Anyone who’s in and/or around Palm Beach County this Tuesday will want to join the great, good folks at the Hanley Foundation. Why? Because they are hosting a Recovery Month Lunch & Learn. And considering the confab is fielding a handful of the brightest minds in addiction recovery, you’re pretty much guaranteed to be fortified.
Then again, what else would you expect from a luncheon hosted by the likes of the Hanley Foundation? They’ve been fighting the good fight for nearly four solid decades, and over that time have helmed, helped, backed and/or overseen some of the most vital efforts in the substance abuse arena. That this particular event happens to take place during National Recovery Month only adds even more veritas to the proceedings.
Just What – and Who – is the Hanley Foundation?
Anyone whose been among Palm Beach County’s addiction recovery stakeholders is well aware of the Hanley Foundation. Heck, chances are its backed some of your most vital programs. In fact, the way the Hanley folks support the cause, there’s a good chance they’ve actually backed your organization.
Really.
Don’t just take our word for it though; take it from the source itself. To wit:
Since 1984, Hanley Foundation has been working to prevent substance use disorders, training professionals to identify the signs and symptoms, ensuring individuals and families are not kept from recovery due to financial hardship, and changing the conversation to one of understanding and empathy.
The Foundation’s Vision page then gets into some specifics:
When we began this work in 1998, our vision was to raise the age of first substance use for children. By providing evidence-based prevention programming, we’ve lifted the age of first use within Palm Beach County from age 10 in the year 2000 to age 13 in 2015. Going forward, we know we can do better.
- Last year, we provided nearly $1,000,000 in prevention and education services in Florida, impacting the lives of nearly 30,000 students, parents, and caregivers.
- We are teaming up with medical and other professionals on the front lines of this epidemic, to spot the signs of substance abuse and save lives.
- We assist people financially so that they can access the quality treatment they might otherwise be unable to afford.
- We are working with leaders to shatter the stigma of addiction on the local, state, and national level.
Hanley Foundation is committed to stopping addiction before it starts.
In other words, kids as young as 10 were drinking and drugging when the Hanley Foundation first decided to act. Fifteen years later, that average age had risen to 13. Granted, 13 is still too young to be drinking and drugging. Way too young. But it’s a helluva lot less catastrophic than getting drunk and/or high at age 10. Helluva lot less stressful too – for everyone.
Of course, the Hanley Foundation isn’t solely concerned with children’s exposure to drugs and alcohol. In fact, they’re not solely concerned with any one thing. Not when it comes to combatting addiction anyway. One look at the Facts & Stats the Foundation includes on that Vision page will tell you they’re galvanized across the board. And they’re engaged accordingly.
Have a look:
Facts and Statistics
- Drug overdoses kill more Americans annually than traffic accidents (Office of National Drug Control Policy).
- Heroin-involved deaths are on the rise. (Centers for Disease Control and Addiction).
- One in four Americans will have an alcohol or drug problem at some point in their lives.
- Nearly 23 percent of full-time college students meet the medical criteria for substance use disorders and addiction.
- Children and teens who drink before age 15 are SIX times more likely to become addicted to alcohol than those who do not drink before age 21.
- Women become addicted to alcohol, nicotine, illegal and prescription drugs, at lower levels and in shorter time periods than men.
- High school girls drink, smoke, and use illegal drugs as much as their male classmates.
- Prescription drug abuse is the most rapidly increasing drug abuse among teens.
- Nationwide, 21.6 million people age 12 or older needed treatment for drug or alcohol addiction, yet only 2.3 million received services.
Those Facts & Stats are certainly alarming. That’s why the Hanley Foundation has stepped up its game accordingly. In addition to forming alliances with a wide-range of substance abuse fighters, the good folks have also spun off a local scholarship program. It’s called the Hanley Center at Origins, which denotes the affiliate multi-state addiction treatment center. From what we gather, Hanley’s scholarship efforts are concentrated at Origin’s West Palm Beach campus. We highly doubt that means the great good folks have forsaken the Dallas and South Padre Island facilities, mind you. It’s more likely that Hanley’s good hands are full right here in Florida.
Recovery Month Lunch & Learn Details
Here’s the Lunch & Learn line-up:
Marguerite Connelly, Hanley Foundation Board Member; Dr. Donna Marks, author, educator, concierge psychotherapist and addictions counselor; Sam Morrison, Origins Behavioral HealthCare; and Dr. John Dyben, Origins’ Chief Clinical Officer (moderator)
Connelly is the author of Addicted to the Addicted: A Mother’s Tale of Going from Heartbreak to Hopeful, while Dr. Marks’ site cites Exit the Maze: One Addiction, One Cause, One Solution, as well as two others. Pair the pair with two of Origins’ most-accomplished operatives and you truly do get an opportunity to Lunch & Learn.
Here are the particulars:
WHO:
Hanley Center at Origins
WHAT:
Recovery Month Lunch & Learn
WHEN:
Tuesday, September 19, 2023
Check-in/Lunch: 11:30am – Noon
Program: Noon – 1:00pm
WHERE:
Hanley Resource Center Auditorium
933 45th Street
West Palm Beach, FL 33407
Meantime, if you or a loved one is battling substance use disorder, please give us a ring. Healing Properties has been helping men find lasting sobriety since 2002; we’d be honored to help you too. Really. No matter what the substance, or how long the issue, we’ll help get you sorted – for good.