowering the Butterfly EffectEach interaction has the potential to create positive change.Embracing the role of Certified Peer Specialists in advocating for understanding and support.Slide 11: ConclusionThe Butterfly Effect: Small actions, big impact.Together, as advocates and Certified Peer Specialists, we can unlock change and empower individuals with Co-Occurring Disorders.Slide 12: Q&AThank you for joining "Unlocking Change: The Butterfly Effect."Now, let's open the floor for questions and discussion.
Join us for an insightful general session, where a distinguished panel consisting of members of Congress and representatives from key federal agencies, will come together to discuss the latest progress in building a recovery-ready nation. Moderated by Faces & Voices of Recovery, this session will highlight collaborative efforts, innovative strategies, and the policy advancements that are shaping the path forward. Participants will gain valuable insights into the challenges and successes of nationwide recovery initiatives and learn about the steps being taken to foster resilience and growth in our communities.
This breakout session explores the dynamic interplay between state and federal policies in shaping recovery efforts, with a special focus on Colorado’s successful efforts. Attendees will delve into examples that highlight significant recovery wins, examining how state initiatives align with and are bolstered by federal strategies. The discussion will also cover best practices for policy advocacy, ensuring that local recovery efforts are supported at both state and federal levels. Join us to gain insights into effective collaboration across the tiers of government to maximize recovery outcomes.
In this session you will learn the who, how, what, and why regarding the FRCO Respite Facility. We will review historical data tracking to show differential demographics, outcomes, and success rates. We will discuss respite peer job descriptions of key staff and the vital roles each plays in the day to day operations, in addition to our key partnerships and stakeholders within the Broward County System of Care. Overview of respite best practices, to include updated policy and procedures.
Adults Children of Addiction (ACOAs) bring particular concerns deserving targeted attention. It is crucial to attend to the specific kinds of presentations due to underlying trauma and chronic unmanaged stress from living in the chaos, abuse, neglect, violence, uncertainty, and relationship dysfunction they may bring to treatment. Family rules, survival roles, and other deep defenses are created in that environment. The trauma and substance use disorder are only too often intergenerational. Survival skills which may have created some safety for children growing up can present as confounding behaviors in adulthood. These may affect relationships and can include, among many others, traumatic bonding, emotional constriction, cycles of re-enactment and unresolved grief. PTSD or Complex PTSD can be present, as well as unique kinds of narrative descriptions related to emotional functioning. Parental substance use disorder, while present in all parts of society, can have even more complicated effects when occurring in families with poverty, racism, gender bias and other forms of discrimination. This is a quietly marginalized population both as children and as adults. Identifying, validating, and supporting resiliencies and ways to access resource factors ACOAs have developed is offered.
Our communities have tackled substance use and promoted Recovery by investing in a wide array of proven programs, from Recovery Community Centers to Harm Reduction initiatives. The most successful efforts – recovery support services and more - produce results based not purely on the efficacy of their methods, but rather on the effectiveness of the people managing these efforts. No matter the effort, it will only be as successful as the investment we make in people. The Opportunity of Leadership will outline the possibilities that open up when organization's invest in employees, managers and supervisors invest in their teams, and Boards invest in their directors. It will illustrate not simply the need to make the investment, but rather the possibilities that such an investment will create. This session will illustrate this opportunity by focusing on three specific leadership practices and their implementation - responsibility, self reflection & feedback, and speaking to the leader in everyone.
Passenger Recovery's history as a nonprofit for touring musicians, and transition to RCO status and using music, arts to enrich recovery. Discussion of Hamtramck's diverse cultural and musical history, and how peer support for our diverse cultures and inclusivity for our LGBTQ+ populations is crucial. Also, our work towards music events for Passenger that have proven mental/cognitive benefits, including enhanced concentration, and the ability to achieve a meditative, calm state of mind.
