MEDIA ADVISORY 02.16.2007
COMMUNITY LEADERS IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY COME TOGETHER
at Real People Recover Art Exhibition to support INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES SEEKING
HELP TO RECOVER FROM ADDICTION
Attendees Will: Preview a clip of HBO’s New Documentary “ADDICTION” and view an exhibition of original art entitled “We pass each other on the street”

WHAT: A New PATH is hosting Real People Recover, a showcase of art that was created
when students from UCSD & San Diego City College interviewed individuals in recovery from drug addiction who are members of the Prop 36 Alumni Association.   A special preview of a clip from the new HBO documentary “ADDICTION” will be shown at the 4:30pm press conference and repeated during the exhibition. Student interviewers, who are a part of a
cross-discipline collaborative project and Prop 36 graduates, will display the creations of art, poetry and books that evolved from the interviews.

This event begins a campaign which will include house parties and seminars to engage recovery advocates, parents, community leaders, and healthcare professionals in exploring the issues raised in the program, including the obstacles to long-term recovery, such as the barriers individuals face getting insurance coverage for treatment and recovery, and the need for residential treatment services in our community.  We will also explore options for expanding Proposition 36 (treatment not incarceration) success.
Confirmed speakers at the press conference to date include:

Gretchen Burns Bergman, Executive Director & Co-Founder - A New PATH, Commissioner Pennie Carlos, Presiding Judge Prop 36 & Drug Court, Oliver Hamilton, Founder of the Prop
36 Alumni Association, Andrea Singer, Professor UCSD.

WHY: Millions of Americans are in long-term recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs, yet one in four Americans still has a family member who is struggling with addiction.  Of these 22 million people who still need help, only nine percent are receiving the help they need to recover and get their lives back on track. 

Proposition 36 has allowed over 140,000 Californians to enter treatment and has saved the State $1.3 billion in just 5 years.  We need to build advocacy efforts to advance the success
of this landmark treatment-not-incarceration law, and to take action so that more individuals in our community can get the help that they need.