Celebrating National Recovery Month 2021: Recovery is for Everyone
Presented by Recovery Centers of America
The Significance of National Recovery Month
September is National Recovery Month (Recovery Month, for short). Certified as a national event by presidential proclamation in 2017, it is now run by Faces & Voices of Recovery, with active support from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which contributes to occasion through the creation of a toolkit. Now in its 32nd year, the event is a month-long celebration of those in recovery.
We all cheer for those who overcome or successfully manage conditions like cancer, heart disease and diabetes. We do the same for those with addiction or substance use disorder (SUD). Similarly, we celebrate the wider recovery community, including treatment providers, public service organizations, 12-Step groups, along with anyone who contributes to the larger, shared recovery effort.
In addition to this celebratory aspect, the observance of Recovery Month extends to several supporting aims. One is to increase awareness and understanding of substance use disorder and encourage those in need of help to seek treatment. Another is to promote the best in evidence-based addiction treatment and recovery practices. A further aim is to emphasize that addiction often coincides with mental health struggles, such as anxiety, depression and others, and intersects with them as co-occurring disorders.
This year, Recovery Month centers on the theme, Recovery is for Everyone: Every Person, Every Family, Every Community, highlighting the universality of the experience of addiction and recovery and stressing the always pressing need for inclusion and diversity in our recognition of the sweep of substance use disorder.
How to Participate in National Recovery Month
Whether you’re in recovery yourself, support someone who is, or simply wish to promote the cause, there are many ways to get involved:
- Events. Attend an event or start your own. Please note that since inclusion on this list is voluntary, there are bound to be many others organized by local recovery organizations and communities.
- Social media. Show your support, promote events, and share images of them on social media using the hashtag #recoverymonth.
- Proclamation. Write to local and national representatives, encouraging them to sign proclamations in support of Recovery Month, and upload your own proclamation to the National Recovery Month 2021 website.
- Apparel. Sport an official recovery mask, hoodie or t-shirt.
- Emblems. Download letterheads, web banners and logos to circulate the imagery.
Recovery Centers of America Open Houses and Narcan Trainings
Defined by its mission of saving one million lives from the disease of addiction, Recovery Centers of America (RCA) pursues the aims of Recovery Month every day of the year. Coinciding with the September observance, Recovery Centers of America at Devon is hosting an open house event on September 17th, to showcase the facility and specialized addiction treatment programs serving the surrounding communities. Our open house event features guest speakers, including facility leadership and alumni. Plus, we offer facility tours and lunch! Please join us.
We are also continuing our contribution to this year’s observance of International Overdose Awareness Day (August 31) by hosting a series of Narcan training, at no cost, throughout the greater Philadelphia area in August, September and October. Narcan is a nasal spray used to counteract an opioid overdose in an emergency situation.
RCA’s Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) clinics are offering Narcan training and a dose of it, at no cost, to anyone in the communities who wish to attend. You can register and join these upcoming events here:
Trenton Healthcare Clinic
Friday, September 24
8 a.m. & 10 a.m. (both for patients only)
12 p.m. & 1 p.m. (open to the public)
Saturday, September 25
10 a.m. (patients only)
11:30 a.m. (open to the public)
Register here
Woodbridge Healthcare Clinic
Friday, October 1
8 a.m. & 10 a.m. (both for patients only)
12 p.m. & 1 p.m. (open to the public)
Saturday, October 2
10 a.m. (patients only)
11:30 a.m. (open to the public)
Register here
While the large-scale, multi-tiered endeavor of addiction prevention, treatment and recovery precedes and follows September, the observance of Recovery Month allows for crucial recognition of the milestones we’ve reached and reminds us how far we have yet to go.
If you or a loved one is struggling with drugs and alcohol, call RCA now at 1-800-RECOVERY