As a society, we often don't know what to say to a family struggling with substance use, or to someone who has lost a loved one to a substance passing. I am a cancer survivor and when I was going through treatment and very unwell, I had meals delivered 3 times a week for a year, my laundry picked up once a week, my house cleaned once a month, many people driving my kids to their activities, numerous cards and gifts arriving in the mail, or showing up on my doorstep, pastors and church members coming to pray with or over me, either at home, or during the many hospital stays. But when my son got sick with a potentially deadly disease (heroin use disorder) I was shunned, blamed, and ostracized from my own community where I had lived for 25 years. I started going a town over for my groceries because I couldn't handle the stares, the whispers, the people I knew well ducking down another aisle to avoid me. I was terrified, alone, and viewed as a bad parent. I developed this presentation last year for RecoverCon as the disparities between support for cancer and support for SUD have really bothered me. I want to help teach people how to approach, what we, as a struggling family need, and how you can support.
The presenters will use lecture, participant query, discussion and activities, including social media for the conference, to examine how Georgia, in a bipartisan manner, has implemented historic reforms to transform the way Behavioral Health is addressed. Participants will learn how state and local governments partner together with the executive, legislative, and judicial branches to set the stage for law enforcement, medical, faith, education, and peers and families to join in a coalition to move away from the status quo and implement modern and effective programs to serve the needs of those impacted by behavioral health medical issues.
High Rockies Harm Reduction (HRHR) approaches recovery from a mental health perspective and allows for the use of medications as part of treatment. Director, Maggie Seldeen, explores the concept of recovery defined as personal well-being, rather than personal abstinence. The session delves into pathways of recovery that may include psychoactive substances and prescription medications. Seldeen and HRHR strongly value the following statements:You are in recovery when you say you are.Substance use is a public health issue, not a criminal issue.Language matters.Harm reduction is part of everyone's lives.This session aims to expand upon these points, through current statistical evidence and group conversation, and help recovery professionals provide the most client-centered care by helping each individual define recovery for themselves.
Black Women Consulting to Advance Addiction Research & Engagement (Black Women CARE) was created to drive better treatment outcomes by increasing the engagement of Black women with lived experience of substance use disorders and the criminal-legal system in outcomes research.Black Women CARE is a PCORI-funded project centering Black women with lived experience in substance use disorder and criminal legal system involvement from Georgia, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Through discussion and focus groups, five Black women with lived experience engaged their peers in shaping recommendations to help researchers develop patient-centered studies that engage and focus on Black women with similar lived SUD and CLSI experiences.This presentation provides an overview of the study, methodology, findings, and recommendations for researchers engaging Black women with lived experience in their studies.
Community-based organizations (CBOs) are essential to providing solutions to the opioid and overdose crisis in the United States, as they often best understand the needs of their communities and which initiatives will have the most impact on individuals and families. However, CBOs have traditionally been underfunded and understaffed, making organizational development, employee wellness, and financial sustainability difficult for both new and established recovery organizations. Recognizing these challenges, the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts (FORE) engaged in advisory discussions with a range of experts for insights on strategies to strengthen delivery opioid use disorder (OUD) and overdose-related services, as well as services addressing social determinants of health, particularly within the hardest hit communities. One of the most compelling ideas to emerge was funding capacity building efforts of CBOs working on the front lines of overdose initiatives, leading FORE to release a Request for Proposal (RFP) in 2022 titled “Community-Driven Responses to Opioid Use Disorder and Overdose Mortality.” FORE President Dr. Karen A. Scott will speak on why FORE started the ‘CBO Program,’ the RFP process, and how the program integrates into FORE’s overall strategy to address the opioid and overdose crisis. After a rigorous review of 428 applications, in 2023, FORE announced $3.25 million in grants to 22 CBOs that offer harm reduction, prevention, treatment, and recovery supports in urban and rural communities nationwide. These two-year grants are being used to support programs, build organizational capacity, bolster staffing, address technology issues, and establish strategic partnerships that help CBOs strengthen the delivery of OUD services in their communities. FORE Program Director Dr. Ken Shatzkes will speak on the different ways the various CBO grantees are supporting community-driven initiatives to reduce overdoses and engaging community members in treatment and recovery, as well as how the foundation works to support grantees beyond the funding. Two CBO grantees will speak about their work and how the FORE grants are helping.
As psychedelic medicines show promise in helping people to break free from a wide array of conditions and to improve their overall wellness, almost everyone is curious - most especially people that work in treatment, support, and advocacy, or that are in recovery themselves. In this sixty minute presentation, participants will have the chance learn more about psychedelic-assisted recovery and how it is impacting the way that we treat substance use disorder in a blend of easy-to-understand language and insightful, compelling storytelling.
