HBO Conversations

Over the next several weeks I am supporting the HBO Addiction Conversation. This is coincides with my Brother Blur's Happiness Addiction second week on the air over the internet. To listen and pose question over the internet visit. The show begins @ 10am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We will conduct interviews and discuss the following subjects matter. If you are interested in connecting with the program follow the links below.

HBO Special on Addiction HBO, in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), has produced a multi-platform campaign to educate Americans about advancements in the understanding of addiction and effective new treatments. Their campaign is built around a 90-minute show, Addiction that is part of a 14-part series that will air during a free HBO preview weekend, kicking off with a March 15 broadcast of Addiction at 9 p.m. ET.

HBO’s Addiction has six themes. One is insurance discrimination. Our nation is in dire need of a health care system that fully addresses the medical needs and social supports for people struggling with or newly in recovery from addiction. Insurance companies typically impose higher co-payments, deductibles and more restrictive visit limits for mental health and substance use/addiction coverage then they do for other healthcare, resulting in tragic losses of life. Faces & Voices of Recovery’s Addiction Recovery Equity Campaign seeks to change those restrictive policies

HBO is talking about addiction. How does that fit into your work?

• The HBO show portrays the reality of addiction and the hope of new pathways to recovery.
• I am here as an advocate for Changed Life Ltd to talk about what’s keeping too many of our friends and neighbors from achieving long-term recovery.
• Insurance discrimination, highlighted in the show, denies people with addiction the same insurance protection as people with other health issues.
• As a result of this discrimination, many are unable to get the treatment and recovery support services necessary to achieve long-term recovery.
• While there are many pathways to recovery, treatment and recovery support services should not be denied to those with addiction to drugs or alcohol.
• My hope is that individuals like those portrayed in the documentary will receive help to get better just like millions of Americans and realize the benefits of long-term recovery.

As a recovery advocate, we are talk show is going to highlight the themes stress by HBO - in the long run we hope that people will take away from the HBO the following

• Addiction is an honest and eye-opening portrayal of people who are affected by addiction. I hope people will come away from the documentary asking the question “What’s the next step and how can we help people with addiction get the help they need?”
• The next step is long-term recovery. I am in long-term recovery which means I have not used alcohol (or other drugs) for (number) years. There are millions of other Americans just like me who have done the same.
• If you are a family member: The next step is long-term recovery. My [son/daughter/husband/wife] is in long-term recovery which means that he/she has not used alcohol (or other drugs) for x number years. There are millions of other Americans just like them who have done the same.
• Everyone has a stake in making sure that when someone needs treatment, help and support that they can get it.

Our show will be raising a number of issues related to addiction and its treatment. How do you think we should solve these problems? Is one type of treatment better than another?

• Addiction and treatment are complicated issues and there are many pathways people can take to achieve long-term recovery.
• We must ensure that appropriate recovery support services and treatments are available to people who need them, when they need them.
• It is crucial, therefore, that we stop insurance discrimination, which denies people with addiction from getting the same protection as people with other health issues.
• I am living proof that people can recover from addiction and make a better life for themselves and their families, but I would not have been able to do it without help and support.

Please come and visit - your support is needed!

1. Show # 1 - Evidence Lifestyle
2. Show # 2 - Our Private Life
3. Show #3 - Guidance