Together we are stronger

The #RecoveryMovement celebrates the 23 million Americans recovering from addiction, and paves the way for the 20 million still struggling to seek treatment. Our voices matter.

Voices for recovery

Eight lives, one message

One in fourteen Americans is in recovery from addiction. Eight of them, ranging from a Google employee to a former White House staffer to a high schooler, shared their stories of addiction and recovery at the YouTube LA space.

Firsthand stories

Recovery is possible

Kay, Family recovery specialist

When doctors quit filling her prescriptions, Kay knew she had to quit. Since then, she's had surgery for her opioid-induced hearing loss and has become a vocal advocate for recovery.

Shawna, Google employee

Used employee assistance counseling sessions to identify and address problems with alcohol misuse. Now she leads workplace efforts to support people in recovery.

Ryan, Recovery advocacy leader

A former White House aide, Ryan ended up homeless and addicted to heroin. Now in recovery, he advocates for his community by using his voice for impact.

Foster, Award winning author

Drinking and using drugs numbed the discomfort that they felt in their own body. Now in recovery, they are surviving and thriving as a queer, nonbinary trans person.

Reno, Recovery High School graduate

At age 12, he witnessed a friend die from gun violence and used Xanax to cope. Now in recovery, he's graduated high school early and been offered college scholarships.

Maura, Graduate student & photographer

As a young student, Maura developed an addiction to prescription painkillers. Now she's living in recovery and studying for a Masters in Social Work.

Sharon, CEO supporting son in recovery

CEO of a healthcare-related company, her son got addicted to painkillers. He's now in recovery and she is using her firsthand experiences to help build a recovery-friendly workplace.

Justin, Young People in Recovery CEO

After being in and out of treatment, an ultimatum from his parents became the first step on his recovery journey. Since then, he's started an advocacy group and earned his MBA.

Voices for recovery

Macklemore's recovery journey

Well-known musician and songwriter Macklemore shares his personal story of struggling with addiction and finding the help that led him to long-term recovery.

In or seeking recovery

If you are in recovery, or supporting someone in recovery, you can use our locator tool to search for relevant support resources in your community. To use the tool, type an address or landmark location into the search bar below – you can use your home address, work address, etc. to find resources nearby. To get more information, click on a meeting time at the Recovery Resource Hub.

We continue to add new resources to the map. If you see something that is missing or incorrect, please let us know so that we can update it. To report an inaccuracy or missing resource, you can submit it to Transforming Youth Recovery for review here.

If you can’t find a local resource, there are also online resources that you can connect with, including a Facebook group owned and moderated by the Voices Project. You are not alone.

Additional Recovery related resources that may be available in your area

There are many ways that people find and thrive in recovery. One method that may work for some, may not work as well for others; and these can evolve during their recovery journey. Below are some resources that may be available in your area.

State Primary Resource Sites

Throughout the United States, some state behavioral health departments and divisions are supporting sustainable recovery, independence, and wellness. Focus is placed on funding and state-wide partnerships for effective prevention and intervention services for youth and families, and treatment and recovery support for youth and adults with addiction and mental health conditions.

Mutual Support Groups and Meetings

Also known as self-help groups, peer support groups, mutual help, and mutual aid, mutual support groups are predominantly peer-run volunteer organizations that focus on socially supportive communication and exchange of addiction and recovery experiences and skills through meetings.

Groups that may be available in your area:

Alcoholics Anonymous
Narcotics Anonymous
Heroin Anonymous
Celebrate Recovery
Cocaine Anonymous
Refuge Recovery
SMART Recovery
Medication Assisted Recovery Anonymous
Moderation Management

Apps that may be able to help you find recovery groups in your area:

Meeting Guide (AA)
Pink Cloud (multiple recovery groups)
NA Meeting Search App (NA)

Recovery Community Organizations and Centers

Local Recovery Community Organizations (RCOs) are independent, non-profit organizations that represent communities of individuals in recovery from a substance use disorder. In areas where they are available, recovery centers typically provide advocacy training, mutual and peer support meetings, recovery support services, recovery coaching, and other community-based services.

To look for RCOs in your area, visit Faces & Voices of Recovery.

School-Based Recovery Support Services

Dedicated programs and services such as recovery high schools and collegiate recovery programs may also be an option for individuals seeking help. School-based recovery support services are designed to help individuals in early substance use disorder recovery achieve their educational goals while also focusing on their social, emotional, spiritual, and physical well-being needs to help sustain recovery.

To learn more about school-based recovery support programs and services you can read this guide developed by Transforming Youth Recovery.

