Recovery Day | |
---|---|
Observed by | Canada |
Date | September 30 |
Next time | 30 September 2022 |
Frequency | annual |
Recovery Day is an annual event, first held on September 30, 2012, which demonstrates and celebrates the ability of those with drug, alcohol and behavioral addictions to achieve long-term sobriety and live productive and healthy lives. The event was held in 12 major Canadian cities in 2013, 25 cities in 2014, and 30 cities in 2015. [1] Recovery Day is organized in part by Faces and Voices of Recovery. [2] Recovery Day is an important holiday for Canadians. [3]
AnnMarie McCullough and Lorinda Strang of the Orchard Recovery Center on Bowen Island developed the concept of Recovery Day based on similar recovery advocacy movements in the United States. [1] In the US, September is officially recognized by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (a division of the United States Department of Health and Human Services) as "Recovery Month." [4] In order to build a strong team to lead their initiative, Lorinda and AnnMarie joined with David Berner and Chuck Doucette of the Drug Prevention Network of Canada as well as Giuseppe Ganci of the Last Door and they began planning a Canadian equivalent based on the same principle of celebrating recovery from addictions.
September 30, 2012 was declared Recovery Day through an official proclamation from Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson. [5]
The idea of Recovery Day spread to other major Canadian cities such as Victoria [6] where a similar event was also held in Centennial Square. Ottawa's mayor signed a similar proclamation.
The following year, 12 cities hosted events. In 2014, 20 cities held Recovery Day events. Close to 30 cities held events in 2015.
More than 600 people gathered in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery on September 30, 2012. [1] The event included speakers sharing stories of their experience and gratitude, musical performances, speeches by local politicians (including MP John Weston, Parks Board Commissioner Constance Barnes, City Councilor Geoff Meggs, and MLA Randy Hawes) and a march through the streets of Downtown Vancouver. [1] [7] The event closed with over 400 people joining hands in a circle to recite the Serenity Prayer. [8]
Recovery Day is scheduled to be held in dozens of Canadian cities in September 2017.
On August 31, 2017, President Donald Trump proclaimed September as National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month. [9] [10]
Rational Recovery was a commercial vendor of material related to counseling, guidance, and direct instruction for addiction designed as a direct counterpoint to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and twelve-step programs. Rational Recovery was founded in 1986 by Jack Trimpey, a California-licensed clinical social worker. Trimpey is a recovered alcoholic who works in the field of treatment of alcoholism and other drug addictions. Rational Recovery is a commercial trademark, along with the Addictive Voice Recognition Technique (AVRT). The organization published a periodical, the Journal of Rational Recovery, from at latest 1993 until at least June 2001. The former "Rational Recovery" website ("rational.org") is no longer active.
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Drug rehabilitation is the process of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin or amphetamines. The general intent is to enable the patient to confront substance dependence, if present, and stop substance misuse to avoid the psychological, legal, financial, social, and physical consequences that can be caused.
Sobriety is the condition of not having any measurable levels or effects from alcohol or drugs. Sobriety is also considered to be the natural state of a human being at birth. A person in a state of sobriety is considered sober. Organizations of the temperance movement have encouraged sobriety as being normative in society.
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Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, later called simply Rehab with Dr. Drew, is a reality television show that aired on the cable network VH1 in which many of the episodes chronicle a group of well-known people as they are treated for alcohol and drug addiction by Dr. Drew Pinsky and his staff at the Pasadena Recovery Center in Pasadena, California. The first five seasons of the series, on which Pinsky also serves as executive producer, cast celebrities struggling with addiction, with the first season premiering on January 10, 2008, and the fifth airing in 2011.
SMART Recovery is an international non-profit organization that provides assistance to individuals seeking abstinence from addiction. SMART stands for Self-Management and Recovery Training. The SMART approach is secular and research-based, using cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and non-confrontational motivational methods.
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