Greetings!

I wish to welcome you to the revival of our quarterly newsletter, “Matters of Substance.”  There have been many exciting changes to our agency since our last newsletter.Many of you may already know me, as I have been involved with substance abuse treatment and prevention for over 30 years.

We have been busy here at the Council fortifying and expanding our programs.  Over the last year our Recovery Housing Program has added two new Recovery Houses:Acceptance House in Cranston and Alex’s Place in Pawtucket.  We plan to expand further next year.

We have received thousands of calls to our 24 Hour Helpline from individuals seeking referrals to all types of treatment and prevention programs such as detoxification, residential treatment and out patient counseling.

Our Directory of Rhode Island Substance Abuse Treatment and Prevention Services has been updated with a more user-friendly format and includes all agencies involved with substance abuse treatment and prevention in the state.

A friendly reminder to all friends of recovery:  If you would like to join us in our mission and make a donation to the Rhode Island Council on Alcoholism and Other Drug Dependence and you donate via the United Way, you must submit the name of our agency to them for your donation to reach us.

In conclusion, I would like to thank our staff and the Board for their hard work and dedication.  I would also like to welcome our new Executive Assistant, Heather MacPherson, who designed this newsletter.  Additionally, I would like to thankcontributors, residents in our recovery houses and especially you, the reader and supporter of our agency, without whom we could not provide the programs we have available.

Sincerely,
David E. Walsh

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Recovery Housing Update

Greetings from the Recovery Housing, or “R-House Program.”  Many people ask, “Why do you call it “Recovery Housing” and not just “Sober Housing?”  It’s a good question! 

“Sober House” is commonly thought of as a sober living environment and the rules, if any, vary from house to house.  We calls our houses “Recovery Houses” because they are more than just a sober living environment.  They are also an environment in which we help the residents with their entire lives as they start their journey in recovery.  Recovery Houses provide safe, substance-free, structured, and supportive living environments. 

Our house rules, entry qualifications and requirements are the same regardless of which of our nine houses the residents live in. We have a “Zero Tolerance” police when it comes to the use of alcohol and/or drugs.  All residents are required to be active participants in their own recovery by attending 12-step recovery fellowship meetings, obtaining a sponsor and a home group.  We do frequent drug and alcohol testing.  All of our houses are kept clean and safe.   There is always someone available if a problem were to arise at a house. 

All of this is done with the ultimate goal of the resident eventually reconciling with his or her family, or moving on to independent living.  If you would like to learn more, please visit our website at www.ricaodd.org or contact our office for literature on the program

Thank you,
Benjamin DiMascolo
Housing Coordinator

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Helpline News

24 Hour Helpline for problems with ALCOHOL and OTHER DRUGS 1-866-ALC-DRUG 1-866-252-3784

Hello all!

RICAODD has a 24 Hour Helpline to help those in need of assistance with problems due to the use and abuse of alcool and/or drugs.  By calling our helpline the caller reaches a live voice on he other end who is trained to give the appropriate referral to a treatment center or provider that best suits the person's needs.  A caller may be the person in need, a family member, or concerned other.

The Helpline is answered at the office between the hours of 9:00am and 4:00pm.  After those hours the calls are confidentially transferred by our answering service to a volunteer on call.  We are always looking for new volunteers for our Helpline and out-reach events.  We hold frequent trainings for these positions. 

Please contact me at 401-725-0410 if you are interested in becoming a volunteer.

Thank you!
Carolyn Caliri
Volunteer Coordinator

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2007 Annual Awards and Fundraiser Dinner

Award Recipients:

 

Thomas Harrington
Appreciation Award

Paul J. Savoie
Community Service Award

Craig Stenning
President’s Award

Jackie Lavalee
Volunteer of the Year

Peter H. Ottmar
James H. Ottmar Award

Dr. James Patrick Curran
The Bronze Key Award

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Craig S. Stenning  is presented the President’s Award  by Board President, John Almeida

2007 Annual Awards and Fundraiser Dinner

The RICAODD 2007 Awards and Fundraiser Dinner was help on September 20, 2007 at the West Valley Inn.

Neil A. Corkery served as our Master of Ceremonies and an invocation was made by Reverend Charles O'Connor, O.F.M.  Thank you to both Mr. Corkery and Reverand O'Connor for your participation in the evening!

Awards were presented to various people of distinction.  (See Above)  We thank all of the award winners for their dedication to helping others who struggle with alcohol and drug addiction.

we would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of our sponsors who made the event possible!  For a list of those who graciously sponsored our dinner, please see the bottom of the page. 

We look forward to this year's Awards and Fundraiser Dinner and hope to see you all there!

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Graduation parties can be safe, sober, happy affairs

The end of a high school career is a great cause for celebration, and students who achieve this rite of passage deserve to be honored for a job well done. Seniors eagerly look forward to the next phase of their lives as they prepare for college or full-time jobs. Unfortunately, too many young lives are lost instead of launched when new graduates jeopardize their bright futures by getting into cars when they are intoxicated.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than half of all fatal traffic crashes on typical prom and graduation weekends involve alcohol. Also, the NHTSA reports that motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for people 15 to 20 years old.

A recent survey by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the Chrysler Group found that 45 percent of 16- to 18-year-olds report feeling pressure to drink and drive or ride with someone who has been drinking. Many schools, parents and communities throughout the country are doing their best to reverse that peer pressure and make sure that this year's graduations will be safe and memorable experiences for everyone. The Roseville Area High School in Roseville, Minn., has approximately 500 students in its ‘05 graduating class, and if this year is like other years, 85 percent of its seniors will attend the all-night party that follows the commencement ceremonies.

