September is National Recovery Month

Did you know that September is National Recovery Month?

Recovery Month was created by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to increase awareness and understanding of mental and substance use disorders and celebrate the people who recover.

During this month, many prevention, treatment, and recovery programs and service providers across the country find creative ways to share their successes and information with neighbors, families, and friends with the goal of promoting recovery and recovery programs.

The year’s theme for the month is Join the Voices for Recovery: Together We Are Stronger. The theme emphasizes the need to share resources and build networks across the country to support recovery. It reminds us that mental and substance use disorders affect us all, and that we are all part of the solution.

6 Ways You Can Celebrate National Recovery Month

We encourage you to celebrate Recovery Month in your community to help bring awareness of recovery and recovery programs to those around you. Here are a few ways you can celebrate:

• Attend the 2019 SMART Recovery National Conference!
• Setup a Facebook fundraiser on your page to support SMART Recovery or another recovery related organization
• Host a walk, run, or ride
• Gather friends, family and community members for a picnic or other low-key event to celebrate and discuss recovery in your local area
• Hold an informational seminar or talk given by a treatment professional or an individual who has experienced recovery
• Sell t-shirts or other promotional products that feature a motivational quote about recovery and/or success

Donations from your celebration can be used to support your local SMART Recovery group.

For more information and ideas on promoting Recovery Month, visit the SAMHSA website.

Submit Your Celebrations

We’d love to highlight your celebrations with our followers! Please send a photo and a brief story about your celebration to socialmedia@smartrecovery.org and we will consider it for social media, blogs, or newsletter publications.

About SMART Recovery

Founded in 1994, SMART (Self-Management And Recovery Training) uses science-based techniques that have proven to be effective in helping people recover from addiction problems involving any substance or behavior, including such things as alcohol, drugs, gambling, over-eating, shopping, and internet use.

Each week, thousands of people discuss recovery progress and challenges at more than 3,000 in-person meetings in 23 countries, daily online meetings and 24/7/365 message board forums and chat rooms.

Participants use SMART to assume responsibility for their own recovery and become empowered using its 4-Point Program^®: building motivation; coping with urges; managing thoughts, feelings and behaviors; and living a balanced life.

For more information, please visit www.smartrecovery.org.