September is Recovery Month

Tomorrow is the first day of Recovery Month to honor and celebrate the lives of everyone both in recovery and those whose lives have been touched by the disease of addiction. We invite you to join us.  Recovery NC will be highlighting your stories and events all month long.  Want to be a part of the biggest month long celebration in North Carolina?  Here are some things you can do to make this the best recovery month celebration ever:

 

1.       Sign Up – our numbers are over 6000 but we still want to grow our list.  Signing up takes less time than checking your email and can be done by going to http://www.recoverync.org/sign-up/ and entering your name and county.  Want to sign up more?  On that same page you can download our sign up sheet to get your friends, colleagues, neighbors and family to participate.  We would love to show a huge number before the end of September and we need your help to do it.

 

2.       Share your story.   While many websites post stories of people who have achieved recovery, we are interested in hearing those other voices in addition to the voices of persons in recovery. So, we encourage anyone who desires to tell a story from their perspective (a loved one – spouse, child, mother, father, sister, brother, cousin, etc. - best friend, advocate, provider of any services that assist persons on their roads to recovery as well as those who are in recovery from addiction) to select the template that you feel most comfortable using, or create your own unique story. Not all stories have a happy ending, but more do end happily than the American public realizes.  You can download the story templates from http://www.recoverync.org/ - we will post them anonymously per your request but want to remember and celebrate the lives of everyone that has experienced addiction.

 

3.       Share your event.  Every page of www.recoverync.org has a banner where you can find the event in North Carolina closest to you.  We encourage you to find an event near you or if you are hosting an event  please post it on www.recoverymonth.gov or email donna.cotter@recoverync.org – we’d like to let everyone know about the diversity of the celebrations in North Carolina by posting as many as we can.  Do you have a unique event in the state?  Let us know about it.  We’re excited to learn about your celebrations!

 

We hope everyone has a great September and look forward to hearing from you.  We want you to know that we are celebrating lives this month and hope your participation with Recovery NC and www.recoverync.org makes your Recovery Month the best one yet!

 

Thanks and again – if you only do one thing this month to celebrate recovery Sign Up and get a friend to Sign Up – our strength is in our numbers,

 

Donna M. Cotter - RecoveryNC Coordinator

donna.cotter@recoverync.org

www.recoverync.org

 

Fetal Personhood - What Would It Mean

NASW-NC is a member of the NC Women United coalition.  Please direct questions to Gailya below.

 

 

   Please join us at our 'Fetal Personhood - What Would It Mean' event on Thursday, August 27, at 7pm at Temple Beth Or in Raleigh. 

   The fetal personhood legislation is a bold move, and it goes far beyond making abortion illegal. 

   Fetal Personhood involves establishing that fetuses, even fertilized eggs, are "persons" under the protection of the U.S. Constitution.  They define person as a human being at any stage of life, starting at fertilization!  Learn what such a bill would mean to women and families with regard to birth control, miscarriage, pregnancy, birth, abortion, illness, and end of life issues, among other things.   

 

   Fetal personhood legislation has been passed at some level in various states across the US.  See http://data.opi.mt.gov/bills/2009/billhtml/SB0406.htm for the bill that passed the Senate in Montana. 

 

   Event: 'Fetal Personhood - What Would It Mean'

   Date:   8/27/09, Thursday

   Time:  7 p.m.

   Location: Temple Beth Or, 5315 Creedmoor Road, Raleigh NC

   RSVP: president@raleighnow.org

 

-Gailya Paliga

 Raleigh NOW

 919-539-7702

 

Anti-flu drugs Tamiflu and Relenza are equally effective, Stanford analysis finds

From the Disaster Taskforce NASW-NC is a member of:

 

Anti-flu drugs Tamiflu and Relenza are equally effective, Stanford analysis finds

By Lisa M. Krieger

lkrieger@mercurynews.com

Posted: 08/03/2009 03:27:44 PM PDT

Updated: 08/04/2009 05:39:08 AM PDT

 

The two medicines that have been used to combat swine flu are equally effective in fending off the miserable symptoms of fever, nausea and muscle aches, according to an analysis by Stanford researchers.

 

Yet there is no good data on the effectiveness of the drugs among different racial groups, or in the two groups most at risk of death from swine flu: the very young and those with weakened immune systems.

 

The two prescription drugs, Tamiflu and Relenza, "prevent symptoms equally, so you don't get sick with the flu," said Stanford pulmonologist and critical care specialist Nayer Khazeni, who led the team. "But there are a lot of groups that have not been studied.

