Get answers to your questions about topics covered in the latest Road to Recovery Webcast: Today's Recovery Movement: Remembering the Past and Planning for the Future .

Simply submit questions using this anonymous form, and watch for the next Road to Recovery Update to learn when the answers are posted on the Web site.

To view the Webcast, visit http://www.recoverymonth.gov/2005/multimedia/w.aspx?ID=386.

Answers to Questions

Question: What would be helpful in a family group setting in a 90-day residential program for the group as a whole to better understand their loved one?

Patricia Taylor: There are more than 100 recovery community organizations across the country, whose members include people in recovery, their family members, friends, and allies. You might want to think about contacting one of those organizations, if there's one in your area, and inviting a family, including the family member who is in recovery, to come and talk with you about their experiences. There's a list of recovery community organizations on our Web site at http://www.facesandvoicesofrecovery.org/resources/links.php. The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence has a listing of local affiliates at http://ncadd.org/affiliates/affil.html. Many of these families are coming together to speak out about their experiences with addiction and the need for policies that support their loved ones in getting help and sustaining their recovery from addiction. They are also speaking publicly about their family's experience with addiction and how important it is to talk about what's happening to them to their friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family. You might want to invite individuals in recovery to come and talk with you as well about their experiences and the hope of recovery. They will be able to share with you the time, patience, and support that has sustained their recovery. There are a number of books by and about people in recovery from addiction. You might want to consider using one of those books as a starting point for a discussion about your experiences with your loved one.

Question: Pat, I have a girlfriend who has been addicted to cocaine for 20 years ...I'd have tried everything possible and a few inpatient programs...she don't work ...I like to know how they get so out of control or so helpless that she will have sex with anyone for drugs ...since I don't give money...or does it have to do with personal values and beliefs...thanks again I would appreciate it for life ...I have tried to get an answer for 5 years; no one gives me a straight answer ...Is it due to drugs or personal desires...I pray to hear an answer and God bless you. Thanks again.

Patricia Taylor: Addiction is such a hard thing to explain. I asked one of our steering committee members about your question and she said that while she was using cocaine she did a lot of things that under normal conditions she would not have done. For her, it had little to do with her morals or values at the time. It was the physical need for the drug and the hold it had on her mind and body. Her addiction had her powerless over what she did. Yes, she knew it was wrong but did it anyway. "I had not lost my morals or values but the physical need made me put aside those things so that I could take care of the need for cocaine. Sometimes the need and desire for drugs overcame my common sense and my desire to do the right thing." She is in recovery today, has a job, a home, and is a grandmother. There are more stories from people in recovery on our Web site at http://www.facesandvoicesofrecovery.org/about/our_stories.php. I hope that they give you hope for your girlfriend's recovery.

Question: Is it true that people who get into legal trouble with drugs sometimes can't access Federal benefits to help themselves get their lives back on track? Is there any way for people to regain their benefits or are there organizations out there that help people when the government won't? For example, are scholarships available for students who've been denied financial aid due to drug convictions?

Patricia Taylor: People in recovery with drug convictions face additional barriers when they return to their communities, ready to rebuild their lives, and enter the mainstream of society and the economy. The obstacles that keep them from jobs, housing, and education make it difficult for them to sustain their recovery and include the ban on Federal financial aid to students with drug convictions, which denies access to education for people who are trying to improve their lives and sustain their recovery from addiction. Scholarships are available through the John Perry Fund at http://www.raiseyourvoice.com/Perry-index.html for a limited number of people who have been denied aid. An estimated 92,000 women and 135,000 children are barred from receiving cash assistance and food stamps because of the lifetime ban on assistance to individuals with drug felony convictions. And it's not just Federal benefits - it's also the ability to go to work and exercise their rights as a citizen by voting. For example, State licensing boards for attorneys, physicians, and other professions can single out people with drug convictions from returning to their professions, even jobs that they may have trained for while incarcerated. Delaware State Senator Karen E. Peterson and other Delaware advocates were successful in their effort to remove licensing barriers that kept people from returning to communities after serving their time for felony convictions in more than 30 professions. For information on other barriers that need to be removed, you can go to our Right to Addiction Recovery Platform at http://www.facesandvoicesofrecovery.org/campaigns/right_to_recovery.php.

Question: Patricia, I am a Drug Tx. provider who is interested in opening a Transitional/Recovery house. I have done some study in the area on the need, and there is a need here in Maryland. I'd also like to be able to address other issues the client presents with, like illiteracy, lacking skills, job placement, etc...Are there any funding sources available to assist me in this endeavor?

Patricia Taylor: Hi, an answer depends a lot on where you are and what you would like to do. It's so important to address the recovery supports you've listed that many individuals need. Would you please contact Beth Miller Ryan, Executive Director of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence-Maryland at 410.625.6482. She's happy to go into the specifics about what might be possible in Maryland with you.

Question: I'm realizing that facilities for dual diagnosis-mental illness and alcohol abuse are far and few between. MISA is a start; many patients need inpatient help though. From my limited experience (I'm a MSW student interning at a State Mental Health Hospital), we get patients to the point of discharge and more often than not they're right back. Street drugs and alcohol are often involved. What are the programs like that deal with comorbidity-any successful programs (links to them please)?

Patricia Taylor: The Federal Government's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recently released what's called a Treatment Improvement Protocol, or TIP, on Co-occurring Substance Abuse and Mental Health Disorders, TIP 42. It is available at http://ncadistore.samhsa.gov/catalog/productDetails.aspx?ProductID=16979 from the National Clearinghouse on Alcohol and Drug Information. Other information can be found at SAMHSA's Co-Occuring Center for Excellence at http://coce.samhsa.gov.

Question: Hi Patricia, My name is Laura Swann and I am the coordinator of the Center for Students in Recovery at the University of Texas at Austin. We are a new program (7 months). I wanted to introduce myself and let you know that we exist. Where is the office for Faces and Voices of recovery? Thanks for your time.

Patricia Taylor: Faces & Voices of Recovery's office is in Washington, DC, at 1010 Vermont Ave. NW.#708, Washington, DC 20005. Our phone number is 202.737.0690 and I'd love to hear from you. Please give me a call. I've heard about the exciting things that are happening at your recovery school.

Flier: Rethinking the Demographics of Addiction: Helping Older Adults Find Recovery
Download this flier and use it to help promote Road to Recovery multimedia events. You can use this as a handout at meetings, in information racks, as well as other public venues.