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Training: The Power of Story and Persuasion: Fighting Stigma and Discrimination
“I think I found my niche in giving back to society.”
“Very interesting and informative. Practical methods of combating stigma.Thanks.”
“I’ll remember this day for a long time. Thank you so much!!!!”
“Awesome training. Thank you for all of the knowledge shared and the patience.”
In 2004, individuals in recovery, their family members, friends and allies from around the country came together for six regional trainings on using the power of their personal stories to fight stigma to end discrimination. Recovery advocates, many of whom hadn’t met or worked together before, came together to share powerful stories and hone their advocacy skills. At each training, people told their personal stories of recovery – people in recovery and families members – demonstrating how story telling can be used to change attitudes and policies that are barriers to people seeking help or in recovery. An added bonus was the music and story telling at many of the trainings by attendees during breaks.
The trainings were held to strengthen our growing recovery movement by giving recovery advocates more tools and hands-on experience in using our stories to educate appointed and elected officials, the business community, health care providers and the general public about fighting stigma to end discrimination against those seeking or in recovery.
Many thanks to the people who told their stories at the trainings! Amos Marshall, Dana Moulton, Diane Kurtz, Maureen Harvey and Karen MacDonald, and Lisette Gravalese in Boston; Deirdre Drohan Forbes, Sharon L. Brass, Lisa Mojer Torres, Harlan Pruden, David Logan, Cheryl Floyd, and Lynn LiMato in New York City; Judy Murphy, Ninna Frank, Tom McHale, and Jo Campe in Madison, Wisconsin; Chris Kelly, Dr. Charles Fletcher, and Carol McDaid, Richmond; Sharron Kelley, Allan Levine, and ? in Portland; and Robert Koonce, Shirley Thompson, and Mike Barry in Dallas. Some of their stories can be seen at the “Our Stories” section of the Faces & Voices web site.
About the Training
Trainer Ron Williams used the experiences of the Recovery Association Project (RAP) in Portland, Oregon as a model for organizing a powerful recovery community. He worked with facilitator Julia Ritchie to lead participants through a series of hands-on exercises that helped them learn how to use their stories to identify themes and issues that they could develop into specific opportunities for organizing to change attitudes and policies. They experienced building relational power by holding one-on-one meetings and identifying and bringing shared issues before the larger group. Participants then practiced using their stories in different settings, using a case study or an issue that was identified during the training.
While each region’s training was different because of the varied experiences of people who were there, a few key issues emerged across all of the trainings. These are issues where the power of a person’s story of recovery or a family member’s experience with addiction could be used to fight stigma to end discrimination.
- Policies that make reentering communities from the criminal justice system difficult.
- Barriers to housing and other recovery supports.
Each training included a presentation on stigma and discrimination, laying out the differences between the two – stigma being attitudes held by people about those with addictions and in recovery and discrimination being policies and laws that can be changed or enforced. Katie O’Neill, of the Legal Action Center and Debra Wolf, an attorney who works in the discrimination field, spoke at different trainings, where they answered questions regarding the protections that are available to people in recovery as they return to their families and communities from treatment centers or incarceration.
Each training included a presentation on stigma and discrimination, laying out the differences between the two – stigma being attitudes held by people about those with addictions and in recovery and discrimination being policies and laws that can be changed or enforced. Katie O’Neill, of the Legal Action Center and Debra Wolf, an attorney who works in the discrimination field, spoke at different trainings, where they answered questions regarding the protections that are available to people in recovery as they return to their families and communities from treatment centers or incarceration.
The materials distributed at each training included Faces & Voices of Recovery’s Stigma and Discrimination Resource Directory, Right to Addiction Recovery Platform and 2004 Public Opinion Research. Click on the links below for other training materials:
- COMMUNICATING WITH POLICY MAKERS AND OPINION LEADERS
- USING YOUR STORY TO TALK WITH DIFFERENT GROUPS OF PEOPLE ABOUT ADDICTION, RECOVERY AND STIGMA AND DISCRIMINATION
- CASE STUDY
One-day trainings were held in:
Boston, Massachusetts
Sponsors: Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery (MOAR), and the Alliance of Addiction Recovery Communities (AARC)
New York City, New York
Sponsors: Center Cares, New York City; Faces & Voices of Recovery, Cincinnati, Ohio; Friends of Addiction Recovery-New Jersey; Friends and Voices of Recovery, Westchester; National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD); National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence-New Jersey; Las Buenas Amigas, New York City; Ohio Citizen Advocates for Chemical Dependency Prevention and Treatment; PRO-A; PRO-ACT; and SpeakOUT: LGBT Voices for Recovery
Madison, Wisconsin
Sponsors: Wisconsin Women's Education Network on Addiction, Recovery and Prevention (WWEN); and Hazelden Foundation
Richmond, Virginia
Sponsors: The Historic Triangle Substance Abuse Coalition; Substance Abuse and Addiction Recovery Alliance of Central Virginia (SAARA); Richmond Behavioral Health Authority; National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence-Maryland (NCADD-Maryland); Advocates for Recovery through Medicine (ARM-DC); Virginia Alliance of Methadone Advocates (VAMA); Alcohol/Drug Council of North Carolina (ADCNC)
Portland, Oregon
Sponsors: Advocates for Recovery, Denver, CO; Alaska Women’s Recovery Project, Anchorage, AK; the Alliance for Recovery, Seattle, WA; Recovery Association Project (RAP), Portland, OR; Washington Association of Methadone Maintenance, Seattle, WA; Interagency Community Coalition (ICC), Ethete, WY
Dallas, Texas
Sponsors: Addiction Recovery Advocates of Kentuckiana, Louisville, KY; Association of Persons Affected by Addiction, Dallas, Texas; People Advocating Recovery, Lexington, Kentucky; Recovery Alliance, El Paso, Texas
The trainings were possible in part under contract for the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
While Faces & Voices of Recovery has not scheduled future trainings on this topic, we encourage local recovery community organizations and others to get in touch with us about organizing similar trainings in your community. Please email us to arrange for trainers and materials for your event.