International Recovery Day, Inc.

I want to elevate public awareness of the hope that recovery from addiction offers to individuals, families, and communities worldwide. I also wish to demonstrate a positive power of example of the goodness in people and of the good works that exist all around the world. 

In the depths of my addiction I was riddled with shame. I knew myself to be a total failure in all aspects of my life. Being familiar with the adage "The eyes are the window to the soul" I avoided eye-contact, fearing anyone might catch a glimpse of my inner self. Today, I cherish the ability to look anyone squarely in the eyes. Through recovery from my addiction I now know my life purpose - who and what I am - and I carry no shame. 

If selected as a winner I would use the Elevate Prize funding to enrich and enhance our website, expand our social media presence, and work toward establishing an International Addiction Recovery Ambassadors Council non-governmental organization (NGO) through the United Nations in order to strengthen and globally connect the dots of recovery communities worldwide, thus enhancing our message of hope to those in bondage from addiction.

I am a person in long-term recovery from addiction. I experienced a major turning point when as a young man I entered into recovery and sought to become part of the solution rather than part of the problem. I spent my career working in the addiction prevention, treatment, and recovery advocacy field. Although officially retired, I have now shifted my full attention to focus on addiction recovery efforts - of which I am most passionate.

My vision is to raise global awareness about the profound value of addiction recovery. 

I founded International Recovery Day, Inc. in a effort to bring together the entire addiction recovery community worldwide to serve as a beacon of hope to those whom are negatively impacted by their own addiction or of a loved-one and to show the world that we can and DO recovery.

I want to not only help save more lives... but offer a new way of living that brings value to the sick and suffering in their own lives and, in turn, benefits all of humanity. 

In the United States there is an estimated 21 million individuals experiencing substance use disorders, with many others engaged in what is known as "process addictions" (such as gambling, sex and love addiction, food-related addictions, etc.). These individuals typically have families and loved-ones that are significantly impacted by active addiction. In 2015 researchers discovered that there were about 240 million people globally dependent on alcohol alone. When you include other drugs of addiction and process addictions the numbers become staggering. When you further include those directly and profoundly impacted by addiction such as family and loved-ones the numbers grow exponentially.

International Recovery Day shifts focus from the ravages of addiction to the hope that recovery provides. We embrace all addictions, all recovery pathways all around the world - all on the same day. We do this by an online celebration of individual recovery on an interactive global map, and through lighting-up key structures around the world in purple (symbolizing the recovery movement) on September 30th.

Our inaugural celebration in 2020 experienced participants from 43 countries and included over 100 structures globally lit-up in purple to include Niagara Falls, the Ben Franklin Bridge, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. 

September is recognized as "National Recovery Month" in the United States. Each year recovery communities around the country hold a variety of addiction recovery-related events such as city/town/state proclamations supporting recovery, community awareness campaigns, and recovery walks. This is done to reduce the stigma surrounding addiction, resulting in lowering barriers to accessing treatment and help.

More recently, a number of other countries have also begun to hold similar events. They range in size of from dozens of participants, to hundreds, and even tens of thousands, the largest of which is an annual recovery walk through downtown Philadelphia with up to 25 thousand participants - all putting a face and voice to recovery. However, these events are all "stand-alone" and not directly connected to one-another.

International Recovery Day is unique. Never before has anyone connected the dots between ALL addictions and ALL recovery pathways. 

I envision a time when someone will be able to look down from the International Space Station and see a purple glow surrounding the globe on International Recovery Day and realize that the whole world supports addiction recovery.

In its inaugural launch last year International Recovery Day included participants from nearly a quarter of the countries in the world and lit-up over 100 structures to include everything from bridges, buildings, government offices, iconic structures, and even Niagara Falls.

This year we are working to hold a special ceremonial event in the United States by lighting up the exterior of the White House on September 30. Furthermore, we are looking to reach out to other governments around the world to follow suit. We look to these symbolic gestures capturing worldwide attention of the hope that is offered to those still negatively impacted by addiction and to encourage engagement in the recovery process. As a result, individuals, families, and communities around the globe become healthier, happier, and in turn, vested in contributing to the overall goodness of humanity.