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President Biden has proclaimed September 2022 as National Recovery Month.
This National Recovery Month, we thank peer recovery support professionals, counselors, addiction specialists, first responders, scientists, family members, and everyone who works tirelessly to help our fellow Americans recover from substance use disorder. We offer strength to our loved ones at every step of their recovery process. And we rededicate ourselves to protecting our families and communities so all Americans can enjoy health and happiness.
-President Biden-
Read the full proclamation here.
Family Recovery Emphasized During Recovery Month
Every member of the family is impacted when a loved one is struggling with addiction. And each family member – regardless of age or gender – deserves to enjoy the gifts of recovery. September is a time to celebrate that families can – and do – recover together, when everyone has the opportunity to receive the support and services that can help them heal.
Last year, collectively, the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Children’s Hospital Association, declared a National Emergency in Child and Adolescent Mental Health: “We are caring for young people with soaring rates of depression, anxiety, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality that will have lasting impacts on them, their families, and their communities. We must identify strategies to meet these challenges through innovation and action, using state, local and national approaches to improve the access to and quality of care across the continuum of mental health promotion, prevention, and treatment.” Kids and teens impacted by parental addiction are exceptionally vulnerable, and creating programs to help nurture resiliency is more important now than ever before.
During Recovery Month, NACoA is emphasizing via Facebook, Twitter, and Linked In, that every person, in every family, in every community can recover with support. Join NACoA by sharing this information, and help raise awareness for the millions of family members impacted by addiction that healing is possible and by making information available to them. It is with this awareness and information that families can, and will, recover from the impact of addiction of loved ones in their lives.
Learn more about the changes to the Recovery Month observance and campaign by reading the National Recovery Month blog posted by NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals.
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The Power of Forgiveness in Family Addiction
A blog written by Jerry Moe, M.A., National Director of Children’s Programs, Hazelden Betty Ford (retired)
Justin is the youngest in his family. He’s a remarkable kid who came into the children’s program with a smile, rolled up his little sleeves, and worked intently throughout. This eight-year-old lives in a “looking-good family,” where trouble and stress lurk just beneath the surface.
On the third day, Justin stopped me with a very anxious look on his face. “Will you please come with me to my dad’s group this afternoon?” he nervously asked. As his eyes filled with tears he shared, “I don’t think I can do this without you.” I hugged him and let him know that I would be there every step of the way. We faced the daunting challenge of going into his dad’s group. Justin would get the chance to tell Dad about how addiction has been hurting the family. To complicate things further, all his family would be present, including his grandparents.
As we headed toward Dad’s group, Justin grabbed my hand and held it tightly. “You can do this,” I reassured him, yet he blurted out “I’m scared, Jerry.” I knelt down to be on eye level with him, but before I could offer words of encouragement, Justin explained, “I don’t want to hurt my dad and mom.”
“I don’t want you to do that, either,” I agreed. “Just tell the truth. Tell on addiction.”
Read the entire blog here>>
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September is also FASD Awareness Month
FASD month is an expansion of International FASD Awareness Day, observed on September 9th. FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders) is the umbrella term describing the range of effects that can occure in an individual whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. These effects may include physical, mental, behavioral, and or learning disabilities with lifelong implications. FASD is 100% preventable if a developing fetus is not exposed to alcohol. NIAAA (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) states that prevalence studies estimate that approximately 1 to 5 percent of U.S. first-grade children have FASD.
To learn more about FASD:
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Upcoming Webinars
Kindship Families Affected by Substance Use and Mental Health Disorders
National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare
Wednesday, September 14th, 1:00 – 2:30 pm (EDT) Learn More and Register
Harnessing the Power of Collaboration to Improve Outcomes for Families Affected by Substance Use Disorders in Pregnancy
Office of National Drug Control Policy
Thursday, September 15th, 2:00 – 3:00 pm (EDT)
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), the National Network of Perinatal Quality Collaboratives (NNPQC) coordinated by the National Institute for Children’s Health Quality (NICHQ), and the National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (NCSACW) invite you to a webinar on implementing Plans of Safe Care (POSC) to support infants, parents, and caregivers affected by substance use disorder. This webinar will highlight Oklahoma’s collaborative approach to supporting infants and families affected by prenatal substance use. Learn more about:
- Oklahoma’s implementation of family care plans during the prenatal period to improve outcomes for families and prevent unnecessary child placement and to support these infants, families, and caregivers.
- Oklahoma’s changes in health care, substance use disorder treatment, and child welfare systems that support collaborative practice.
- How Oklahoma has aligned and integrated cross-system supports for substance-exposed infants.
To Register>>
How Using Contingency Management Can Support Families Affected by Substance Use Disorders
National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare
Thursday, September 29th, 1:30 – 3:00pm (EDT) Learn More and Register>>
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Parenting to Prevent and Heal ACEs
This handout was created from the information outlined in the book Childhood Disrupted: How Your Biography Becomes Your Biology and How You Can Heal, by Donna Jackson Nakazawa. Feel free to download, distribute, and use freely. It is available in English, Spanish, and Dari.
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Contact Us
nacoa@nacoa.org | 301.468.0985
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