2009 Recovery Advocacy Teleconference Series

1. 2009 Recovery Advocacy Teleconference Series The Recovery Bill of Rights: How to Use it In Your Community July 28,2009 www.facesandvoicesofrecovery.org

2. Speakers • Pat Taylor, Executive Director Faces & Voices of Recovery • Mike Barry, CEO People Advocating Recovery • Donna Conley, Executive Director Ohio Citizen Advocates

3. The Recovery Bill of Rights A statement of the principle that all Americans have a right to recover from addiction to alcohol and other drugs. 

4. The Recovery Bill of Rights • Call to Action • Response to the crisis of addiction should be based on engagement and involvement of the recovery community – people in recovery, family members, friends and allies – and an understanding that people can and do recover. • Putting the perspective of the organized recovery community into words. • Rights come with responsibilities. • When people are accorded dignity and respect for their basic rights, there are many ways that they can and do get well.

5. The Recovery Bill of Rights 1). We have the right to be viewed as capable of changing, growing and becoming positively connected to our community, no matter what we did in the past because of our addiction.

6. The Recovery Bill of Rights 2). We have the right – as do our families and friends – to know about the many pathways to recovery, the nature of addiction and the barriers to long-term recovery, all conveyed in ways that we can understand.

7. The Recovery Bill of Rights 3).We have the right, whether seeking recovery in the community, a physician’s office, treatment center, or while incarcerated, to set our own recovery goals, working with a personalized recovery plan that we have designed based on accurate and understandable information about our health status, including a comprehensive, wholistic assessment.

8. The Recovery Bill of Rights 4). We have the right to select services that build on our strengths, armed with full information about the experience, and credentials of the people providing services and the effectiveness of the services and programs from which we are seeking help.

9. The Recovery Bill of Rights 5). We have the right to be served by organizations or health care and social service providers that view recovery positively, meet the highest public health and safety standards, provide rapid access to services, treat us respectfully, understand that our motivation is related to successfully accessing our strengths and will work with us and our families to find a pathway to recovery.

10. The Recovery Bill of Rights 6). We have the right to be considered as more than a statistic, stereotype, risk score, diagnosis, label or pathology unit – free from the social stigma that characterizes us as weak or morally flawed. If we relapse and begin treatment again, we should be treated with dignity and respect that welcomes our continued efforts to achieve long-term recovery.

11. The Recovery Bill of Rights 7). We have the right to a health care and social services system that recognizes the strengths and needs of people with addiction and coordinates its efforts to provide recovery-based care that honors and respects our cultural beliefs.

12. The Recovery Bill of Rights 8). We have the right to be represented by informed policymakers who remove barriers to educational, housing and employment opportunities once we are no longer misusing alcohol or other drugs and are on the road to recovery.

13. The Recovery Bill of Rights 9). We have the right to respectful, nondiscriminatory care from doctors and other health care providers and to receive services on the same basis as people do for any other chronic illness, with the same provisions, copayments, lifetime benefits and catastrophic coverage in insurance, self-funded/self-insured health plans, Medicare and HMO plans.

14. The Recovery Bill of Rights 9). Continued… The criteria of “proper” care should be exclusively between our health care providers and ourselves; it should reflect the severity, complexity and duration of our illness and provide a reasonable opportunity for recovery maintenance.

15. The Recovery Bill of Rights 10). We have the right to treatment and recovery support in the criminal justice system and to regain our place and rights in society once we have served our sentence.

16. The Recovery Bill of Rights 11). We have the right to speak out publicly about our recovery to let others know that long-term recovery from addiction is a reality.

17. Endorsing the Recovery Bill of Rights Individuals Events Online Organizations Local/State National A recovery advocate in St. Louis, MO endorses The Recovery Bill of Rights at Faces & Voices' national Rally for Recovery! hub event in 2008. 17

18. Endorsing the Recovery Bill of Rights • American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence, Inc. (AATOD) • American Society of Addiction Medicine • Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America • Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems • Entertainment Industries Council • International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium (IC&RC) • Join Together • Legal Action Center • NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals • National African American Drug Policy Coalition • National Alliance of Advocates for Buprenorphine Treatment • National Alliance for Medication Assisted Recovery

