On the last weekend in June 2008, the inaugural class
of the NCADD-NJ Advocacy Leadership Program commenced
and 30 Leaders participated in an intensive weekend
retreat. Leader advocates were
energized by the program, from the Legislative
Proclamations they received from Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson-Coleman
to the presentations by leading addiction and recovery
professionals and advocates, as well as the inspirational
speech given by Eric Arauz, to the final certificate presentations.
Advocate leader Stephanie Anne Fromin said of the weekend, "It
was obvious that a lot of time, effort, thought, and passion
went into the program. NCADD-NJ
really inspired me and gave me hope that the movement for
the recovering community to be legislatively empowered
will grow into something big. It was a terrific learning
experience."
John Hulick, Director Public Affairs and Policy
Advocacy Leaders
in a Learning Exercise
Tom Coderre
and Aaron Kucharski -
Faces & Voices
of Recovery
The Honorable
Bonnie Watson-Coleman, Majority Leader, NJ General
Assembly, presents Legislative Proclamation to Leader
Advocate and husband William Coleman.
Carolyn Hadge
added, "The information was excellent – the
Advocacy Leadership Program covered a broad area – and
did it with a variety of, not only excellent speakers,
but also people who are in strategic positions. The
whole process, from the original acceptance to the end
was, in my opinion, well thought out, planned and implemented.
I feel like I am part of something that will make a difference – I
am working with people who truly care and this is where
I want to be."
____________________________________________________________________________________________ Meet the Leaders
Gary Abraham is Director of the Adolescent
Addictions Unit at Princeton House Behavioral Health. For all but two of
his 35 years in the field, he has been a credentialed addictions professional.
He has extensive experience in a variety of treatment settings: inpatient,
rehabilitation centers, hospitals and out-patient facilities. Over his
career, Gary has seen many examples of managed care, which he calls “managed
cost” companies.
In his direct dealings with managed care representatives, he confronted
their discriminatory remarks directed at the patients for whom he advocated.
He therefore knows well the need to educate the public on the science of
addiction.
Ana Patricia Ackermann-Blanco is Director of Clinical
Services at Cura, Inc. in Secaucus. Her 20 years in the addiction fi eld
are marked by moments that stand out for the impact they have had in treatment
and prevention. Her work began in her native Bolivia, where she and her
husband traveled the country in a prevention campaign against the growing
cocaine problem. In her years working for Cura, she has recognized that
the continuum of care is fragmented at best, resulting in many relapses.
Addressing this need and restoring clients’ respect and dignity are
among the goals Ana has set for herself and her fellow advocacy leaders.
Karen Barnett is Director of the Bridgeton Municipal
Alliance-Youth to Youth Program. Over her 19 years in this position, she
has been committed to educating youth and families about alcohol and other
drugs. She understands addiction’s reach, noting that its toll is
on families and communities as well as the affected individual. Recovery
from addiction, she maintains,
is a tool of increased empowerment. Karen’s goal as a leader is the
collective empowerment of people in recovery and those advocating for them,
which will bring about access to treatment and widen understanding of addiction
as a disease.
Roxann Bostic volunteers with Fresh Start Recovery
in the Salem County Correctional Facility. She has set herself the goal
of helping to promote systems-level change with regard to treatment, prevention
and recovery. Her work has brought home the scarcity of treatment resources
in South Jersey, as many individuals are placed on long waiting lists.
Nor are there
adequate facilities to assist women in transition. Roxann was awarded the
Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King Student Leadership Scholarshipas
she pursues her Certification in Alcohol and Drug Counseling. Having experienced
the stigma of addiction first-hand, she wants to promote a healthy, positive
image of recovery.
Bryan Bradford is the New Jersey
State Director of the Gateway Foundation, Inc., in Yardville, managing
eight sites within the state Department of Corrections. He sits on a Recovery
Oriented Integrated Systems Committee, which is testing a pilot program
involving inmates and re-entry participants in Newark. A goal is to demonstrate
that integrated and coordinated services hold the hope of seeing inmates
returned to their families and communities. Bryan is prepared to advocate
publicly for more resources for treatment, not wanting to look back at
some point in his life and wish he had acted.
