Posts Tagged alcohol addiction

A yearlong awareness campaign to fight substance abuse and related violence is being launched by the United Methodist Special Program on Substance Abuse and Related Violence (SPSARV). National Recovery Month, the annual US observance in this month is serving as a channel to start the global initiative. This year’s theme is “Together We Learn, Together We Heal” and its objective is to uphold the necessity of spreading the awareness about substance abuse and also the importance of developing and accessing effective treatment and recovery services. The target group of this awareness campaign is the church leaders who will be encouraged to effectively respond to issues related to substance abuse in their congregations and communities.

The activities of SPSAVR in collaboration with the General Board of Church and Society’s Alcohol, Other Addictions and Health work area includes advocating for public policy on substance abuse and related violence. It works through its United Methodist Inter-Agency and Standing Committee Task Force to distribute resources throughout the global church.

The World Health Organization estimates that globally there are 76.3 million people suffering from alcohol related problems and 15.3 million people suffering due to substance abuse. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), in 2007 around 20.8 million people in the country were in need of treatment services for alcohol or substance abuse problem but had no access to it.

Melissa H Davis, executive director of SPSARV said, “We hope the campaign will demonstrate to United Methodists throughout our church’s connectional system the sheer magnitude of the global alcohol and drug problem and encourage congregations to launch addiction ministries and advocate for just public policies in response.”     

The campaign will distribute educational articles to educate church leaders on issues related to substance abuse, identify clergy who are working for the cause and also disseminate The Big Book.

If you wish to have more information on SPSARV, you may please visit www.umspsarv.org.