19. Endorsing the Recovery Bill of Rights • National Association on Alcohol, Drugs and Disability • National Association of Drug Court Professionals • National Association for Children of Alcoholics • National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers • National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence • National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare • Peer Advocacy for Impaired Nurses • Rebecca Project for Human Rights • State Association of Addiction Services • TASC, Inc. • Therapeutic Commujnities of America

20. We will improve the lives of millions of Americans, their families and communities if we treat addiction to alcohol and other drugs as a public health crisis. To overcome this crisis, we must accord dignity to people with addiction and recognize that there is no one path to recovery. Standing up for our rights! 20

21. The Recovery Bill of Rights and the Prison-based Recovery Community

22. Using the Recovery Bill of Rights with a Prison-based Recovery Community • Why target a prison population? • One of the most disenfranchised groups & less likely to know they have rights • Exposure to the RBOR provides a sense of support, realization that they are not alone • Provides a new framework for thinking about their recovery and return to the community • Gives them hope

23. Example from Ohio • The Audience • Invited to speak to a group of 60 incarcerated women about their voting rights as a part of the Recovery Voices Count initiative. All the women were in the prison’s treatment program. • The Process • Building on the voter rights information, the Recovery Bill of Rights was handed out and discussed. • Each of the 11 rights was read out loud and audience encouraged to share thoughts and experiences.

24. Following discussion of each right, the women were asked what they thought about the Recovery Bill of Rights • Amazed that anyone cared enough to create a Bill of Rights for them. • Amazed to learn that they had these rights • Began talking about what this would mean for them when they returned to the community • Sense of empowerment in the room was tangible! • Several letters received from women who want to get involved as Advocates when released

25. Accessing the Prison Population • If you already have a relationship – use it! • Find out if your state’s correctional system provides treatment • Find out who is in charge of the program & set up a meeting • Learn about their program • Do they have a Therapeutic Community? • Do people in treatment meet in groups?

26. First, educate the person in charge about the purpose & value of the Recovery Bill of Rights to inmates • Then, ask for the opportunity to talk to a group • Clearly explain what you will do when you give the presentation (The Process) • Remember that in the prison system, security is the primary concern • You may have to go through a clearance process • You will be searched • Check the contents of your purse before you enter • Do not take cell phone or even a bottle of aspirin inside • Do not take this personally!

27. Donna Conley, Executive Director 1350 W. Fifth Ave. – Suite 327 Columbus, OH 43212 614/486-2430 Advocate@oca-ohio.org www.oca-ohio.org

28. The Recovery Bill of Rights Using The Recovery Bill of Rights to mobilize support for recovery and strengthen recovery community organizations People Advocating Recovery (PAR) Kentucky

29. Town Hall Meetings • Various Town Hall Meetings • Introduce to general audience • Have legislators endorse • Ask people to go to the Faces & Voices of Recovery website to sign on. 29

30. Rally for Recovery 2008 Copies were handed out during 2008’s Rally for Recovery! introducing 1500 people to the Recovery Bill of Rights. This year, the Bill of Rights will be featured again. 30

31. Rally for Recovery 2009 We’ll be using it again all across the state this September 31

32. Advocacy Institute A Supreme Court Justice, police officer, Family Court Judge, Prosecuting Attorney and the Commissioner of Kentucky’s Department of Justice were speakers. PAR met and spoke with the panelists before the event; explained the Recovery Bill of Rights to them; and let them know how they could help us support it. 32

33. Advocacy Institute 150 guests attended, mostly people in early recovery. Everyone was asked to sign as they left and then the autographed Recovery Bill of Rights was presented to the sponsoring organization for permanent display. 33

34. Chapter Development for PAR • PAR is developing chapters across the state • Introduction to the Recovery Bill of Rights • Provides chapters with a specific project to work on and a way to educate the community about recovery if a specific campaign or activity isn’t going on at the moment • Asking organizations and others to post the Bill of Rights Only one facility has refused 34

35. Summary • Use in all possible places, events and activities • Perfect conversation starter for individual and group discussions • Great for giving an organization a place to kick-off mobilizing • Empowers Recovery Advocates • Helps legislators and others understand we are an organized movement • Teaches the general public important issues regarding recovery 35

36. The Recovery Bill of Rights People Advocating Recovery (Kentucky) Mike Barry-CEO http://peopleadvocatingrecovery.org Mike.barry@peopleadvocatingrecovery.org 502-614-7478