This September is the 29th annual National Recovery Month (Recovery Month)! We celebrate the gains made by those in recovery, just as we celebrate health improvements made by those who are managing other health conditions such as diabetes, asthma, and heart disease.
The 2018 Recovery Month theme, “Join the Voices for Recovery: Invest in Health, Home, Purpose, and Community,” explores how integrated care, a strong community, sense of purpose, and leadership contributes to effective treatments that sustain the recovery of persons with mental and substance use disorders. The observance will highlight inspiring stories to help people from all walks of life find the path to hope, health, and wellness.
There are millions of Americans whose lives have been transformed through recovery. Because these successes often go unnoticed by the broader population, Recovery Month provides a vehicle for everyone to celebrate these accomplishments. Each September, tens of thousands of prevention, treatment, and recovery programs and facilities around the country celebrate Recovery Month. They speak about the gains made by those in recovery and share their success stories with their neighbors, friends, and colleagues. In doing so, everyone helps to increase awareness and furthers a greater understanding of diseases of mental health and substance use disorders.
Each year, SAMHSA creates a Recovery Month toolkit to help individuals and organizations increase awareness of the power of recovery. The kit provides media outreach templates; tips for event planning and community outreach; audience-specific information and data on behavioral health conditions; and resources for prevention, treatment, and recovery support services. These resources help local communities reach out and encourage individuals in need of services, and their friends and families, to seek treatment and recovery services and information. Materials include SAMHSA’s National Helpline—1-800-662 HELP (4357)—for 24-hour, free, and confidential information and treatment referral, as well as other SAMHSA resources for locating services. Additional Recovery Month resources are available on the Recovery Month website.
Disclaimer
The contents of the National Resource Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention newsletter and website were assembled under a cooperative agreement from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to the American Institutes for Research (AIR). The newsletter and website are operated and maintained by AIR and supported by grant number 5U79SM061516-02 from SAMHSA. The content of this website does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of SAMHSA or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
