DPA to Play Key Role in First Annual DC Recovery Weekend

Recovery Month, whose theme this year is "Join the Voices for Recovery: Saving Lives, Saving Dollars,” will feature 300 events around the country to highlight the financial and human costs of substance use disorders. An initiative of the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Recovery Month is designed to raise awareness of the benefits of drug treatment, acknowledge the contributions of treatment providers, and celebrate people in recovery and their families.

In the District, community partners from all over the city will host the first annual Recovery Weekend, entitled "Recovery: Help, Hope and Healing," September 12-16. Events will range from a city-wide rally to an intensive one-day policy conference. Sponsoring organizations include drug treatment centers, homeless shelters, re-entry programs, harm reduction organizations, and law enforcement agencies.

The weekend is co-sponsored by the DC Recovery Community Alliance, a coalition of which DPA is a founding member. Naomi Long, director of DPA's DC Metro Area office, is a member of the planning committee and will moderate a debate on treatment-instead-of-incarceration at the one-day conference.