 

"We need to know more," she said. "Our study identified the gaps in data and helped show those groups who might benefit from further study."

 

The drugs are regularly used to combat many strains of flu, from seasonal to the recent outbreak of swine flu, also known as H1N1. More than 65 nations have stockpiled millions of doses of the drugs for use during a flu pandemic. Such drugs are important weapons in physicians' defensive arsenal, especially since vaccines are not always developed in time to prevent infection, as was the case with swine flu.

 

complete article: http://www.mercurynews.com/health/ci_12984421?nclick_check=1

 

 

 

 

 

Group Homes

Lawmakers are considering cutting back funding for North Carolina's therapeutic group homes – a move that would likely place hundreds of children into foster care. The homes currently serve more than 1,700 children with severe mental health needs, such as those with bipolar disorder or a history of reckless behavior. The state budget isn't final, but plans call for reducing funding by $15.8 million in the first year and $22.5 million more the next. That would trim about 40 percent of the teens now getting care at levels 3 and 4, among the higher categories, indicating children with severe behavioral or mental problems. Critics contend such a move would be short sighted, saying the homes are better prepared than foster parents to handle a violent breakdown. “The first thing they're going to say is you need to come get this kid. He's not going to be attacking my son,” said Donald Grantham, director of operations for Omega Independent Living Services. “These kids can amp out any time. A lot of these kids will be on the street.”

But Leza Wainwright, director of the N.C. Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services, said the state has too many children living in group homes who might thrive in foster care, a more homelike setting that any mental health expert would recommend. “It's the right thing to do,” Wainwright said, noting that foster home kids still get outpatient therapy. “They're living with a family that has been specifically trained to meet their needs and they're getting other services. The essence is the same.”(Josh Shaffer, THE NEWS & OBSERVER, 7/21/09).

US Rep Sue Myrick announces ICE anti-gang unit in Charlotte

Myrick Announces ICE Anti-Gang Unit in Charlotte

(Charlotte, NC) – US Representative Sue Myrick (NC-09) announced today that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will establish a full-time anti-gang unit in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area. Rep. Myrick wrote a letter to ICE Assistant Secretary John T. Morton in late-May requestinga permanent unit be placed in the region.

“I am thankful that Secretary Morton and ICE have decided to bring a full-time gang unit to our area,” said Rep. Myrick. “The temporary ICE gang unit that has worked with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department to dismantle violent street gangs like MS-13 has been a great success. I’m hopeful that a permanent presence will build on this success to further disrupt the violent gang activities that threaten the safety of our citizens”.

In his letter to Rep. Myrick informing her of the plans for the new unit, Secretary Morton said that 70 transnational gang members have been arrested on civil immigration and criminal violations this year in Charlotte.

The unit is expected to be functional in the Charlotte metropolitan area by the end of this summer. (Examiner.com-USA 7/20/2009)

Unemployment Rate

The state's jobless ticked down slightly in June to 11 percent, according to the Employment Security Commission. May's unemployment figure was 11.1 percent. The state's unemployment rate a year ago in June was 6.1 percent. The figures are adjusted for seasonal effects, such as temporary summer jobs. The number of unemployed workers in the state decreased by 4,721 workers, to 502,263, ESC said. Since June 2008, unemployment has increased by 224,657 people. Nationally, the unemployment rate in June was 9.5 percent, the highest rate since August 1983 and an increase from 9.4 percent in May.(Amanda Jones Hoyle, TRIANGLE BUSINESS JOURNAL, 7/17/09).

Hospital Deaths

Gov. Beverly Perdue has signed into law a bill designed to release more information about deaths at state mental hospitals. The bill, sought by Perdue and Attorney General Roy Cooper, describes the information that must be released when a patient dies at a mental hospital or a facility for substance abusers and the developmentally disabled. The bill requires that the name, gender and birth date of the deceased be released, when and where the death happened and the circumstances. Death details about patients who had left the hospital up to two weeks earlier also must be disclosed. Perdue said the measure will increase government transparency.(THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, 7/17/09).

**Editor Note** This is a critical intervention in the system. This will allow a greater understanding of what is "happening on the ground." It is the view of NASW-NC that we know more about what is happening in the hospitals. Staff is overworked. Consumers are angry. The system cannot make change until the veil of secrecy is lifted.