National Recovery Month Events
Throughout September, SAMHSA’s Office of Recovery will host several events to celebrate Recovery Month 2024.
Time: 1 - 2:30 p.m. ET
Topic: Whole Health Recovery Approaches
To kick off Recovery Month, we are taking a closer look at whole health approaches to a more joyful and fulfilling life, particularly for those with mental health and substance use conditions. In this webinar, we will review the eight dimensions of wellness to create a healthier life and highlight ways these have been used in various settings with various populations. This webinar will be relevant for families, people with mental health conditions, peer support specialists and other health professionals, including state and county providers and organizations that want to learn more about the eight dimensions of wellness and how they can be used for wellness initiatives. Led by subject matter experts on recovery and integrated health and wellness, we will also share valuable resources and strategies for transformative change during this event.
Presenters:
- Dr. Peggy Swarbrick, Rutgers University, Professor Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology and ScarletWell Director; Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey Wellness Institute
- Arielle Estes, NCPRSS, CPRS, Peer Support Specialist III, Intensive Recovery Treatment Support (IRTS), Community Based Services, Rutgers, University Behavioral Health Care
- Dr. Benjamin Kligler, Executive Director, Office of Patient Centered Care & Cultural Transformation, Veterans Health Administration
Time: 1 - 2 p.m. ET
Topic: Understanding the Gathering of Native Americans (GONA (PDF | 279 KB))
SAMHSA describes behavioral health equity is the right of all individuals, regardless of race, age, ethnicity, gender, disability, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, or geographical location, to access high-quality and affordable healthcare services and support.
This webinar will explore and provide examples how traditional healing practices can be activated in a peer support environment to improve recovery from mental and substance use challenges and social wellbeing and will touch on integrative support for some medical conditions.
Presenters:
- Arc Telos Saint Amour, Executive Director, Youth Move National
- Sienna Hunter-Cuyjet, Supervisor, Technical Assistance Coordinator, SAMHSA
- Tribal Training & Technical Assistance Center
Moderator: Steven Fry, Office of Recovery, SAMHSA
Time: 2 - 5 p.m. ET
Location: Freedom Plaza, Washington, DC
Join SAMHSA as we walk to celebrate and support the millions of people in recovery from mental health and substance use conditions.
We hope to see you there!
Time: 1 - 2 p.m. ET
Topic: Mental Health Recovery
Three panelists, representing Statewide Consumer Networks (SCNs) and a National Technical Assistance Center will share resources and describe practical pathways they have personally used to enhance their mental health recovery journeys and take ownership of their health and wellbeing. This session will include opportunities for attendees to share their perspective on the topic of health as well!
Facilitator: Damie Jackson-Diop, Lead GPO Statewide (SCN) and National Peer-Led T/TA Grant Programs – DSCSD SAMHSA/CMHS
Panelists:
- Anna H. Gray, Executive Director - Prosumers International
- Shayn McDonald, Youth MOVE National Peer Center
- Shira Collings, National Empowerment Center – Program Coordinator
Time: 1 - 2 p.m. ET
Topic: Celebrating Recovery Residences in Recovery Month
This webinar will define Recovery Housing, clarify the different types of housing, and who we serve. We will discuss with experts that operate recovery residences and have lived experience in recovery. Obtaining the knowledge on recovery residences operations and the populations they serve, pregnant and parenting recovery residences, and the sustainability needed to provide services to those in recovery. The webinar will explain how recovery housing can be an important resource within the homeless continuum of care response of rehousing households within the community.
Presenters:
- Dave Sheridan
- Jen Elder
- Honesty Liller
- Anna Jones
- Pastor Dana Smith
Time: 1 - 2 p.m. ET
Topic: Families Supporting Recovery
SAMHSA’s working definition of recovery is “A process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self- directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.” That very process of change is for families as well. Family Recovery includes family members who are parents, spouse, siblings, grandparent, caregivers, and/or children of individuals with emotional, developmental, behavioral, mental health, and/or substance use challenges. Families experience their own recovery when they are actively part of their loved one’s recovery. In recovery, the focus is often on the individual experiencing mental health and/or substance use challenges. Family members who support that person are often forgotten or left out, and feel invisible, blamed, and out of the loop. It is often difficult for families to find support they need as well. We’ll be joined by family members who will share their own family recovery story and how they learned to improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential as a family.
Presenter: Gail Cormier, Director of the NFS TAC at the National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health
Time: 1 - 2 p.m. ET
Topic: Strategies for Personal Recovery Growth
This empowering and informative webinar is designed to support individuals on their recovery journey to sustaining happiness, purpose, and living a life full of hope. The webinar will offer practical strategies, tools for reflective insights, and strategies for building a purposeful recovery plan. Whether you're seeking guidance for yourself or a loved one, this webinar provides the tools and inspiration needed to navigate the path to loving a "purposeful and sustained " life of recovery.
