Recovery Year-Round

October 11, 2023|,

Can’t stop. Won’t Stop.

Throughout Recovery Month, Faces & Voices led and participated in several events recognizing and celebrating the more than 25 million people in the recovery community, allies and the various organizations and agencies that work to support the community.

Be Brave.

We kicked off September with our Recovery Month Luncheon and subsequent Walk for Recovery at Union Station in Washington, D.C., setting a high bar for what community engagement and awareness-raising can achieve. The luncheon featured a range of speakers who offered invaluable insights into the field of recovery, with Donald Whitehead’s story and experiences in recovery serving as a highlight. The spoken word performance “Be Brave” moved attendees emotionally, capturing the spirit that marks the recovery journey for many. Dr Rahul Gupta, Director, ONDCP, presented the presidential proclamation of Recovery Month 2023 to Patty McCarthy, CEO. Personalized “Recovery is for…” pins added a touch of personal commitment for attendees, serving as commemorative badges of unity and purpose.

Walking as a community.

The sense of community continued to flourish during the first-ever Walk for Recovery, co-hosted by SAMHSA. SAMHSA invited folks to kick off the walk with words of encouragement. We heard from Dr. Delphin-Rittmon, Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Mr. Paolo Del Vecchio, Director of the Office of Recovery, among many others. The walk from Columbus Circle to the Capitol was a unifying event that drew participation from a wide spectrum of attendees. The recovery walk was limited in numbers, due to the heatwave that struck DC that day, however, attendees shared in the bond of spreading the message of recovery. Both the luncheon and the walk left attendees educated, inspired, and more deeply connected to the cause, promising a fruitful Recovery Month ahead.

Mobilize Recovery.

Staff and leadership were invited to attend the Mobilize Recovery 2023 convening at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. Staff and leadership heard from various speakers throughout the event as well as spoke about the work of Faces & Voices in some breakout sessions. Following this convening Faces & Voices was honored to represent leadership and our Alliance members at the White House Recovery Month Summit. A spectacular event showcasing panelist discussions on recovery high schools and building recovery ready workplaces, a spoken word by Joseph Green, and our advocates on the Congressional floors.

A Love Letter.

Towards the end of September, Faces & Voices was pleased to partner with an amazing documentary film, Anonymous Sister, to host a community screening and Q&A Virtual Panel with Director, Jaime Boyle. Anonymous Sister traces the rise of the opioid crisis and it’s history side-by-side with the personal story of director Jamie Boyle’s relationship with her sister who overcame substance use disorder herself. The film itself is both achingly personal and yet deeply relatable.

Recovery for all.

Additionally, our Advocacy & Outreach team hosted three Recovery Pop-Up events in September throughout Florida. We brought together people from various domains in the field to convene the nation’s recovery workforce, advocates, and allies, from all recovery capital domains, to bolster our commitment to unifying the recovery advocacy community to advance policy changes. Attendees valued these events and enjoyed connecting with others in their community, “This event was successful in my opinion because I was able to connect with folks in the community that I was not aware of before”.

Making time to give back.

Faces & Voices closed out the month with the first ever Day of Service in partnership with Mobilize Recovery. Staff participated in service events in their local communities like cleaning up Lake Elsinore to working with a local Mango Farm gathering donations to be shipped to a farm in Haiti. Our last Recovery Month event was International Recovery Day where we invited community members to partner with their communities to light up a monument in purple. We are still receiving feedback from this event around the world and one of the areas that participated was The Village of Niles in Illinois that lit up their Leaning Tower of Niles.

Lindsay J. Fancovic

Director of Public Affairs

After completing her undergraduate studies with a B.A. in Government and Politics and a Minor in Communications at the University of Maryland, Lindsay continued her studies with an M.S. in Public Relations Management and an M.B.A. While completing her graduate studies she began her career in the non-profit sector as an Executive Director within a professional development association before shifting her focus to education. She served six years as the Director of Admissions for St. Vincent Palloti High School before moving abroad. In 2018, Lindsay had the life-changing opportunity to work on a gender empowerment project with The Happy Africa Foundation in Zambia. Quickly she fell in love with community outreach and advocacy for sustainable aid relief. Moving from Zambia to South Africa in 2019, Lindsay served as Project Manager for all education, health, and gender empowerment programs. Once returning to the states she took her love for community, advocacy, small business entrepreneurship, and wellness to open a holistic wellness center in Historic Laurel. Additionally, she began working as Community Liaison and Workforce and Education Senior Advisor for Senator Jim Rosapepe and Maryland General Assembly. Lindsay has continued to serve as a Consultant in a variety of fields including expertise in marketing and communications to project and strategic management and education. She resides in Maryland with her husband, two children, and their lovable French Bulldog.