"There are so many different and fun activities all night long," said Olivia Gault, one of the parent volunteers. "We have a casino, sumo wrestling with inflatable suits, an obstacle course, and many other attractions." Gault said that students earn fake money in the competitions that they can exchange for prizes--an enticement that gets more kids involved.

To keep the event affordable, Roseville parents garner support from local businesses and organizations that donate prizes and food. They explain to these donors that graduation and prom can be the two deadliest weekends in a teenager's life and how they are striving to thwart those statistics by supporting the tradition of the alcohol-free senior party. The community's response has been generous.

Communities that want to provide safe and sober graduation parties like Roseville's need not start from scratch in planning such an event. Many organizations have developed extensive materials to guide them. For example, Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) has a 52-page "All-Night Party Event Organizer" available on their Web site ( http://www.saddonline.com/) that walks people through each stage of planning a substance-free party, from organizing committees and working with local law enforcement to asking for donations and sending out press releases, letters and other announcements.

Other organizations such as the Minnesota Prevention Resource Center offer low-cost materials that promote healthy behaviors and offer tips for parents on why and how they can promote safe and sober graduation parties. "Graduation is one of those milestones everyone can relate to, and we want the memories to be happy, substance-free ones," said Kevin Spading, the Center's project director. "Our goal is to keep accurate, informative prevention messages in the forefront. Our prevention messages are effective because they are comprehensive, consistent, evidence-based, and focus-group tested."

Another effective way to deter teens from driving drunk is to have them listen to someone whose life has been forever changed because a drunk driver killed someone they loved. Jo Baker, the Victim Impact

Coordinator for Minnesota's MADD, recently told 300 young people about how her son Brad was killed by a drunk driver--a former classmate of Brad's whose picture just happened to appear on the same page of Brad's high school yearbook.

"You could have heard a pin drop in that room," said Baker. "Every Mother's Day Brad gave me a flower. I'll never get another rose from him. I'll never see him come through our door or look into his beautiful eyes. I don't want other families to experience this devastation. If I can keep one person from getting behind a wheel drunk, I will have honored his life."

 

Alive & Free is a health column that offers information to help prevent and address addiction and substance abuse problems. It is provided by Hazelden, a nonprofit agency based in Center City, Minn., that offers a wide range of information and services on addiction and recovery. For more resources, call Hazelden at 1-800-257-7800 or check its Web site at www.hazelden.org. For more on Alive & Free, visit www.hazelden.org/aliveandfree. Direct your inquiries to mduda@hazelden.org.

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RICAODD would like to extend a special thank you to all of the sponsors of the 2007 Awards and Fundraiser Dinner!

Platinum Sponsors ($2,000+)

Willow Laboratories

Silver Sponsors ($500+)

• Axion Business Technologies
• South Shore Mental Health Center, Inc.
• The Providence Center
• Phoenix Houses of New England, Inc.
• Pezzuco Construction, Inc.
• National Grid
• Marworth Treatment Center
• UA Local 51
• Discovery House
• Drug and Alcohol Treatment Association of Rhode Island
• Adcare Hospital of Worcester
• Meadows Edge Recovery Center
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters
• Roger Williams Medical Center
• Embolden Design, Inc.

Advertisements

• Caritas Norcap Lodge
• CODAC, Inc.
• AAA Southern New England
• Recovery Resources USA
• The Cove Counseling Group
• AJG Solutions, Inc.
• East Bay Mental Health, Inc.
• Rhode Island Hospital
• H.R.S. (Human Resource Specialists)
• Gateway Healthcare, Inc.
• R.I. Employee Assistance Program, Inc.
• NRI Community Services, Inc.
• Gilchrist Consulting
• ATTC of New England (Brown University)
• Church of St. Mary on Broadway
• John Andrade Insurance Agency, Inc.
• Stateline Auto Cleaning
• Christmas Memories
• Mineral Spring Primary Care Associates
• Cranston Business Machines Co. Inc. 
• Girard Spring water Co., Inc
• Providence, RI Central Federated Council AFL-CIO
• Providence Fire Fighters Local 799 IAFF
• Noiseux Roofing

Donations

• Something Different Cake Couture
• Christmas Memories
• Steven Kapalka on behalf of Eileen Dykeman
• Senator David E. and Anne B. Bates
• Jeremy S. Duncan
• Amica Companies Foundation
• Arbella Charitable Foundation, Inc.
• "Good To Hear Ya" Group
• UA Local 51
• Lisa Clark
• UFCW Local Number 328

Individual Donations

• William A. and Maryellen Riley Arbine
• Robert O'Neil, M.S.W.
• Jane M. Casasanta
• Labor Assistant Professionals Massachusetts Chapter
• Providence Community Action
• Newport County Community Mental Health Center
• Richard N. and Diane E. Henderson
• R.I. Employee Assistance Program, Inc.
• Gateway Healthcare, Inc.
• David J. Reedy, Jr. and Mary J. Reedy
• Kent House Inc.
• Caritas, Inc.
• Brad and Cindy McGrath
• Kathi and Representative Jack Savage
• Family Services of Rhode Island
• SSTAR of Rhode Island, Inc.
• Laurie Wilson
• Tom Coderre
• Johanne Washington
• Brian Adae
• Judith Caprio
• Susan Storti
• Gene Nadeau
• Representative Bruce Long