Jennifer Carpinteri is an Addiction Services Administrator
and Supervisor of Youth Services in Morristown. She was instrumental in
establishing Morris County’s Substance Abuse Homeless Outreach Inititative,
a crosssystems approach providing treatment services to the homeless. This
work contributed to her belief that New Jersey’s behavioral health
system hinges
on cross-systems collaboration. Jennifer describes her dream as helping
to build a system where an individual can access services regardless of
port of entry.
William Coleman is Coordinator and Outreach Minister
with Parkside Recovery at Shiloh Baptist Church in Trenton. He has been
an ordained minister for seven years and is President and CEO of New Lease
on Life Ministries, assisting people affected by homelessness, addiction
and incarceration. His experience as an advocate led to his becoming Coordinator
of the Mobile Addiction Treatment Program. William calls himself “the
face of the Trenton Program;” he is also the voice, speaking on drugs
and their impact at churches, civic meetings, anywhere there is a need.
He views the Advocacy Leadership Program as a “continuation” of
what he is providing.
Eliezer DeFranca is a care coordinator with the National
Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence-New Jersey in Newark. In that
position he advocates for treatment on a client-by-client basis. He also
has worked with clients being treated with methadone and has seen many
of those clients affected by stigma. To address this, Eliezer took it upon
himself to speak
to school offi cials, police offi cers, guidance counselors and others
about how methadone benefi ts many individuals. He has a strong organizing
background and relishes being “in the trenches” as a team member.
Kathleen Dennis, Program Manager
of Family Service of Morris County, has oversight of 12 hours of mandatory
education for DUI offenders. She also works with adolescents on the perils
of alcohol and drug use and how they can lead to addiction. She has seen
the suffering alcohol and drug use and addiction bring about, noting that
all too often one picks up the morning
paper to see a headline announcing yet another tragedy related to alcohol
or drugs, indirectly if not directly. Kathleen sees the Leadership Program
as an opportunity to be part of the force that changes the headlines, stressing
that there is power in numbers.
Laurie Enzman is a Resource Manager and Prevention
Specialist with Atlantic Prevention Resources in Pleasantville. Her concept
of leadership is acting as a guide and having the passion to inspire others.
Among the most rewarding presentations she gives are those to high school
students discussing the disease concept of addiction. Laurie wants to futher
this work to help build a society that will encourage people in their recovery.
Stephanie Anne Fromin recently marked her 15th year
in recovery. For 12 years, she has taken it upon herself to visit hospitals,
detox units, rehab facilities and prisons to present herself as an example
of the way out of addiction.Stephanie calls helping addicts find their
way to recovery her avocation. She has also helped addicted enter recovery
by canvassing neighborhood businesses to ask if they would post a sign
with information about getting treatment, an act that has the further benefit
of combating stigma.
Scott Gliem is approaching a quarter century in recovery.
Over the past 20 years, he has worked professionally and volunteered to
help establish recovery-based educational programs; for 15 of those years
he has lectured at Recovery Houses on the “Basics of how to Recover.” He
has been involved with Signs of Sobriety, an organization that assists
deaf and hearing-impaired individuals with an addiction. Additionally,
Scott has aided people without health insurance enter treatment. Scott
has a background that includes public speaking and management leadership,
as well as professional experience dealing with various levels of government.
Carolyn Hadge is Director of Need
to Know Communications in Toms River. She has abundant experience with
the Toms River School District and at the state level working with Rutgers
Center of Alcohol Drug Studies who, collaborating with Johnson and Johnson
to present an annual School Health Leadership Program for school nurses
and administrators. Carolyn also facilitates a Women’s Group for
the Intensive Supervision Program and presently trains New Jersey mentors.
