Let's get you to Denver, Colorado this summer!
At a lot of organizations, times are tighter than ever. Without a rationale to back the benefits of traveling for a multi-day conference, it can be hard to get employer buy-in on your attendance.
Our Justification Toolkit is designed to help you explain how your attendance at Recovery Leadership Summit (RLS) 2024 will benefit you, your team, and your organization. It covers:
- The benefits of going to RLS 2024
- Your game plan
- How to calculate your investment
- Justification letter
RLS is an inspiring and unifying event for allies in the recovery community and those with lived (and living) experience. Hosted in a different major metropolitan city every year, RLS is a boon to networking, resource-sharing, and partnership formation. The benefits of attending pay dividends for years to come.
Attendees leave RLS armed with actionable ways to de-stigmatize drug use, addiction, and recovery in their own communities, and to affect positive change from the ground up.
Faces & Voices of Recovery also has the honor of featuring leaders, experts, and change-makers in the substance use disorder space in keynote speeches, general sessions, and breakout sessions.
Benefits of Attending RLS 2024
RLS 2024 is one of the biggest annual networking events in the Recovery Community Organization (RCO) space.
4 reasons you should attend:
- CEUs. Faces & Voices of Recovery is a certified NAADAC education provider. At RLS, you have the potential to earn up to 13 continuing education units (CEUs).
- Relationships. Nothing replaces shared space with like-minded professionals and friends.
- Access. You get to hear from experts and leaders whose knowledge and training can directly impact the way your organization does business.
- Fun. Recovery work is rewarding, but it is also heavy. Relish the opportunity to relax and socialize.
Your Game Plan
There are certain things you’ll want to plan for ahead of attending RLS 2024.
You can prepare by:
- Ensuring a teammate, colleague, or supervisor can cover your work obligations or help with specific tasks as an intermediary in your absence.
- Setting your email with an automatic out-of-office reply explaining where you are and when you’ll return.
- Bringing business cards for when you make new relationships.
You can emphasize:
- RLS is not an a la carte event; ROI on your attendance is maximized if you attend as many events as you can while you’re there.
- The first night of RLS features an equity dinner, a fun and innovative opportunity to celebrate diversity, explore what equity looks like, and engage in thought-provoking conversations with strangers.
- These are valuable training hours if you specialize in, substance use disorder, recovery, harm reduction, or major schools of thought governing best practices in any of those areas.
You can share:
- Any materials you collect while at the event.
- A short synopsis of the event and any key takeaways from speaker sessions for colleagues who couldn’t attend.
Calculate Your Investment
Before you dive into a generic conversation about conference expenses, do some precise calculations so your employer knows exactly what to expect. (The cost of a conference is affected by several factors like registration fees, per diem rates, and lodging logistics.)
| Expense | Guideline | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Conference Registration | ARCO members: $495 ARCO additional members: $425 Non-members: $795 |
$ |
| Flight | Try a web travel service to get a quick estimate. | $ |
| Lodging | Block room rate: $249 + $15.75 tax | $ |
| Transportation (hotel to airport) | Try a web travel service to get a quick estimate. | $ |
| Transportation (hotel to airport) | Try a web travel service to get a quick estimate. | $ |
| Mileage reimbursement | Denver, CO mileage per diem. | $ |
| Parking reimbursement | Try a web travel service to get a quick estimate. | $ |
| Food reimbursement | Denver, CO Meals & Incidentals per diem (2 full days + first day, last day) = $79 x 2 + $59.25 x 2 | $ |
| 495.00 | ||
Letter Template
Here's a letter template you can customize to request employer support for your attendance at RLS 2024.
If you decide to use it, please make sure to fill in the indicated blanks, including your organization’s name and the correct prices where indicated.
P.S. — We can't wait to see you in Denver!
Dear [supervisor’s name]:
I would like to attend the 2024 Recovery Leadership Summit (RLS), a national advocacy event hosted by Faces & Voices of Recovery.
This event will be held at the Hyatt Regency Convention Center in Denver, Colorado, from June 2nd – 5th, 2024. SAMHSA, CDC, the ONDCP, and several other authorities in the Substance Use Disorder and addiction recovery spaces have articulated a need for unification against the disease of addiction and, in particular, the opioid epidemic.
Advocates, addiction specialists, peer recovery support specialists, recovery community organizations, wellness professionals, harm reductionists, and subject-matter experts are invited to use this time to learn, have respectful discussions, teach best practices, and share experiences from their own lives, communities, and professional worlds.
At the conference, attendees can listen to keynote speakers, participate in breakout sessions, attend an equity dinner, tell their own recovery stories, and even get free, professional headshots taken. This event is galvanizing for allies in the recovery community and provides a warm venue for networking, sharing resources, and forming partnerships. Many leave this event with renewed hope and actionable ways to de-stigmatize drug use, addiction, and recovery in their own communities.
As an attendee, I plan to achieve:
- [Insert your first objective here.]
- [Insert your second objective here.]
- [Insert your third objective here.]
I’d be glad to review the scheduled sessions with you to determine what would provide the greatest benefit to our organization.
The registration fee is <$xxx>. The total costs for me to participate in RLS 2024, including the registration fee, lodging, transportation, and incidentals is <$xxx>. I am confident that the knowledge, training, and contacts I would carry forward from this event could be invaluable to supporting our mission.
Respectfully,
[Your Name]