There are great challenges within the wellness recovery workforce as the peer role is a complex one. Peer integration has expanded exponentially in the last 10 years and systems have had difficulties in keeping up with the demands. This has led to a workforce that is learning and often educating the intersecting practitioners, systems and communities about their role as it grows. There is still a great amount of misunderstanding and misconceptions regarding peer roles, nonetheless, organizations have the fiduciary responsibility of supporting the peer recovery workforce. This makes Peer Supervision an indispensable component to Peer Roles.This training will explore the bi-directional relationship between peers and peer supervisors. Participants will have the opportunity to explore what their roles look like within the environments they engage with and discuss what they may seek from their supervision experiences as well as what they bring to the relationship in order to fulfill their professional potential.
You must purchase tickets for this event separately at rockies.com/soberaf CIN Reds vs. CO Rockies Free Sober Tailgate @ 5pm Game Starts @ 6:40pm Tickets are $24 each and purchased through Ticketmaster The Sober Tailgate will take place at X2 Denver, 2130 Arapahoe Street, Denver, CO 80205. Transportation to/from is on your own.
Contact Duke Rumely for more details: Duke@SoberAFE.com
Start your conference day refreshed with our Energetic Harmonization with Sound session. This calming sound bath features crystal singing bowls, tuned to resonate with the unique energy of each participant. It’s a grounding experience, perfect for clearing your mind and balancing your energy before diving into the day’s activities. Join us to center yourself with these soothing vibrations, setting a peaceful tone for all the sessions ahead. This is just one of many wellness options available each day to help you stay energized and focused throughout the conference.
Substance Use Disorders, Mental Health conditions, and other related Health challenges continue to impact millions of people across the US, with devastating and traumatic effects on individuals, families and entire communities. Moreover, research shows that racialized and marginalized communities are disproportionately impacted by these conditions and they have not experienced equitable access to the public health continuum of care and other vital resources that support wellness, recovery, and healthy communities. That said, recent changes at the federal, state, and local levels are changing how policy makers, organizations, the recovery community, and practitioners view, develop, and deliver Harm Reduction services informed by social justice and equity. This presentation will place Harm Reduction in the current historical context, describe existing challenges, highlight the excellent work being carried out across the country, and make a call for the equitable expansion and practice of Harm Reduction to include ALL people. Attendees will also learn about the important roles and responsibilities the Recovery community and our Allies have in this regard.
Recovery Friendly Workplace (RFW) initiatives have emerged across the country in the past four years as both local and business communities recognize the pivotal role the workplace can play in addressing substance use disorder and supporting those in recovery. Also called “Recovery Ready” or “Workplace Supported Recovery” programs by federal entities such as the US Department of Labor and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, these programs are implementing evidence-based policies and programs in almost 40 of our 50 states. It is critical for recovery leaders to understand this growing initiative and how to partner with (or lead) these efforts in their regions/states. This session will review the current RFW landscape across the country, highlight model laws and language to establish, support and sustain these programs, and provide first-hand examples of how recovery communities have partnered across public and private industries aiming to solidify RFW as a standard business practice.
People who have lived experience with substance use and recovery could actually cause harm when providing support to people who use drugs. This session will challenge participants to evaluate their support for multiple recovery pathways and their personal beliefs related to addiction and chaotic substance use vs managed substance use. This session will ask participants to question their self-awareness and consider how their own experience includes bias. The group will review the concept of practicing nonjudgement and the impact of privilege. Participants will reflect on the types of services offered by their respective organizations and learn to distinguish between Harm Reduction, harm reduction, and risk reduction.
In this transformative session, 'Unity in Diversity: Fostering Inclusion and Belonging in Recovery Spaces,' participants will embark on an insightful journey that weaves together crucial statistics, enriching lived experiences, and a foundational understanding of gender identities. Designed to foster an atmosphere of openness and vulnerability, this workshop invites attendees to engage in meaningful dialogue, explore diverse perspectives, and deepen their comprehension of the multifaceted nature of identity. Through interactive discussions and reflective exercises, participants will gain the tools and insights needed to create more inclusive and affirming recovery environments, ensuring every individual feels seen, valued, and supported.
