We’re Helping to Reframe the National Dialogue on Addiction and Recovery

ROR goes to Washington

Last week was Washington Week for Leslie and Lindsey Glass. On Monday, Leslie joined the White House Business Council for a “Conversation with Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville, FL Business Leaders” to learn about White House Business Partnership Opportunities. Leslie joined Roxie Jerge, Teri Hansen, Joel Fedder, Ken and Barbara Edelin, Ed and Sheila Crego as representatives from Sarasota, which is not considered an entity on its own.

This 5-hour briefing was an eye-opener for the 90+ Florida business leaders in attendance, and was the largest of the 40 get-togethers the White House has organized to date. The purpose of the meeting was to encourage business partnerships between local and national businesses and a wide range of government agencies. The meeting provided real information about what is going on in the Obama administration to spur innovative business ventures. We had face time with 16 senior White House advisors and directors and left with a new understanding and respect for the efforts the administration is making to create economic growth in every state. There is a lot more positive work going on than we hear about from any source.

Nominated for a 2012 Voice Award

Nominated for a 2012 Voice Award

About the Voice Award

Sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Voice Awards honor consumer/peer leaders who have done exemplary work promoting the social inclusion of individuals with behavioral health problems. The awards also recognize TV and film writers and producers that incorporate dignified, respectful, and accurate portrayals of individuals with behavioral health problems into their scripts, programs, and productions.

The 2012 Voice Awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday, August 22 at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, CA. The event brings together people from the entertainment industry and behavioral health community for a night that celebrates increased awareness of mental health and substance use disorders and the power of recovery.

For more information about the Voice Awards, please visit www.voiceawards.samhsa.gov.

For information about using The Secret World for an event or fundraiser, contact us.

Lesley & Lindsey Glass

Leslie and Lindsey Glass enter the recovery world with a three-generation background in social activism, philanthropy and story-telling. Leslie’s mother was a Civil Rights Activist and lobbied for Head Start and Labor Laws for Children in the l960’s. Her father was the producer of Lassie and other beloved early TV series. Leslie created the TV series Fury when she was ten and has been a philanthropist and grant maker for 20 years.

Leslie Glass is a NY Times bestselling author of 15 novels, a journalist, playwright and filmmaker with a strong background in social issues. She was the President of Plays for Living and has written plays for teens at risk on suicide, prejudice, inner city violence, and alcoholism. Leslie served on the Middle States Commission on Higher Education for six years, was a trustee of the New York City Police Foundation for many years. She is the producer and director of The Secret World of Recovery.

Lindsey Glass is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and has an MA from NYU. She has been a screenwriter for 6 years and is in recovery from an addiction to pills. Lindsey is the creator and co-writer of Rehab is for Quitters, a feature comedy about rehab in pre-production. She is the co producer, writer and protagonist of The Secret World of Recovery, a mother and daughter’s journey from addiction to recovery. Lindsey is a frequent speaker on recovery.

Collaboration Works To Bring Communities Together

Collaboration Works To Bring Communities Together

ROR’s first Celebration and Awareness Day April 10, 2011 Van Wezel Performing Arts Center, Sarasota, FL. Record-breaking audience of 1650.

ROR was established as a 501c3 tax exempt charitable organization in March 2011. On April 10th and 13th 2011 ROR presented its first two events. A community Recovery Awareness Day and interactive forum with panels of experts in the addiction and recovery fields paired with a screening of “The Secret World Of Recovery,” a feature length documentary about recovery in America. The full day, free event was planned as a model for engaging a community around the issues of addiction prevention and recovery. It was presented as a community outreach of the Sarasota Film Festival. 1650 people flocked to the performing arts center, the largest venue in the city, breaking all records both for a film festival event and an organization event that did not include celebrities, alcohol, or a sports event. ROR’s event on April 13th was an elegant celebration dinner for 150, honoring 10 community leaders from many fields.

Engaging the media, community leaders, law enforcement, the medical community, government and social service agencies and a broad spectrum of community groups of all ages is the model for ROR’s inspiring a grass roots movement to address addiction and recovery. Collaboration Works.

ROR Breaking News for January 2012

What an exciting beginning to the new year. On January 26 ROR founders Leslie and Lindsey Glass met First Lady Michelle Obama at Caren Lobo’s house on the bay in Sarasota. It was a great thrill to meet and be in this great lady’s presence as she talked about the accomplishments of the Obama administration and the plans for the President’s second term.

At Reach Out Recovery, we look back on 2011 with amazement that so much has been accomplished in such a sort time. We have made amazing new friends all over the country and are planning for great strides in promoting recovery as a national cause in 2012.

This is how the end of our 2011 shaped up. First came the documentary, The Secret World of Recovery. What a learning process it was to edit so much footage to find the right format for what we plan as a series of documentaries. We tried several versions. What was the right vision, the right tone, the right people to highlight and show? In its editing journey, The Secret World of Recovery went from 50 minutes to 68 minutes, then down to 45 minutes before it seemed right. The final cut was gleaned from 80 hours of extraordinary footage.  The film is now ready to be marketed for distribution and can be viewed online at www.IMDB.com. We had some guidance from experts. After our initial screening at the Van Wezel Center for Performing Arts in Sarasota and a second screening at the Straz Center in Tampa as part of DACCO’s celebration of National Recovery Month, we screened the film in Washington at SAMHSA in November and edited the new version which is suitable for classrooms and an hour TV show. We’re very excited about the final cut. Watch it on www.IMDB.com

But that was just the beginning. In the summer and fall we filmed a second documentary, this one about teens. We are now in the editing stage. This is our second movie using our new format. The Silent Majority is an inspiring film about teens and their mentors for audiences of every age. Want to hear some good news about solutions for teens who desperately need positive reinforcement against the culture of drinking, partying and drug use that has become the number 1 health issue for teens in America? This is the movie for your community. “The Silent Majority” tells the story of 4 innovative and positive programs teens that inspire community, teamwork, and personal responsibility.

 The Silent Majority will be screened for the public for the first time in Washington D.C. in April.  More information coming soon.

To continue our work, Leslie and Lindsey have applied for an Echoing Green Fellowship, as well as support from the Ford Foundation, ITVS, and other nonprofits that support film and social issues. In Florida, we are seeking leaders and sponsors interested in partnering to show the film to middle school and high school students in Sarasota and Manatee Counties, and to partner for a fundraiser for local charities in the fall.

Contact us. If you are interested in bringing one of our films to your organization for a screening, a film event, or a fund raiser, or are interested in sponsoring a new film.

To help our communities and our precious children be safe from drug and alcohol addiction or be supported in their recovery from addiction, DONATE NOW.

Reach Out Recovery is dedicated to collaborative solutions to the epidemic of drug and alcohol addiction that affects nearly every family in America.