2008 CFC# 12486 
The Recovery Bill of Rights
is a statement of the principle that all Americans have a right to recover from addiction to alcohol and other drugs. Learn more…
Rally for Recovery! 2008
Start planning your 2008 Rally for Recovery! event. This year's Rally for Recovery will take place on September 20, 2008! Learn more...
Our History
- About Faces & Voices of Recovery (Adobe Acrobat .pdf, 191KB)
- Our Achievements (Adobe Acrobat .pdf, 191KB)
For too long those most affected by alcohol and other drug problems have been absent from the public policy debate. Faces & Voices of Recovery was founded in 2001 at a Summit in St. Paul, Minnesota.
In the 1990s, advocates and their national allies met to strategize on ways to reach out to the medical, public health, criminal justice and other communities about the possibilities of recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs, forming The Alliance Project. The project and its supporters found inspiration and support in the writings of historian William White and in the airing of a groundbreaking television series on addiction produced by Bill Moyers. The Alliance Project began planning for a national gathering; among their key tasks was the commissioning of the first national survey of the recovery community, The Face of Recovery.
The St. Paul Summit was the culmination of from more than two years of work to provide focus for a growing advocacy force among individuals in long-term recovery from addiction, their families, friends and allies. The St. Paul Summit had three goals:
1). To celebrate and honor recovery in all its diversity
2). To foster advocacy skills in the tradition of American advocacy movements
3). To produce principles, language, strategy and leadership to carry the movement forward
The nearly 200 participants were selected to represent the national recovery community – by geography, culture, recovery path, gender, etc. Speakers included the late Senator Paul Wellstone and Representative Jim Ramstad (R-MN). The Summit is best seen as a point along a curve of events charting the awakening, maturing and mobilizing of an American recovery advocacy movement. Faces & Voices of Recovery Summit 2001 Proceedings
At its 2001 National Summit, Faces & Voices of Recovery adopted a Core Positioning Statement, laying out the principles for a national campaign and elected a 22-member Campaign Advisory Committee to provide leadership to the campaign.
Throughout the U.S., recovery advocates were hard at work on local and statewide campaigns. In 2003, Faces & Voices of Recovery elected a 13-member Campaign Steering Committee to streamline and revitalize its work and make it more responsive to the recovery community. In 2004, Faces & Voices of Recovery was incorporated and received IRS designation as a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit corporation. In 2005, a 21-member Board of Directors was elected to advise and direct the campaign.
In 2006, the Faces & Voices of Recovery Board of Directors adopted a 4-year strategic plan and Right to Addiction Recovery Platform to guide the organization in carrying out its mission.
Some of Faces & Voices’ accomplishments and activities since its founding are:
- Expanding participation by representatives of the organized recovery community on national panels, at meetings and before the media.
- National Talk Show Call-in Day, November 2003: Calls were generated to talk shows around the country about addiction recovery,
- Partial repeal of the ban on federal financial aid to students with drug convictions effective July 2006: The issue exemplifies how some federal policies put up barriers to recovery and is being used to showcase the stories of real people who are in recovery, who want to get on with their lives, but aren’t able to because of restrictive state and federal policies.
- A&E Intervention show, 2005: Letter writing campaign and conversations with senior management at A&E about the show’s focus on individuals’ active addiction, not their recovery.
- House Parties in conjunction with Dateline NBC’s Saving Carrick, 2005: Over 75 house parties, garnering media attention and local organizing activities; raising the profile of the recovery advocacy movement and providing media opportunities across the nation.
- Rising! Recovery in Action Summit in Washington, DC, 2005: Recovery Month luncheon on Capitol Hill which brought together over 250 recovery advocates from around the country; featured recovery advocates at a Capitol Hill luncheon along with Rep. John Dingell (D-MI); Rep. Jim Ramstad (R-MN) and Patrick Kennedy (D-RI).
- Recovery Community Services Program, 2006: Successful campaign to restore funding for the program; September 2006: Congressional briefing on recovery support services in conjunction with the Addiction, Treatment and Recovery caucus.
Communications
Speakers Bureau, 2005: Faces & Voices’ Speakers Bureau places recovery advocates before audiences across the country.
Recovery is a Reality Powerpoint, 2005: Faces & Voices’ Powerpoint is updated regularly and downloaded from the web site.
Power of Our Stories Video, 2006: A training video for advocates on telling their stories.
Public Opinion Research and Messaging, 2004: Faces & Voices has played an important role in developing information about public and recovery community attitudes about addiction, treatment, recovery, stigma and discrimination. 2004 Survey of the general public and 2005 focus groups (commissioned jointly with the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence).
New messaging about long-term recovery, May 2006: new messaging based on eight focus groups commissioned jointly with the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and a national survey of the general public were used to develop and release new messaging about recovery.
eNewsletter, 2004: Bi-monthly eNewsletter regular communication about the advocacy steps that individuals and organizations can take and recovery resources.
Rising! Recovery in Action, 2005: Quarterly publication featuring recovery community organizations, advocacy campaigns and emerging opportunities for recovery advocacy.
National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, 2003: In 2006 Rally for Recovery! which is an annual event where recovery community organizations hold events on the same day across the country to raise the profile of the recovery movement.
Trainings
2004: “The Power of Story and Persuasion: Fighting Stigma and Discrimination” were held in 6 regions to teach a model of organizing to help build the recovery advocacy movement, educate participants about stigma and discrimination and the ways in which personal recovery stories could build collective power to address stigma and discrimination.
2005: Day-long training was held as part of the 2005 Summit held in Washington, DC.
2006: Science of Addiction and Recovery Train the Trainers piloted.
2006: Message and Media trainings in Louisville, KY; Los Angeles, CA and Dallas, TX.