Mobilize Recovery Convenes Change Makers from All 50 States to Combat the Addiction Crisis

LAS VEGAS, July 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its commitment to address the addiction epidemic, the Voices Project is convening the first ever Mobilize Recovery conference in Las Vegas (July 11-12, 2019). The conference will kick off a massive national effort to organize and train hundreds of carefully selected individuals and advocacy groups from all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C. to work together and maximize impact to end America's addiction crisis. 

Mobilize Recovery is one of one hundred projects worldwide selected as a part of Facebook's Community Leadership Project initiative.

The event marks a massive step forward in confronting the opioid crisis which is killing 200 people each day, 74,000 per year and is now the leading cause of death in the United States. Conceived and organized by Facebook Community Leadership Fellow, national recovery advocate and author Ryan Hampton, the conference will marry the most powerful social media platforms with the most urgent public health crisis.

"This historic conference follows in the footsteps of other successful social justice movements such as the civil rights movement, ACT UP's work during the AIDS crisis, and the fight for LGBTQ rights," said Ryan Hampton, founder of The Voices Project and person in recovery from opioid addiction. "As a mobilized, civically engaged constituency of consequence, Mobilize Recovery will turn the tide of the epidemic and create sustainable change at every level."

Grassroots advocacy groups and individuals from around the country were invited to apply and were selected based on their demonstrated record of successful outcomes combatting addiction and supporting recovery. Mobilize Recovery is a project of the Facebook Community Leadership Program and The Voices Project. Mobilize Recovery will build capacity for organized civic advocacy around the country. The conference has identified, and will train, connect, and work with recovery advocates in all 50 states and Puerto Rico & D.C. Each of the selected community organizers have lived experience with substance use disorders.

The proposal to Facebook was to convene this training and action-oriented event to give communities the tools they need to go out and combat the addiction crisis.  The July 11-July 12 convening will be a virtual "who's who" in recovery community leadership and also raise a curtain on the action steps that involve big tech and social media. This is the first time this has happened and with Facebook's support represents a major turning point in the nation's approach to combatting the addiction crisis.

Ryan Hampton and the Voices Project were selected as part of the inaugural Facebook community leadership fellows. The Facebook application was a competitive process that spanned 9 months and included applications from 47 different countries and over 6,000 applicants. Mobilize Recovery is the result of Hampton's fellowship work. Activists attending have successfully accessed funding for recovery supports, effective and ethical standards for treatment, and changes to employment processes.

The subject matter of the conference will identify the issues impacting local and regional communities specific to addiction; give the attendees the tools to combat those issues via messaging training, legislative training, media training, and other means; connect the leaders with like-minded change makers in their regions to collaborate with, and create a network of emerging leaders dedicated to being the boots on the ground in their communities to create change and end the addiction crisis. 

Additional sponsorship is provided by Serve You Rx, a Minnesota pharmacy benefits management company, WeConnect Health Management, the Adelson Family Foundation, Westgate Resorts, the Truth Initiative, the Hanley Foundation, and the Sandgaard Foundation.

For more information go to www.mobilizerecovery.org

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SOURCE The Voices Project