Kathy Harvey is a Substance Awareness Coordinator
and Prevention Specialist with Atlantic Prevention Resources. She has developed
and implemented school policies on alcohol and drug issues. Kathy served
for several years as coordinator of her local Municipal Alliance, organizing
a Family Fun Day. To mark her recovery and others’, she has attended
the Rally for Recovery, held annually at Liberty State Park. She well understands
the importance of recovery, reuniting with her family. Kathy is ready to
sing out and “tell the world that treatment works – I am living
proof of it.”
Marvin Haynes is a case aide/counselor with Integrity
House in Secaucus. He considers his work, in which he manages a caseload
of 15 residential patients, the culmination of a quarter century in the
Human Services field. He is himself in recovery from addiction, a disease
he says cannot be cured but can be treated. In his Master’s thesis
studies, he focused on identifying
psychological relapse triggers. Marvin believes that individuals in recovery
need strong advocates at all levels of government, a role he intends to
help fill.
Patrick King is in long-term recovery and comes from
a family with a long history of alcoholism. Some family members, such as
his father, entered recovery, some did not. He knows first-hand the discrimination
faced by people who have been addicted. He had been in recovery for 10
years when he was called an alcoholic who could not perform his job duties.
He proved
them wrong and even received an apology, which he considers one in a long
list of amazing experiences. Patrick said his recovery has been a gift
and it is his desire to give back to the community where he lives.
Michele Labaw is a Case Manager with the National
Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence-New Jersey, which requires her
to assess clients of the Substance Abuse Initiative for drug and alcohol
issues. She was previously a Substance Awareness Counselor and developed
materials educating parents about alcohol and drug use issues affecting
their children. Her work as a case manager has made it clear that the state
is lacking sufficient facilities to meet its treatment needs, and she knows
of cases where an individual wanted treatment but could not afford it.
Michele recognizes change to address this shortfall will not happen if
we “just
sit by and wait for it to happen.”
Kathleen McFadden is the Associate
Director of Atlantic Prevention Resources in Pleasantville, where she began
work as a Prevention Specialist in 1993. She has served on the Atlantic
County Human Services Advisory Council and spent time reviewing treatment
facilities. Kathleen’s
responsibilities in her current position include coordinating the local
Strengthening Families Program and she has taken a leadship role on numerous
committees. She looks forward to being part of the collective voice that
will help impact policies and laws affecting treatment and discrimination.
Kimberly Mounce heads Cape Assist’s Department
of Community Initiatives. She also is coordinator of the state-wide Childhood
Drinking Coalition. She chairs an Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drug working
group and is a member of the county health department’s Public Health
Advisory Committee. Her work with Cape Assist has made clear the fact that
there is a
shortfall of treatment and recovery services. Kim has seen people treated
differently because of an addiction, including by members of their own
family. Over the years, she said it is always said “we have to do
something.” Now is that time, she said, and she wants to be a part
of it.
Melissa Niles is an Alcohol Counselor with Cumberland
County Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services. She calls her work reducing the
impact of addiction on families “her passion.” She has seen
some clients enter long-term recovery and others relapse. What they have
in common is having experienced shame and guilt, the byproduct of stigma.
In other cases, Melissa has
witnessed people in need of residential treatment turned away because they
could not afford it or lack of availability. She understands what is needed
to reduce stigma and increase treatment: collective action. “A reed
alone is weak,” she wrote, “but banded together with others
is strong.”
Paul Ressler is a member of the Hamilton Township
Alliance and is a member of the Board of Trustees for Daytop-New Jersey.
His work includes speaking engagements to build awareness about Daytop’s
program for adolescents. Paul has seen the effect of stigma on addicted
and recovering individuals, and is determined that, despite its long history,
this will not be
allowed to stand.
Rosemary Richards is the Student Assistance
Coordinator for the Middletown Board of Education. Through her work she
has seen many instances of addiction’s toll on an entire family,
which as an adult child of an alcoholic she knows fi rst-hand. Having seen
recent explosion of misuse of prescription drugs by adolescents, Rosemary
has redoubled her resolve to educate the public and lawmakers about prevention
and treatment options.
