In 1989, SAMHSA, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, under the federal Department of Health and Human Services, first designated the month of September as “National Addiction and DrugAbuseRecoveryMonth”.Communities were encouraged to plan and host Recovery Month events and activities and to help educate those individuals who still need to find and successfully complete addiction treatment services and join the ranks of those in long-term recovery from alcohol and drug addiction.

Over the years, Houston agencies and treatment providers have held activities throughout the month of September with their clients and counselors, as well as come together on various levels to celebrate sobriety and recognize Recovery Month. This year will be no different, except that the Bayou City plans to lace up its sneakers and take a giant step forward in recovery event coordination with “Houston’s Inaugural Run for Recovery and Citywide Sobriety Celebration.”

Scheduled for Sunday, September 12, 2010, and presented by Santa Maria Hostel, Extended Aftercare, Inc., Houston City Councilmember Jarvis Johnson, and, The Council on Alcohol and Drugs Houston, we plan to put Houston on the map for recovery celebration initiatives. Beginning at 7:30am at Sam Houston Park in Downtown Houston, there will be a 5K Run and a 5K Walk, following a course down Allen Parkway to Waugh Drive and back up Allen Parkway to the Park, covering 5 kilometers or 3.1 miles.

“I have always supported National Recovery Month and decided that Houston’s recovery community should have the opportunity this year to be seen as an integral part of this community as a whole. I hope that this inaugural run will be an event that the City looks forward to each year to voice the value of recovery to each of us,” notes KayAustin,CEOofSantaMariaHosteland Planning Committee Co-Chair.

Immediately following the race will be the Extended Aftercare After Race After Party, which will be an outdoor festival in Sam Houston Park beginning at 8:30am and featuring live music, an Awards Ceremony to include local, state and national dignitaries, a traditional Volleyball tournament, children’s activities, and the Sizzlin’ South of the Border Cook-Off Competition.

Local 12-step groups, treatment centers, support agencies and individuals will prepare and serve a full south of the border fare and compete for top prizes, while attendees will enjoy taste testing their offerings for a nominal fee.

The special guest speaker of the event will be Matt Russell, former pastor of Mercy Street at Chapelwood United Methodist Church. Matt is returning to Texas to reconnect with his recovery friends and to share his message of hope and humility. Matt started Mercy Street in 1997 and currently lives in Lubbock with his family, while pursuing his PhD.

“As the fourth largest city in the United States, and one known as having one of the strongest recovery networks in the nation, it is only befitting that Houston would boast an event of this magnitude to celebrate sobriety, all the while raising awareness of the diseased of alcoholism and drug abuse,” statesPlanningCommitteeCo-ChairKeith Liles, CEO of Extended Aftercare.

This year’s national theme is “Join the Voices of Recovery: Now More Than Ever!” and it focuses on the critical need for education on all levels about the disease of addiction, and specifically how high levels of stress may contribute or exacerbate alcohol and/or drug use.

With regard to the importance of Recovery Month, H. Wesley Clark, Director of SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment said, “your participation will help to remove the barriers and negative attitudes for those who still need treatment as well as still help demonstrate that there are millions of Americans who are living healthy, happy lives and giving back to their communities in long term recovery.

For general information about National Recovery Month, you can go to Facebook, TwitterorYouTubetofindothereventsin your city or area.