Statewide Stigma Survey
The results of a statewide stigma survey were announced detailing baseline measures of stigma, including perceptions of addiction as a disease, support for recovery services in communities, and the percentage of North Dakota citizens impacted by addiction.
Downloadable Stigma Survey Handout
Innovate Recovery Competition Winner
Recovree was selected as the winner of the $50,000 Innovate Recovery Competition, among seven other finalists who presented to a diverse panel of judges. The competition was previously announced at last year’s Recovery Reinvented to generate the most innovative solution to impact recovery in North Dakota. Recovree produces peer support specialist software designed to create more meaningful conversations, intervention opportunities, efficiencies and data to ultimately improve recovery outcomes.
North Dakota Peer Support Day
Recognizes the importance of peer support services in North Dakota and supports the hard work, dedication, and passion of peer support specialists. Care coordinators, peer support specialists and recovery advocates will be invited to the Capitol later this fall for an opportunity to connect in shared learning and experiences.
Free Through Recovery
Services will be expanded upstream to individuals not under the care and custody of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Cass County Jail will be the first area to pilot Free Through Recovery for individuals needing behavioral health services and support.
Day for Prevention 2019
Will hold its second event to happen during the summer. More details to be announced at recoveryreinvented.com.
North Dakota Addiction Policy Forum State Chapter
In an effort to promote grassroots advocacy across the state, the Addiction Policy Forum announced a new state chapter to be launched in North Dakota. The North Dakota state chapter will focus on the implementation of the Addiction Policy Forum’s eight strategic focus areas to ensure long-term progress against substance use at the national, state and local levels. Jessica Hulsey Nickel, President & CEO of the Addiction Policy Forum, shared that Paul Stroklund, Minot, will serve as the State Chair for the chapter. Stroklund, who serves on the Minot Mayor’s Committee on Addiction and the North Dakota Behavioral Health Planning Council, is a recovery advocate and parent of a child impacted by the disease of addiction. Learn more about the chapter and get involved here.
North Dakota Recovery Day at the Capitol
Will allow recovery advocates, people in recovery and their families, and lawmakers and opportunity to focus on advocacy, uplift and celebrate everyone on the path to recovery, and provide encouragement for those seeking it.
Youth Engagement Initiative
Will partner with existing resources to further the message of Recovery Reinvented, by engaging youth in solutions to eliminate stigma, normalize the conversations around addiction, and empower their peers and community members to find recovery. Schools, youth commissions, and organizations will be encouraged to provide input for how students can assess needs and gaps, promote advocacy, and eliminate the stigma of addiction. More information will be coming soon to recoveryreinvented.com.
Faith Based Peer Support Network
Lutheran Social Services and the North Dakota Department of Human Services will partner with people in North Dakota faith-based communities to build a peer support network that will create a readily available resource to men, women and children who are in recovery from addiction and mental illness, and who may also be working to re-integrate into their home communities after incarceration or justice system involvement of some kind.
Naloxone
A medication designed to rapidly reverse opioid overdose in emergency situations, was once again provided to attendees who received training in naloxone administration. Two single-dose kits of naloxone were available for free to interested participants at the event.
Peer Support Training
More than 150 individuals signed up to participate in the free trainings and so far approximately 100 individuals have completed the trainings. Additional trainings are being scheduled and if you are interested to become a peer support specialist in the state visit recoveryreinvented.com to sign up.
Free Through Recovery
Since launching in February, more than 600 individuals have participated in the Free Through Recovery program. Although initially intended to be a pilot in a few regions, the Free Through Recovery program was able to reach participants across the entire state. Starting with 11 care coordination agencies, Free Through Recovery has grown to 23 agencies providing services statewide.
Day for Prevention
More than 500 people attended A Day for Prevention, a first-of-its-kind event for North Dakota that brought together national, regional and state experts to discuss public policies, strategies and resources that work to prevent substance abuse. Thousands more watched online or participated in community viewing events in nine cities across the state. In the months following, more than 300 individuals have engaged with the community prevention toolkit, more than 30,000 materials have been utilized in communities across the state, and the Parents Lead mini-grants were awarded with a second round coming soon.