The landscape for Recovery Community Organizations is different in every state, but RCOs everywhere benefit from coordinated efforts to strengthen their state’s recovery landscape. Issues such as Medicaid and other funding for RCOs, RCO certification, and sustaining a statewide system of viable, authentic RCOs to meet community needs can all create a complicated and sometimes competitive environment. Collaboration among RCOs is critical to building a healthy recovery ecosystem, but it can be difficult to build effective coalitions. The Minnesota Alliance of Recovery Community Organizations (MARCO) grew out of a fragmented and often unsupported environment that threatened the existence of the RCO model in Minnesota. Using examples from MARCO’s development, including the good, the bad, and the ugly, this session will highlight strategies, tactics, and even values that RCOs might embrace to build a coalition from the ground up and be effective partners in state policymaking. Participants are encouraged to share their states’ successes or struggles as we identify core characteristics of effective RCO coalition-building and subsequent policy outcomes.
Utah Support Advocates for Recovery Awareness (USARA) has been running CRAFT Family Support Groups throughout Utah for 14 years. In this session, you will learn about how USARA modified the CRAFT model (originally developed as an evidence-based clinical model) to be used successfully in a group setting and facilitated by trained family support peers who are family members with lived experience. This 12-week course teaches friends and family members a respectful, non-confrontational set of skills that can help motivate struggling loved ones to engage in treatment and support their recovery process and also how to support themselves, even in chaotic and challenging situations. The weekly group meetings are available in English and Spanish both in-person and online throughout Utah and Colorado. Family members learn the following effective strategies and skills: · How to practice self-care and improve the quality of your life · Communication Training: Positive communication strategies · Developing a roadmap for understanding a loved one’s substance use pattern · Positive reinforcement strategies/ identifying and use of positive rewards · Domestic violence precautions · Motivation: setting positive goals · Problem-solving · Exploring unintentional support/applying natural consequences · Treatment services and recovery management Our panel includes 4 trained CRAFT family support peer facilitators currently running groups in Colorado and Utah. The purpose of the panel is to hear our panelists share real-life experiences using CRAFT personally and with their participants and also explain the CRAFT program offered in their areas. We have questions prepared, but we will also open it up to the audience for questions.
Peer Recovery Support Specialists have a unique role in assisting individuals through the recovery process in that through shared lived-experience and mutual empowerment, they help people become, and stay engaged, in the recovery process and reduce the likelihood of relapse. CoE-PHI is administered by CAI and funded by SAMHSA and develops and disseminates resources, training, and technical assistance for state and municipal agencies, healthcare providers, school-based professionals, and individuals and families, to improve understanding and application of health privacy laws and regulations, when providing or receiving treatment for substance use and mental health concerns. The CoE-PHI conducted focus groups with substance use treatment providers to understand their practices, and challenges associated with, introducing concepts of privacy and consent to share information about substance use and mental health treatment services, with the patients that they serve every day.During the course of these focus groups providers shared with us that, while many of them have received training around understanding and applying health privacy regulations themselves, they have not had training made available to them regarding how to build skills necessary to have these conversations with the patients that they serve, in a way that is meaningful and that helps patients to understand what they are consenting to. Providers also shared during our Focus Groups that Peer Recovery Support Specialists can play a vital role in assisting patients in understanding why they might be approached by their providers to discuss concepts of privacy and consent to sharing their treatment information, and that this is a typical part of the treatment and recovery process. Through this application the CoE-PHI proposes to provide a training workshop specifically for Peer Recovery Support Specialists that will assist them in building their communication skills specifically around having these important conversations with patients around concepts of privacy and consent to share information, in a way that is meaningful and helpful to patients.
Join us for a listening session and share your experiences using digital recovery support tools as a participant, a peer specialist, and a supervisor. Faces & Voices of Recovery will use your feedback to inform the development of the RecoveryNet app and the Recovery Data Platform.
Substance use disorders are the most stigmatized condition around the world, ranked higher than criminality in a study across 14 countries. Stigma is a complex social phenomenon driven by perceptions of cause and controllability of the disorder. Labeled individuals are then socially devalued, which leads to inequality and discrimination. Stigma and discrimination is reflected in our drug policies, social services, media communications, clinical operations, and language. This talk contributes to national efforts to understand and change beliefs about the likelihood and process of recovery, the effectiveness of recovery support services, and the measurable impact of language. Changing stigma in a lasting way will require coordinated efforts which are based on the best possible evidence.
