Help Us Reframe the National Dialogue on Addiction and Recovery

Reach Out Recovery has a big dream. We want to become the United Way of Recovery, raising funds to support the thousands of existing programs all across the country that currently are unknown to the general public. How can we do it? ROR is creating the media tools to raise awareness and create the recovery friendly environment that is crucial to make Recovery Giving a national priority. The first step is to show the nation that recovery is worth the investment. We believe, as with cancer, HIV, diabetes, heart disease, the public will support treatment for a chronic disease that is manageable. Partnership of Drug Free American reported last week that 23 million Americans are in recovery. If each gave a dollar back for their lives, a new feeling of “national” community would be launched. Corporations that now stay away from recovery causes, will begin to support it. Tens of thousands of lives will be saved every year. With their two documentaries, “The Secret World of Recovery” and “The Silent Majority,” Leslie and Lindsey Glass have begun to tell the story that education, prevention and recovery work. Now ROR media campaign begins at the Prism Awards in Los Angeles.

Support our effort and help us save lives. Every dollar raised goes directly, either to a nonprofit recovery or education organization, or to the ROR film or media fund.

ROR is Proud to Join SAMHSA Recovery Planning Partnership

March 28th Leslie and Lindsey traveled to Washington for the second week in a row. This time they went to SAMHSA’s (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency, a division of Health and Human Services) headquarters in Rockville, MD to join SAMHSA’s Recovery Planning Partnership for the first time. It was an honor to meet addiction and recovery professionals from all over the country. This recovery partnership represents a wide variety of organizations that provide many kinds of services, education, and community outreach all across the nation. ROR looks forward to getting to know all the participants and helping to tell their stories and finding innovative ways to support them.

First Screening of The Silent Majority at the Washington Hilton, April 10, 2012

Leslie and Lindsey were in Washington D.C. for a third week in a row to participate in the Joint Meeting on Adolescent Treatment Effectiveness (JMATE), “collaborating and integrating to support youth and families in an Era of Change.”

The Silent Majority has its very first screening, and an enthusiastic audience said they loved the movie. “Beautifully done. It brings real stories of hope and excitement to a field that needs tools to show that prevention and recovery work,” was the kind of praise we heard. Networking with 1100 treatment providers and recovery experts and advocates was a great learning experience. Lindsey and Leslie were proud to be presenters.

ROR To Film at The Prism Awards on April 19th

In collaboration with the Entertainment Industries Council, Reach Out Recovery will launch its media campaign by filming at the Prism Awards on April 19^th at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles. Leslie and Lindsey will interview attendees and award winners and do a behind the scenes look at Recovery on TV and in the movies. You’ll see some of it on YouTube following the event.

Call to Action

ROR can’t change the world on its own. We need your help. In addition to speaking out for Recovery in the national arena, we are working on:

1. Events to launch “The Silent Majority” and ways to use the film as part of existing programs in a variety of non profits.
2. We are developing a Media Campaign–six public service commercials that will run all over the world forever for free. For this initiative, we need $20,000 for cameramen, editing, and graphics. And we need real people to appear on camera.

To donate to the campaign (Click here)
For an event, or to help with the media campaign and be in a spot, contact us. (Click Here)

American Teens

American teens are facing more pressure and access to more dangerous drugs than ever before. With no standardized national program for drug prevention and education, kids are starting their experimentation with drugs at younger and younger ages and are unaware of the deadly consequences. 38,125 teens died last year from prescription drug overdoses alone, surpassing the national number of traffic fatalities. The numbers are staggering and the cost to the nation and the families is incalculable. Why isn’t there an impassioned national dialogue about this?

It may seem daunting, almost impossible on a national level, to invest in solutions for this devastating teen epidemic that’s affecting our most precious resource, our children. But there are some bright spots, some effective prevention programs scattered around the country that inspire teens to make good choices.

For me, exploring this issue of programs for teens that work in a documentary has been especially meaningful. I know how easy it is for young people get on the wrong track, and how hard is it to get back on the right one. Positive programs, role models and mentors are desperately needed all the way through middle school and high school, even college, to teach life skills. And a new concept of cool.

The programs we highlight in The Silent Majority are changing both lives and communities. The great kids we interviewed for this show told us what teen court, drug free youth and Road Recovery means to them. When given a choice, programs like these are what they want.