Anyone can support the recovery movement

With your words

The leaders of the modern recovery movement ask us all to be thoughtful with the words we use around addiction and recovery. Some common terms, even those historically used by those in recovery, can reinforce stigma and even discourage people struggling with addiction from seeking treatment. Here are some that label people or inadvertently pass judgment, with advice on how to replace them with objective descriptions of symptoms or behaviors.

Old Term	Replace with
Addict/Alcoholic/Junkie	a person with, or suffering from, addiction or substance use disorder.
Lapse/Relapse/Slip	neutral terms such as “resumed,” or experienced a “recurrence” of symptoms.
Clean	terms like “in remission or recovery”
Dirty	a person having positive test results or exhibiting symptoms of substance use disorder

Old Term: Addict/Alcoholic/Junkie
Replace with: a person with, or suffering from, addiction or substance use disorder.
Old Term: Lapse/Relapse/Slip
Replace with: neutral terms such as “resumed,” or experienced a “recurrence” of symptoms.
Old Term: Clean
Replace with: terms like “in remission or recovery”
Old Term: Dirty
Replace with: a person having positive test results or exhibiting symptoms of substance use disorder

Visit the Addictionary from the Recovery Research Institute for more terminology and guidance

With your time

Young People in Recovery has drafted a blueprint on how to provide support for those in or seeking recovery at a local level. It identifies eight facets to making communities "recovery ready" and in each section, we highlight a small fraction of the many organizations working toward that aspect.

Making Communities Recovery-ready

Prevention

Research conducted by the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control indicates that early prevention can positively affect outcomes and steer young people away from developing a substance use disorder.

Who’s Helping: The Hanley Foundation provides substance abuse prevention and education programs for parents, caregivers, and school-age children.

Treatment

Treatment works in achieving long-term recovery outcomes, and multiple evidence-based approaches to treating addiction are out there.

Who’s Helping: National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) provides leadership, advocacy, training, and member support services to ensure the availability and highest quality of addiction treatment.

Harm Reduction

In cases where abstinence is not an achievable goal, there are still ways of improving health outcomes and reducing risk.

Who’s Helping: The Harm Reduction Coalition is focused on the implementation of harm reduction policies, practices, and programs that address the adverse effects of drug use including overdose.

Judicial and Law Enforcement

Programs such as treatment courts, substance disorder programs in jails and prisons, and Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion.

Who’s Helping: Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) National Support Bureau supports an alternative harm-reduction intervention model in dozens of jurisdictions across the United States.

Housing

Supportive, safe, and accountable housing is an essential component of successful recovery.

Who’s Helping: National Alliance of Recovery Residences (NARR) is working to ensure recovery residences are adhering to best practices and are offering safe, suitable housing for their clients.

Education

People in recovery, especially younger ones, benefit from equitable and fair access to education, including recovery high schools and collegiate recovery support.

Who’s Helping: Transforming Youth Recovery supports on-campus collegiate recovery programs. Association of Recovery Schools is an association of schools designed specifically for students in recovery from substance use disorder or dependency. Association of Recovery and Higher Education represents collegiate recovery programs and communities.

Employment

Job-readiness training for those in recovery, combined with opportunities to gain stable and gainful employment can further support and empower those in recovery.

Who’s Helping: Foundation for Recovery works not only within its own community of Las Vegas, but also nationwide to promote the concept of recovery-friendly workplaces.

Recovery Support

A broad spectrum of services that can be provided through treatment, aftercare, and community-based programs led by behavioral health care providers, peer providers, family members, friends and social networks, the faith community, and people with lived experience in recovery.

Who’s Helping: The Phoenix offers a free sober active community to individuals who have struggled with a substance use disorder and to those who choose a sober life. The Faces and Voices of Recovery group are mentors of the movement, and work in a broad range of areas – from stigma-reduction campaigns to recovery research. The Recovery Research Institute is a non-profit research institute dedicated to the advancement of addiction treatment and recovery. Center on Addiction is committed to supporting the whole family as they address every aspect of substance use and addiction, from prevention to recovery. National Council for Behavioral Health is committed to all Americans having access to comprehensive, high-quality care that affords every opportunity for recovery. The Wellbriety Movement is an organization that specializes in recovery support for Native American communities.

With your voice

Whether you’re a person in recovery, or have a friend or family member in recovery, your voice can help end addiction and inspire recovery. If you’re on social media, you can share your support for #RecoveryMovement , visit Young People in Recovery to tell your story for impact, visit the Voices Project to use your voice to inspire others, or simply reach out to a friend.