Everyone Knows Someone…Help Prevent the Next One.

Mental health and substance use disorders affect all communities nationwide, with commitment and support, those impacted can embark on a journey of improved health and overall wellness. The focus of National Recovery Month (Recovery Month) this September is to celebrate all people that make the journey of recovery possible by embracing the 2021 theme, “Recovery is For Everyone: Every Person, Every Family, Every Community.” Recovery Month spreads the message that people can and do recover every day.

The impact of mental health and substance use disorders is apparent in our local community; deaths due to drug overdose have increased in New Jersey from 16.3 per 100,000 in 2015 to 33.7 per 100,000 in 2020 (1). Through Recovery Month, people become more aware and able to recognize the signs of mental health and substance use disorders and encourages people in need of recovery services to seek help. Managing the effects of these conditions helps individuals achieve healthy lifestyles, both physically and emotionally.

As a person in long term recovery for more than a decade, I am so proud of the work Prevention Links does to create opportunities for individuals, families, and communities to find recovery, sustain recovery, and thrive in recovery. At every point in the journey, our organization has resources for any community member who is touched by addiction. We employ a diverse workforce of individuals in recovery whose passion and lived experience uniquely qualify them to help. This year, we launched our Recovery Community Development Division, which includes programs that build recovery capital at the community level, such as initiatives to get people in recovery back into the workforce. We are committed to leveraging all available resources to support our recovery.

The Recovery Month observance continues to work to improve the lives of those affected by mental health and substance use disorders by raising awareness and educating communities about the effective services that are available. For the above reasons, we are asking the citizens of New Jersey like you to join Prevention Links in celebrating this September as National Recovery Month.

Prevention Links is calling upon our community to observe this month with compelling programs, events and engagements that support this year’s observance, the 32nd anniversary of Recovery Month.

Sincerely,

Morgan Thompson (She/Her), CEO

MyStory Campaign

In honor of Recovery Month, we are calling all members of the recovery community to share their recovery stories. Submit your story to us in written, video, or audio format, and we will share it across our social media platforms to show that recovery is possible.