Opioid Prevention & Treatment Funding for Tribes
The Department of Human Services’ Behavioral Health Division funded four North Dakota tribes to implement prevention, treatment and recovery strategies targeting the opioid crisis. This funding enabled tribes to develop new recovery-support services, decreased barriers for individuals accessing medication assisted treatment, developed policy changes to support mothers with an opioid use disorder, and increased access to naloxone. In 2018, the Behavioral Health Division was able to secure additional funding and the four tribes are continuing efforts through April 2019 with an additional $280,000 awarded.
White Bison – DOCR Partnership
The North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation participated in the White Bison trainings this year, as well as the Mending Broken Hearts ceremony. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is continuing to explore opportunities to implement culturally relevant service.
Executive Order – Naloxone
Through the Governor’s executive order making naloxone more accessible, approximately 4,000 naloxone kits have been purchased and distributed, and 150 trainings have been provided on effective overdose prevention to approximately 3,000 nurses, first responders, general public, corrections, behavioral health providers, educators and administration.
Dream Again Campaign
Comprehensive communication effort launched last year is being implemented through the summer of 2019.
Pioneeer Award
Jan Eliassen, Director, Gladys Ray Shelter, for her work in opening North Dakota’s first Harm Reduction Division which includes the Gladys Ray Shelter and Veterans Drop-in Center, Mobile Outreach Program, Downtown Homeless Outreach, Withdrawal Management Unit, Good Neighbor Project/Harm Reduction Center syringe services program, and Opioid Response/Substance Abuse Prevention programs.
Frontier Award
Free Through Recovery program, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Department of Human Services, for implementing a collaborative statewide program that has garnered 600 participants, with an average 71 percent of participants meeting three of four outcomes each month.
Trailblazer Award
Andy Frobig, Jail Administrator, Cass County Sheriff’s Department, for creating a Community Supervision Unit to provide an alternative to physical incarceration and for changing jail processes to reduce criminal charges resulting from intoxication.
Zezula Award
Turtle Mountain Youth Council, 11 members, for developing a strategic plan to impact Native youth in the areas of economic development, recreational activities, health and wellness, and leadership.
Phoenix Award
Tom McDougall, CEO, High Points Network, for efforts to hire and support people with felonies re-entering their communities from the criminal justice system.
Legacy Award
Unnamed families, recognizing all families who have struggled with the disease of addiction and provided unconditional support to those pursuing recovery.
Laurie Dhue is a veteran news anchor, New York-based TV broadcaster and media strategist hosting shows on Fox, MSNBC and CNN. A person in long-term recovery from alcoholism, Dhue travels from coast to coast as a recovery advocate, giving speeches, moderating discussions and hosting events on behalf of recovery organizations.
David Mee-Lee, M.D., is a board-certified psychiatrist and is certified by the American Board of Addiction Medicine (ABAM). Dr. Mee-Lee has over 40 years of experience in person-centered treatment and program development for people with co-occurring mental health and substance use conditions. He is co-founder of the Institute for Wellness Education and is a senior fellow in the Justice Programs Office of the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington, D.C.
Jessica Hulsey Nickel is the founder, president and CEO of the Addiction Policy Forum, a national nonprofit organization that brings together each sector of the field, elevates awareness around addiction and implements a comprehensive response that includes prevention, treatment, recovery and criminal justice reform. Most recently, Hulsey Nickel worked on the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), landmark legislation to address the opioid epidemic, which was signed into law in July 2016. Her 25-year career focusing on addiction comes from personal experience. Both her parents struggled with heroin addiction, which led to homelessness, foster care and eventually her mother’s incarceration, after which she was raised by her grandparents.
Donald K. Warne, M.D., MPH, is the associate dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and director of the Indians into Medicine program at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences. An enrolled member of the Oglala Lakota Tribe in Pine Ridge, S.D., Warne received his medical degree from the Stanford University School of Medicine in 1995 and his master of public health degree from Harvard University in 2002. In addition to being a member of the American Public Health Association, American Medical Association and Association of American Indian Physicians, Warne served in a leadership capacity for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the American Cancer Society.
Adam Martin is the founder and executive director of F5 Project in Fargo. Using his lived experience with addiction, homelessness and incarceration, Adam established F5 to coordinate services and provide personal support to those in the criminal justice system to deter repeat offenses. F5 Project mediates the transition journey for those re-entering society after being incarcerated, holding true to the philosophy that everyone deserves to hit the F5 refresh key to start over and find success.
