Submitted information:
As drug abuse and overdoses continue to take lives and destroy families, innovative solutions are emerging in communities throughout the country. Sharing those solutions to “Fight Addiction and Fuel Recovery” is the theme for the 2019 national conference of Building Communities of Recovery.
The conference, in its second year as a showcase for solutions-based recovery programs, will be held Sept. 22-25 in Marietta, Ga. It is presented by the Davis Direction Foundation, which was founded by Missy and Michael Owen after they lost their 20-year-old son Davis to a heroin overdose in 2014.
By bringing solutions together in one place, the BCOR conference offers inspiration and hope to communities who are looking for ways to provide safe and sober environments, supporting people in recovery and encouraging them to live productively. According to the Surgeon General’s most recent report, there are more than 25 million people in recovery in the United States.
REGISTER HERE to take advantage of national experts and community innovators who will share their successes and lessons learned in four primary areas:
- Medical and behavioral health
- Education and prevention
- Law and legal
- Faith-based/spiritual
Keynote speakers will include Sara A. Carter, Fox News contributor and founder of the Dark Wire Investigation Foundation; Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House and a leader of Advocates for Opioid Recovery, a bipartisan initiative promoting evidence-based treatment for opioid addiction; and Dr. Kelly Clark, past president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and founder of Addiction Crisis Solutions, which helps stakeholder groups transform addiction treatment into evidence-based care.
The conference kicks off at 7 p.m. (EDT) on Sunday, Sept. 22, with the movie premier of Not in Vein, open to the public in the Ballroom of the Hilton Atlanta/Marietta Hotel & Conference Center.
Over the next three days, speakers will share their experiences in innovative solutions-based recovery programs. Examples:
- The Centergy Project works with schools in Georgia, Illinois, Alabama, and Virginia to launch student and family support centers customized to the barriers and assets of each community.
- In Panama City, Fla., a pilot project at the Bay County Jail Facility conducts resilience training for inmates who are addicted to opiates and other highly addictive substances. The program has reduced recidivism by 50 percent over two years.
- Advocates for Opioid Recovery has relied on grassroots advocacy and successful use of social media to break down barriers to evidence-based treatment.
- The complete program is available at https://www.buildingcommunitiesofrecovery.com/2019-bcor-conference-program/.
Harry Nelson, author of The United States of Opioids: A Prescription for Liberating a Nation in Pain, will be keynote speaker for the awards banquet on Tuesday. Sept. 24, recognizing advocates, organizers and partnerships that have worked tirelessly to fight addiction and fuel recovery.
Cost for the three-day conference is $399, or $299 for students, meals inclusive, with the exception of the Sept. 24 VIP dinner with plenary speakers costing $100.
The conference will provide educational opportunities that satisfy continuing education requirements for the following:
- CMEs for medical professionals
- P.O.S.T. credits for law enforcement officers
- CEs for CADC, CAADC, CCS and CAC-I and CAC-II
Conference sponsors include Co-Host – WellStar Health System, The Zone, Cobb EMC Community Foundation, Mental Health for US, Atlanta Copier Rentals, DisposeRx, Advocates for Opioid Recovery, Kennesaw State University’s Center for Young Adult Addiction and Recovery, National Safety Council, Northside Hospital, Summit BHC, and Tanner Health System.
The conference will include an exhibit hall of various programs, sponsors, informational organizations and nationally identified innovative solutions.
The Davis Direction Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to fight addiction and fuel recovery while serving as the national model for “Building Communities of Recovery” in the midst of a national opioid/heroin epidemic. The Davis Direction Foundation focuses on advocacy, education, harm reduction, prevention and recovery.
For more information, email info@davisdirection.com.
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
