UNITE to Face Addiction is thrilled to join tens of thousands of people across the country celebrating recovery as Recovery Month 2015 kicks off today! There are over 600 hundred National Recovery Month events around the country.
Recovery Month has really taken off since its launch 26 years ago. This year, UNITE to Face Addiction will have organizers at 41 events to promote the rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on October 4th.
We’re grateful to CADCA for standing up as one of the founding partner organizations for the UNITE to Face Addiction rally and for their help in mobilizing people to join us.
Why are we walking?
Because every four minutes someone dies from alcohol and other drugs.
Because accidental overdose is now the number 1 cause of death among young people today.
Why are we walking? We should be running to find a solution to the addiction crisis.
We are coming together to let policymakers, the media and our friends and neighbors know that addiction is preventable and treatable, that far too many of those affected have been incarcerated, and that people can and do get well. As a CADCA coalition member, you are needed to help ignite and grow a movement that is demanding solutions to the addiction crisis.
More than 23 million Americans are in long-term recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs and are living proof that recovery is real and that it benefits themselves, their families and communities. However, more than 350 lives are lost each day to alcohol and other drugs – that’s one every four minutes – more than who die from either homicides or motor vehicle accidents. Another 22 million Americans are still suffering from addiction and the vast majority never receive any help.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as heroin use has increased, so have heroin-related overdose deaths. Between 2002 and 2013, the rate of heroin-related overdose deaths nearly quadrupled, and more than 8,200 people died in 2013.
Where is the national outrage about this growing epidemic, the needless loss of life, the costs to families and the economy, and more importantly, the demand for solutions? It’s time to speak up about the failed policies and poor care due to long-standing stigma and discriminatory public policies. For too long, a great majority of people connected to addiction have remained silent.
UNITE to Face Addiction has developed an array of resources that you can use to let other people know about 10.04.15 that can be downloaded from our website. We also have a team of field organizers who are mobilizing people in communities across the country to get to Washington, D.C. for the rally on October 4th and for our Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill on October 5th. We’re going to make history when we demand solutions to the addiction crisis. Together, we can end the silence.
What you can do:
1) Go to www.facingaddiction.org and sign up to get updates and information about how you can get involved.
2) Contact the field organizer working in your state who is ready to help you mobilize.
3) Share your story about why you’re going to D.C. on our web page.
4) Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
5.) We even have some well-known performers walking the walk with us. We are happy to share that our Unite to Face Addiction Rally features performances from Joe Walsh, Steven Tyler, Sheryl Crow, Jason Isbell, The Fray, John Rzeznik and more. So, if you haven’t already signed up to attend the UNITE to Face Addiction Rally, please do so now.
