30,000
CELEBRATE RECOVERY NATIONWIDE,
LIBERTY STATE PARK RALLY FOR RECOVERY HUB EVENT
Liberty State Park hosted its New Jersey’s sixth Addiction
Recovery event but it provided many firsts that made it, in
keeping with the tone of the day, not a rehashing but a true
renewal.
Foremost of the elements
unique to this Rally was that its New Jersey sponsors joined
with national and New York groups to establish the event
as the national hub of Recovery Month, evidenced by the presence
of the new director of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration, Terry Cline.
The Rally was further charged by the fact that a federal
parity bill, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction
Equity Act, progressed through the House of Representatives
and was approaching a vote by the full body. This lent an
urgency to add advocacy to the celebration. To bring this
home to the over 1500 attendees, a Take Action tent was set
up and one of the event’s featured speakers was David
Wellstone, son of the late Sen. Paul Wellstone, who championed
parity before his untimely death.
Before the dignitaries
addressed the crowd, five recovering individuals spoke, most
laying their souls bare. They didn’t hesitate to do
so because they knew the audience could be trusted to respond
with respect.
When it came time for the officials
to address the crowd, they made it clear they knew what the
day was for. Commissioner Jennifer Velez of the Department
of Human Services shared that two members of her family had
not found their way into recovery.
Division of Addiction Services Director
Raquel Mazon Jeffers noted that Recovery Month takes place
in September, linking recovery to the fall’s seminal
events: the harvest, the Jewish new year, and returning to
school. And keynote Tommy Ford drew laughs in delivering
a serious message that each person needs to be sure to exhaust
all of his or her ability and giving before their life draws
to a close.
All in all, the Rally had something
for everyone--inspiring, amusing, touching and powerful.
~~~~~
Listen
to the Interview with Dan Meara and Jeanette
Grimes on Recovery
Coast-to-Coast Radio about the 2007 Rally
for Recovery. |
