Stigma Reduction

William Cope Meyers

William Cope Moyers is an author, advocate and vice president at Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. He began his journey away from addiction in 1989 and has been in long-term recovery since 1994. As the President of The Johnson Institute, he was instrumental in the founding of Faces & Voices of Recovery in 2001. William's "Smash the Stigma" presentation is a huge hit among recovery advocates.

Why Addiction is a Disease and Why It's Important

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This webcast, brought to you by the Substance Abuse Mental Health Administration and the Recovery Research Institute, delineates the definition of disease and the importance of defining substance use disorder as such, from a variety of perspectives. The panel of experts, including Patty McCarthy Metcalf, Executive Director of Faces & Voices of Recovery, discuss the importance of describing addiction as a treatable condition, from which most people successfully recover. For more information and to view the webcast, click here.

Fighting the Stigma of Addiction

We provide the addiction treatment and recovering community with practical information and tools to enhance their capacity to engage in effective stigma reduction efforts. We unify the recovery community around key priorities — to reduce stigma by ending discrimination against people in recovery. We are working to eliminate barriers to recovery for every American and every family, and to help today’s children and future generations, who often are the biggest winners in the process of recovery.

We facilitate a national conversation for Americans in recovery, their friends, families and allies as well as those still suffering. We are committed to eliminating stigma, shaping public policy and educating people by bringing recovery into the consciousness of Americans. We accomplish this through the promotion and celebration of recovery, by demonstrating recovery as a positive healing force, and by being the voice for those who have not yet found theirs. We support all pathways to recovery and we support initiatives such as Recovery Day, Rally for Recovery and Recovery Month.

We encourage those in recovery from addiction, and their friends, family members and allies to build awareness, challenge societal stigma, and celebrate the role that recovery plays in improving the lives of individuals, families, and communities.

 We believe that recovery saves lives. We envision a world in which recovery from addiction is a common, celebrated reality - a world where individuals will not experience shame when seeking help. We are passionate about sharing our stories of recovery in the hope of inspiring others to join us on the rewarding yet diverse path to wholeness. Together we will demonstrate the power and proof of recovery from addiction.

In attempt to reduce the stigma surrounding addiction and recovery, we’ve developed a variety of initiatives and campaigns, which have placed Faces & Voices of Recovery at the forefront of the Recovery Advocacy movement:

Thanks to the hard work of dedicated individuals like you recovery advocacy is making history!