The national Recovery Bill of Rights was mailed out today to approximately 50 local elected officials and candidates for with an invitation to attend the annual Atlantic County Overdose Awareness Event on August 31, 2020 from 6-8 pm at Oscar E. McClinton Waterfront Park in Atlantic City and support their recovery community. The annual event is part of International Overdose Awareness Day that remembers the hundreds of lives lost to overdose in Atlantic County and is hosted by Recovery Force of Atlantic County, the local advocacy organization for people and families impacted by addiction. The involvement of local officials and candidates is part of “Stand Up for Recovery”, a national campaign of the Recovery Advocacy Project. recoveryvoices.com which aims to identify recovery-friendly candidates and organize support for them among the recovery community.
In a world where addiction has touched almost every family, public perception has evolved to agree that this devastating condition does not discriminate, however discrimination towards those afflicted remains unchanged and creates conditions where recovery is even more difficult. Introducing the Bill of Rights is a beginning point to address this. Joining families and friends of loved ones lost to overdose and pledging to endorse the Bill of Rights is a way for elected officials and candidates to show that addicted lives matter. Officials are urged to swiftly adopt the conditions for people attempting to recover from substance use disorders in promotion of new intolerances of discrimination in any form. A spokesperson for the organization said “it is an important step in preventing future suffering and death in the Atlantic City region and the extent to which leaders are committed to the lives of people and families impacted by addiction must be brought to the forefront. Rejecting hate and discrimination toward any group means creating a culture that is nourishing and supportive for the addicted population, showing that their lives matter”. For elected officials and candidates, it is an opportunity to disavow a stigma that many believe is more lethal than the drugs themselves. It is about asking their constituents to open their hearts and minds to a new way. Ultimately, the recovery community plans to become a voting block with issues that appear on the political platforms of candidates at all levels.
Stand Up for Recovery is a national campaign through the Recovery Advocacy Project and Action Network that includes regional and state leaders on the ground in all 50 states. It is a historic initiative that has established the framework, for the very first time, that can harness as a voting constituency the common points of support of the 23 million people in long-term recovery from addiction and the millions more that love them. A roll call of incumbents and candidates invited will be part of the event and the organization will widely publicize those who attend and further organize support for them through the Recovery Advocacy Project’s platforms. The event will also include a vigil where the names of overdose death victims are remembered. Atlantic County NJ has had one of the highest overdose death per capita rate in the nation in recent years, with over 1,000 deaths since 2013.
Recovery Force of Atlantic County is a local advocacy group for people impacted by substance use disorders. They are the local host for International Overdose Awareness Day, local leads for the national Recovery Advocacy Project, offer a CCAR Recovery Coach Academy, are the community education affiliate for the national Addiction Policy Forum and member of the Association of Recovery Community Organizations (ARCO) and the Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce. Recovery Force is a 501c3 charity located in St. Michael’s Loft in the Ducktown section of Atlantic City. The Co-Chairpersons for this year’s event are Mary Corona and Caren Fitzpatrick, both mothers whose families were impacted by overdose. Founder and President is Bob Catalano, Jr. and event Master of Ceremonies is “ACMike” Lopez, of WOND 1400.
www.recoveryforce.org