Presenter: Dr. Dawn Tyus, Ph.D., LPC, MAC, NCC, Principal Investigator of the African American Behavioral Health Center of Excellence
Time: 1 p.m. ET
This webinar is about helping others turn ideas into action. It will highlight opportunities for people all across America to get involved in conversations about the recovery experience. Presenters from Opioid Response Network partnering organizations will share how they are motivating communities, fostering collaboration and changing discourse to increase access to recovery support services. We will share events happening this fall where community trainings and overdose response supports will be offered. We will highlight free resources available for organizers to help improve strategy and actualize plans. Join speakers from the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry, Mobilize Recovery and Black Faces Black Voices for a discussion on how we can help you help others.
Facilitator:
- Nic Canning, American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry, Opioid Response Network
Presenters:
- Kathryn Cates-Wessel, American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry, Opioid Response Network,
- Ryan Hampton, Mobilize Recovery, Opioid Response Network
- Phil Rutherford, Black Faces Black Voices, Opioid Response Network
Time: 1 - 2 p.m. ET
Topic: Promising Practices and Slippery Slopes
Person-centered planning (PCP) is based on the truths that people know what’s best for themselves and that self-determination and human rights are essential for wellness. A recently released PCP Issue Brief (PDF | 4.2 MB) offers a wide range of guidance and tools for State Mental Health Authorities (SMHAs) committed to implementing PCP in a manner that is both more consistent and more fully aligned with SAMHSA's Working Definition of Recovery (PDF | 380 KB).
This webinar presents a call to action for all behavioral health stakeholders to demand that we move beyond the “rhetoric” of person-centered care to achieve a reality where services and planning are more fully accessible, authentically recovery-oriented, and truly, culturally centered around the individual. Emphasis will be placed on the critical role that people with lived experience, including peer professionals, should play at all stages of PCP implementation and systems change.
Presenters:
- Janis Tondora, Psy.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine.
- Amy Pierce, MHPS, PSS, ALF, she currently serves as Recovery Institute Associate Director at Via Hope
- Jessi Davis, a Peer Specialist, South Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center
Time: 1 - 2 p.m. ET
Topic: Native Peers working in Multiple Settings to Promote Healing through Culture
The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal Opioid Response Project is reaching underserved communities through multiple outlets to reach those in need that are suffering in silence. This presentation will include an overview of the project and provide details on how peers are utilized in multiple settings to connect with those in need.
Presenters: Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma
Time: 1 - 2 p.m. ET
Topic: Improving access to prevention, treatment, and recovery support
This webinar will focus on how HRSA is helping to improve access to prevention, treatment, and recovery support services across the nation. This webinar will specifically highlight HRSA’s commitment to ensure all communities, including rural and medically underserved communities, have equitable access to behavioral health services through various initiatives. Lastly, HRSA’s Rural Community Opioid Response Program (RCORP), Rural Center of Excellence on SUD Recovery and RCORP-Planning and RCORP-Implementation grantees will present on how they are using community principles to improve access to recovery supports.
Presenters:
- Patsy Cunningham, M.A., LCPC, Behavioral Health Advisor, Office of Special Health Initiatives, Health Resources and Services Administration
- Milena Stott, Fletcher Group, RCORP-Rural Center of Excellence on SUD Recovery
- Gail Bullard, Ferris State University, RCORP-Planning and RCORP-Implementation
Time: 1 - 2:30 p.m. ET
Topic: Arts and Healing
Join us for an inspiring and insightful webinar on the healing power of the arts in combating substance use and mental health conditions. This event will feature an esteemed panel of experts, including Emmy Award winner and Tony Award nominee, Hank Azaria, James Beard Award-nominated chef and famed restauranteur, Jose Salazar, internationally known theater director, writer, and Artistic Director, Sean Daniels, and Susan Magsamen, the founder and executive director of the International Arts + Mind Lab Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics (IAM Lab) at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Moderated by Ariel Britt, strategic storyteller and creator of the award-winning ‘Beauty in the Grit’ podcast, this discussion will explore how creative expression and artistic engagement can play a transformative role in the recovery and well-being of individuals facing addiction and mental health conditions. Don't miss this unique opportunity to gain valuable insights and connect with leaders in the field of arts and healing.
Moderator:
- Kristen Harper, Public Health Advisor, Office of Recovery, SAMHSA
- Ariel Britt, creator of the award-winning podcast, Beauty in the Grit
Participants:
- Performance Artist: Hank Azaria
- Food/Restaurant: Jose Salazar
- Playwright/Director: Sean Daniels
- Researcher: Susan Magsamen