Take a moment to unwind in our Integration and Energetic Balancing Room, specially designed to help you assimilate the morning’s sessions and prepare for the afternoon. This serene space offers heart-straightening talks, chakra balancing, and sound therapy to cleanse and rejuvenate your energy. For those interested in traditional methods, we offer the option of smoke and flame cleansing in a designated outdoor area of the hotel. Whether you choose to stay indoors for reflective practices or step outside for a smoke or flame cleansing, this room is your go-to spot to restore balance and refresh your spirit before diving back into the conference activities.
There is much to be celebrated about the efficacy and power of the narratives we hear in recovery, the roots we grew from in the narrative therapy model and in our advocacy work, and how far we’ve come in reducing stigma through storytelling. Storytelling is truly one of our superpowers, both collectively and individually, and has done much to make recovery possible for so many people. But with the ever-rising rate of overdose and other substance-related deaths, the recovery movement is at a much-needed point of change. We’re in the midst of a generational shift that will bring our movement to the next level, a level where we’ll see a more expansive view of recovery take hold, one in which our tent will grow, overdose deaths will fall, and we will truly be able to welcome all who need us. In order to rise, the recovery stories we tell must grow, too. We must work toward this groundbreaking shift in our movement by taking an honest look at the dominant narrative model of recovery and identifying both the ways in which it limits us and marginalizes some of the people who need us, and how we can seize the opportunity this moment of change brings us to make our storytelling more powerful, more effective, more inclusive, and better able to reach each and every person who needs to see themselves in us and to hear their story in ours. This presentation will both celebrate the power in our stories, and offer us opportunities to grow as a movement through more inclusive storytelling, enabling us to carry a more powerful message with the stories that celebrate, honor, empower and define us. We are at the perfect moment to weave a new tapestry of stories, one that will reduce substance-related deaths, one that will help improve the quality of life of countless people, one that is strong, diverse, beautiful, and truly able to hold us all. Let’s go!
While NYC overdose rates have continued to increase, the burden of overdose death is not equally distributed across populations. For example, between 2021 and 2022, rates of overdose death increased among Latinx and Black New Yorkers from 49.2 to 53.1, and from 53.5 to 62.0 per 100,000 respectively, with a much smaller rate increase observed among White New Yorkers (36.2 to 36.5 per 100,000). Additionally, there are wide geographic disparities, with some neighborhoods experiencing endemically high overdose mortality rates reflecting inequities in income, wealth, employment, education, criminal legal system involvement, and housing. All these factors have been linked to an increased risk of overdose death and are the result of structural racism and disinvestment in communities. East Harlem, with a 2022 rate of 88.9 overdose deaths per 100,000 residents, is regularly one of the top five neighborhoods for overdose death rates in NYC. NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) is committed to reducing gaps in rates of overdose death by ensuring the availability of and access to lifesaving services—including naloxone, harm reduction education and supplies, and medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD)—in communities which have been disproportionately impacted by the overdose epidemic. While Harlem is relatively well-resourced in terms of substance use services, what is less clear are the available resources that will support people to achieve and maintain healthier lives. Additionally, we do not know how factors such as mass incarceration, psychological marginalization, financial oppression, miseducation (e.g., underfunded schools), and housing instability impact people’s ability to attain the recovery capital that can support them to live healthier lives.
The Presenters will tell the story of one local group of community organizers who teamed up with students from the University of Utah and other partners to build the capacity of the Latine community to meet its own mental health needs. This story will include the personal experiences of people in recovery and the solutions they built together to support one another while also pushing the mainstream behavioral health care system in Utah to meaningfully address health equity.
