The Coalition, along with RecoveryNC, is encouraging all North Carolinians to embrace September as Recovery Month. Month. Recovery Month promotes the societal benefits of treatment for substance use and mental disorders, celebrates people in recovery, lauds the contributions of treatment providers, and promotes the message that recovery in all its forms is possible. Recovery Month spreads the positive message that behavioral health is essential to overall health, that prevention works, treatment is effective and people can and do recover. The RecoveryNC Campaign, initiated in September of 2008 to coincide with the celebration of National Recovery Month, began as a vehicle through which persons in recovery from addictions can feel proud to emerge together in numbers along with their families, friends, advocates and the treatment and recovery provider community.

The website www.recoverync.org has been designed to permit persons to be counted as supporters of addiction recovery by providing, at a minimum, their names and the counties they live in. Campaign petitions and postcards are also available to collect signup information. Personal information is not intended to be shared, but will be used for statistical purposes and to verify the legitimacy of the Campaign. In the three years since its inception, the RecoveryNC Campaign has collected signatures of support from over 10,600 persons in our state.

In 2009, 4.3 million people aged 12 or older (1.7 percent of the population) received treatment for substance use disorders, and 30.2 million adults aged 18 or older (13.3 percent of the population) received services for mental health problems according to the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

The observance of National Recovery Month, which takes place each September, raises awareness of substance use and mental disorders, celebrates individuals in long-term recovery, and acknowledges the work of treatment and recovery service providers. Recovery Month spreads the message that behavioral health is an essential part of health and one's overall wellness, and that prevention works, treatment is effective, and people can and do recover from substance use and mental disorders. Recovery Month highlights the importance of communities nationwide to promote prevention, treatment, and recovery services not only in September, but throughout the year.

About The Coalition

Established in 1991, The Coalition is a statewide group of individuals and organizations working in partnership to protect the rights of North Carolinians living with mental illness, developmental disabilities, and the disease of addiction. The Coalition advocates for adequate funding for the mental health / developmental disability / substance abuse (MH/DD/SA) system. From more information on The Coalition, visit www.thecoalitionnc.org.