Support For Teens

Support for teens, who don’t want to take drugs or drink, is a new concept. Getting high or drunk used to be a rite of passage. But using alcohol and substances is no longer a safe coming-of-age ritual. These days prevention should be viewed as a necessity, not a luxury. We now know that 15 of every 100 teens are addicts or will become addicts. If they don’t start using until they are of age, they have a better chance of avoiding the disease.

At the same time, ongoing support for teens coming out of rehab is also a brand new idea. Most people think a few months of sober living can turn a life around and are surprised and angered when it doesn’t work. But recovery experts know that it takes much more than just not using to recover from addiction. New ways of living and having fun have to be developed to change habits and brain patterns. Imagine how engaging and exciting it must be as a teen coming back to life after drug use with the opportunity to play in a band and be mentored by music industry professionals.

The programs in Silent Majority, Road Recovery and young offenders in Teen Court give kids the opportunity to replace their bad habits with good ones. They teach young people the value of learning skills and fostering a community all under the supervision of professionals who understand the issues involved with addiction and recovery in teens. This mentoring model is proving to be incredibly successful for the recovery process in teens, and more programs needs to be initiated all over the country. We hope that viewers seeing these programs will be the catalyst for creating others all over the country.

Making A Documentary

Making a documentary about teens in recovery was an amazingly rewarding experience for so many reasons. I loved meeting the kids, some of whom show remarkable resilience. I loved profiling the programs that are working successfully in the areas of education, prevention and recovery. And, I loved meeting the people who make these programs work. These leaders are a special kind of dedicated. Getting the opportunity to experience, and film, all these elements working together was not only enlightening about problems and problem solving, but also inspiring. You can’t help feeling hopeful that there is a way to help kids.

Working on this movie has been especially meaningful for me because there isn’t much available for teens on TV and film that offers a cool alternative to hard drinking and hard partying for having fun.

We hope that showing the University of Tampa, and University of South Florida Harm Reduction program, will inspire other colleges and universities to teach how to calculate BAC, blood alcohol concentration. Less alcohol abuse will help to lower the assaults, date rapes, and various other drinking related crimes and injuries that presently endanger so many college students. Alcohol is so prevalent, yet college students and their parents are not aware of the consequences.

It’s crucial that the American public, and particularly teens and preteens get a clear picture of what happens with alcohol and substance abuse, but also how to avoid it, get out of it if you’re in it, and recover from it.

We’re particularly proud of the D-FY Drug Free Youth of North Port segment of the movie. For kids to be able to join other kids in sober society in high school is exciting in so many ways. First, for presenting an environment that is safe. Second, for promoting the choice to stay off drugs as exciting, positive, and rewarding, rather than the choice of the kids who are less than “cool.”

The need of programs for kids who have joined recovery in high school or college is particularly vital because we now know it takes years of positive reinforcement for recovery to work. We know kids don’t just get out of rehab and do well. They need a community and activities to keep them engaged in a positive way.

The Job Of A Reporter

The job of a reporter is to ask hard questions about painful issues, to uncover the facts, and to show the alternatives that are providing solutions, or can provide solutions in the future. This is Lindsey’s and my mission. In The Silent Majority, we wanted to show what can work to improve our communities instead of reporting on what isn’t working. The nation already knows what isn’t working. Lack of education in middle school, high school and college about alcohol and substances doesn’t work. Ignoring the situation isn’t working.

Corporate slogans, like Just Do It, may work for exercise, but Just Say No didn’t work for teens because No doesn’t offer a positive alternative to Yes.

The DARE and other programs send police officers into schools when using intoxicants is a social and cultural issue that should be addressed by teachers, parents, peers and mentors.

Addiction is universal. Everybody uses something, and no one wants to stop. How do we teach families and children to make distinctions between addictions that do not cause harm, and those that do. Addiction sends millions of people to jail and prison, but 75% of addicts never receive treatment. Without education and treatment the epidemic of addiction can only get worse.

How do we teach positive choices to our children without being repressive? How can the media cover addiction with dignity and respect? How do we tell the recovery story without exploiting the addict in the worst stages of active use? What is our education initiative in this area? These are the questions we are beginning to address with a new kind of documentary.

“The Silent Majority” shows three programs that go beyond telling kids what not to do. For more information: Contact us.

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.