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As you know, our focus for this year’s Secular Lobby Day is increasing access to secular addiction recovery options. What makes that such a worthwhile cause? Two critical reasons:
First, because far too often, courts require that people participate in recovery programs when there is no secular option in the area, violating their constitutional rights.
In fact, twelve-step programs, including Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, have been judged “pervasively religious” in federal appeals courts. So, if the federal government requires a person to participate in a recovery program, there must be a secular program offered for the order to be constitutional.
But the truth of the matter is, there are far too many places across the nation where secular recovery options don’t exist, leaving a number of bad options. You can hire a lawyer and fight an unconstitutional court mandate, but many people don’t have the money. You can let the court force you into compromising your values. Or, the choice is taken out of your hands, as courts are forced to forego mandated recovery as an option, failing to offer a binding incentive that pushes people to take critical steps toward improving their health.
Congress can and must set this right by providing the funding necessary to ensure that all people are empowered to choose a recovery program that honors their ideas and values.
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Second, as you’ll learn firsthand below from Chuck Novak, one of the Secular Coalition for America’s citizen advocates, these programs change lives.
Last February, Chuck joined lobbyists from SCA, the Center for Inquiry, and members of SMART Recovery to discuss expanding access to secular evidence-based, addiction recovery programs with legislators and Hill Staff.
He came to tell his story of recovery—a courageous and selfless act that provided concrete evidence about the value of peer support in overcoming addiction and underscored the importance of providing a secular approach to addiction treatment.
Our visits with our partners and advocates like Chuck have been ongoing, and to date, SCA and their partners' lobbying teams have met with Members of Congress serving on Senate and House Appropriations Committees, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, the House Oversight and Reform Committee, and other relevant committees to inform the key players on the Hill about this issue and move the ball forward.
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Here is Chuck’s story:
“I’d like to share about what SMART Recovery means to me and how it has changed my life.
Twenty years ago, my life was a mess. I had given up my family and my business as a photographer to focus full time on using and selling heroin and cocaine. I was arrested three times and was in and out of jail and rehabs for two years.
The only help available was 12-steps and it wasn’t helping me.
Then, I was arrested again and spent three years in prison. The prison’s program was based on a punitive therapeutic model of shame and faith-based 12-step programming. It had a terrible success rate and I realized most of the people I sold drugs to were ‘graduates’ of their program.
Fortunately for me, I read a book about using Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT), a pioneering method of cognitive behavior therapy, as a recovery approach that mentioned a program called SMART Recovery. It was like a light clicked on in my head and I found something I could believe in. Something scientific—something that didn’t want me to be ‘powerless.’
When I left prison, I was inspired to maintain my recovery but there were no SMART Recovery meetings in New Hampshire. So, I participated as best I could in the 12-step recovery world for a couple years. I went back to college at age 40, studied addiction counseling, and started to work at local treatment agencies, Farnum and Serenity Place. I noticed a revolving door and was frustrated at the limited recovery options. I decided that my life purpose should be to make scientific recovery alternatives available to all those who felt failed by the faith-based 12-step programs.
I made bringing SMART Recovery to New Hampshire the Community Project required by my Bachelor’s program. I graduated Magna Cum Laude but didn’t put my project in place until earning my Master’s Degree in Counseling. I started my mission five years ago when there was one meeting in Burlington, Vermont. Today, we have 43 registered meetings in the New Hampshire/Vermont region. Even with that growth, it’s just a drop in the pan to reaching the people who would benefit from SMART Recovery.
What I like best about SMART is seeing the transformation of people who had felt left out by the old recovery methods.
I like how SMART Recovery focuses on self-empowerment, choice, and change without a need for any specific spiritual or religious beliefs. It also doesn’t focus on any specific substance, so it’s available to help people recover from opioid, alcohol, nicotine, gambling, or even gaming addictions. It’s the recovery program best suited for the future and that’s why I’m honored to be part of expanding our reach. The world needs more evidence-based, secular treatment options for addiction.”
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While we lobby year-round, there is nothing more impactful than face-to-face meetings with constituents, so I hope you will join us for our Lobby Day this September 26 and 27.
This year, we will be lobbying about expanding access to secular, evidence-based addiction recovery programs for all Americans. We initiated this project with our partners at SMART Recovery and LifeRing, and thanks to the support and partnership of SCA’s member organizations, Center for Inquiry and Freedom From Religion Foundation, we are making progress by working with Members of Congress who previously didn't even have this issue on their radar.
My sincere gratitude for your support, which makes everything we do possible.
Sincerely,
Debbie Allen
Acting Executive Director
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