Beverly Sample is a Human Services Specialist with
the Mercer County Board of Social Services. Her work includes casework
for General Assistance clients, to whom she says she is “partial.” She
works to address their homelessness along with mental illness and/or alcohol
or drug problems. Her time in recovery has taught her to balance the connection
she feels with
her clients with the joy she takes from her family and “the wonders
of life.” Having “traveled the same roads” that people
still in active addiction are on puts her in the position of passing hope
onto others. Beverly is ready to continue the “second part of her
journey,” which is to include
issues advocacy.
Donna Schwartz runs the Morristown Family Therapy
Association. In her more than 20-year practice, she has a long history
treating families affected by addiction to alcohol or other drugs. She
has spent the past four years as chair of her local Municipal Alliance,
which has had some success in raising awareness about alcohol and drug
issues. Despite that success, Donna
has faced ongoing denial and resistance to furthering prevention of addiction.
As an Advocacy Leader, she wants to become more effective helping to make
changes at the local level and contribute to treatment and prevention policy
decisions.
Safiyya Sharif is Executive Assistant with Sisters
Helping Each Other in Irvington. Her work history includes 20 years as
a Manager in the Head Start program. She is a firm believer in an Empowerment
Approach to assisting others. Safiyya sees a great need to reinvigorate
public services entities to confront addiction and the other social problems
that leave too many lives
unfulfilled.
Linda Surks is the Coalition Coordinator of the National
Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence of Middlesex County. She has
considerable experience testifying on addiction and prevention issues,
including appearing before Congress. She founded and chairs a national
organization of families affected by substance abuse. Linda lost her son
to addiction, and
has turned that tragedy into a commitment to be a voice on issues related
to treatment, prevention and recovery.
Martin Thompson, a Program Manager
with Kennedy Health Center in Cherry Hill, has spent the past 23 years
in clinical social work, specializing in co-occurring illness. He has been
involved in issues advocacy for many years and with numerous organizations,
which includes chairing the legislative committee for the Southern New
Jersey Coalition of Drug and Alcohol Providers. He wants to develop so
he can better appreciate the ‘big
picture.’ Martin
recognizes that having fun helps make for successful learning and volunteered
his services for this portion of the training.
Craig Van Doren sits on the Board of Directors of
Turning Point, a residential treatment program, where he has helped secure
treatment for many individuals. Turning Point’s is only one of the
boards – most of them non-profit, that Craig has been asked to join.
Craig is in recovery and understands all too well the stigma that accompanies
addiction. In that addiction affects whole families, he wants to ensure
that family members along with lawmakers
understand that it is a disease, not a character defect.
Maria Varnavis-Robinson is Supervisor of Co-occurring
Disorders at Delaware House Catholic Charities. She played a key part at
Delaware House in introducing Integrated Dual Diagnosis Treatment to the
clients. Her supervisory and clinical duties include managing the facility’s
Partial Care and Out-patient Program. She practices the “No Wrong
Door” approach
to
treatment. Maria’s experience has given her a first-hand look at
the systemic obstacles faced by people in need of addiction treatment.
To overcome the scarce resources, she knows that more has to be done with
less. Maria is also well aware that public attitudes are the key to attracting
public dollars, and so building a strong constituency is a must.
James Wojtowicz is the Director of the Office of
Corrections with the New Jersey Department of Corrections. He heads two
department projects related to closing the addiction treatment gap: one
by reducing correctional treatment system ineffi ciencies, the other to
move correctional clients into a fully integrated care continuum. James
regards leadership as not being contained in one’s title but instead
is refl ected by a clearly defined and articulated vision.
For more information about upcoming
Advocacy Leadership Programs:
Contact John L. Hulick, MS, CPS-Director, Public Affairs and Policy
NCADD-New Jersey
360 Corporate Boulevard, Robbinsville, NJ 08691
E-mail: jhulick@ncaddnj.org
For additional information:
609-689-0121
National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence - New Jersey