The post pandemic workforce has been severely impacted by substance misuse, substance use disorders, mental and behavioral health issues. Employee Resource and Affinity Groups are well positioned to complement and supplement traditional 'reactive' HR responses with new and innovative proactive approaches that encourage companies to identify, embrace and engage Sober Curious, Recovery Ready / Recovery Friendly Workplace champions and their allies. Attendees will learn how DEIB groups can be used to create psychologically safe workspaces for employees who would benefit from having access to peer-level support. Recovery support peers, facilitators and coaches are able to help individuals obtain information, acquire knowledge, access resources, and navigate clinical / nonclinical mental / behavioral healthcare systems. Attendees will understand the benefit of utilize DEIB employee resource or affinity groups to create and sustain psychologically safe workplace cultures that support Sober Curious, Recovery Ready / Recovery Friendly Employees in the Workspace of the Future.
This session will discuss the importance of supporting individuals who value medication as a pathway of recovery. There is a significant gap in support within the recovery community for individuals who take medications for substance use disorder. Medications such as buprenorphine, methadone and vivitrol are best practices for treating opiate use disorder, however, they are not widely accepted as recovery in traditional 12-step communities. This contributes to the stigma and shame faced by individuals taking these medications, making it difficult for them to find support and thrive in recovery. As peers, it is our ethical duty to embrace all pathways of recovery, including the use of medications for substance use disorder. Developing an understanding of this pathway of recovery and becoming familiar with supportive programs, such as Medication Assisted Recovery Anonymous (MARA), can help us be of maximum service to our clients, and help bridge the gap between the treatment community and the recovery community.
While many people are motivated to seek treatment or practice harm reduction for substance use during pregnancy, they face many challenges in getting the support and care they deserve. Pregnant people who use drugs disproportionately face poverty, unstable housing, mental health challenges, and intimate partner violence and are often subjected to stigma, arrest, and punishment when seeking care during pregnancy, childbirth, and in the postpartum period. Peers can play a vital role in improving health outcomes for pregnant and postpartum people who use drugs and their families. In this session, three Recovery Community Organizations serving every day to improve the lives of pregnant and postpartum participants and their families will share their challenges and lessons learned. You will hear from peers serving as recovery doulas, managing recovery housing for pregnant and postpartum women and their children, and working closely with clinics specializing in pregnancy and postpartum care for those with substance use disorders. Researchers will share findings from a recent survey on peers’ knowledge and training needs related to this topic and will then lead an open discussion to solicit audience members' insights, lessons learned, and recommendations.
This session will outline the work happening in Colorado to identify the landscape of peer support efforts in carceral settings and the efforts to align and standardize both access and delivery of this critical service. To date, Colorado county jails and Department of Correction facilities have varied widely as to their interest and willingness in having peer support services available to incarcerated individuals. As other states may experience, each facility differs on preferred entrance criteria, best practices for incorporating evidence-based processes, and community linkages to services, and few have committed such preferences to policy. These discrepancies were acknowledged amongst statewide behavioral health and carceral stakeholders and a grassroots peer-led group of advocates began working on addressing these discrepancies. This effort evolved into a subcommittee of the Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Misuse Prevention’s Recovery Work Group, which disseminated a state-wide survey to peer support entities working in (or attempting to work in) carceral settings to capture current gaps, obstacles, and opportunities. Utilizing survey data in addition to recommendations put forth by COSSUP, the “Advancing the Peer Support Workforce in Carceral Settings” subcommittee produced recommendations for both the county jail and DOC stakeholders as to the legitimacy of evidence-based peer support services and value of standardizing policies and procedures enabling external peer support professionals to work “inside the walls.” While this effort will be ongoing at the time of the Summit, preliminary outcomes of this effort will also be discussed.
Love...No Ego, The Courage to be You, is an inclusive presentation workshop that enhances positive responses to challenging traumas and promotes preventative and responsive behaviors for happiness, success, and resiliency. This presentation workshop empowers the survivor as well as the perpetrator, instilling ultimate accountability, self-love, love for others, and integrity. It teaches and helps attendees to establish a "foundation for success", facilitate four (4) pillars and (3) principles, and apply several strategies that help to heal, go beyond the egotistical pressures of fear and overly self-centeredness, giving them the courage to be themselves.
Join the DEI committee of the Alliance for Recovery-Centered Organizations in a conversation about the types of supports recovery centered organizations across the country are seeking to further their work in diversity, equity, and inclusion. The committee will present feedback collected from Alliance members about their current needs, and will then engage the audience in a dialogue to discuss what we can do together to support DEI in Recovery-Centered Organizations across the country.
The term Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care (ROSC) gets thrown around a lot in addiction and mental health treatment, harm reduction, overdose prevention, and safe consumption circles. But what does it actually mean and how is it currently being implemented both to help people in addiction and recovery in general?
This presentation offers a way to talk about spirituality without being religious in the 12 Step tradition. It connects human cognitive development with faith development theory as the foundation for practical therapeutic groups using evidence based best practices for creative and engaging dialogue and insight opportunities. The core mental health illness of substance use disorder is an obsessive-compulsive mental pathway in self-centered, judging, and/or fear-based logic. The spiritual awakening of recovery is developing pathways to relational thinking which are in neocortex functions. The group activities and discussions foster awareness of these ways of thinking and offer ways to break out of the obsessive-compulsive pathways.
While recovery support services are an established best practice, we urgently need research on the efficacy and effectiveness of recovery support services and recovery processes adjunctive to and independent of treatment. The Peer Recovery Innovation Network (PRIN) (funded by an R24 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse) was created to accelerate recovery science, focusing on Peer Recovery Support Services (PRSS). By establishing a research agenda through a two-phase process, our initiative will for the foster innovation and knowledge expansion in the field. During phase 1, we engaged a multidisciplinary External Advisory Board (EAB), comprising recovery science experts, peer recovery specialists, people who use drugs, and substance use disorder (SUD) researchers. The EAB was tasked with proposing up to 20 research topics each, from which we synthesized a list of the top 40, based on relevance and priority. Utilizing a modified and combined Delphi group and the Nominal Group Technique, the EAB engaged in in-depth discussions, eventually reaching a consensus on the top 10 research priorities. The second phase leverages MetroQuest, an innovative, web-based stakeholder engagement platform, to solicit rank order prioritization of the research topics from the general public and RSS providers/organizations. Once collected, MetroQuest data will be compared and contrasted with EAB results from phase 1 to finalize the research agenda priorities.The outcome from phase 1 resulted in over 250 topics suggested with 10 remaining following all phase steps. Upon completion of phase 2, a final research agenda will be available that is deeply rooted in community engagement principles and aligned with an interdisciplinary perspective of a variety of researchers, recovery support providers and organizations, and individuals with varied lived and living experiences.During our presentation we will discuss the agenda’s development through the meaningful engagement of multiple stakeholders and share how it will guide future research efforts of PRIN to significantly accelerate the pace of recovery science and peer recovery support services research.
Advocates For Recovery Colorado (AFRC), was Colorado’s first, grassroots non-profit (RCO) Recovery Community Organization, now with several locations across the state. AFRC’s Cultural Program provides an avenue for those seeking recovery to find healing through ceremony. Jacque Lucero, AFRC’s Cultural Program Manager, will gather with the AFRC Women’s Recovery Warriors at the ceremonial drum to provide you with an experience of ceremonial healing. “Red Dog,” the name of the ceremonial drum, does not see color, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status; all are welcome and encouraged to participate and experience the power of the drum. “Red Dog’s” heartbeat calls to every community member’s heart providing understanding, compassion, and healing along their recovery journey. Join us for a cultural presentation of The Recovery Warrior Drum including a Q&A and heavy appetizers.
Former Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy discusses his new book, Profiles in Mental Health Courage, which portrays the dramatic journeys of a diverse group of Americans who have struggled with mental health and addiction. The deeply compelling stories of the bravery and resilience of the individuals profiled, and their caregivers, will help heal and inspire in a way that is unprecedented, riveting, and rooted in humanity. Congressman Kennedy will discuss the journey taken with his co-author Stephen Fried to create this inspirational work and how it drives him to push policy and attitudes forward.
Join us for a powerful conversation exploring the unique experiences and triumphs of LGBTQ+ individuals on the path to recovery. This panel discussion will bring together diverse voices from the LGBTQ+ addiction recovery community in a celebration of Pride Month. This panel is for anyone seeking to understand and support LGBTQ+ individuals recovering from addiction. It's also a space for those in recovery to connect, share experiences, and celebrate their strength. Don't miss this opportunity to learn, be inspired, and contribute to creating a more inclusive and supportive recovery environment for all.