P.L.A.N. to Recover from Addiction
The disease of addiction nearly tore my family apart as I watched my two older brothers suffer with various drug addictions until it nearly ended their lives. What I didn’t know then is that addiction is an actual disease of the brain and unless understood and treated correctly, is progressive, chronic, and fatal. Tragically eleven of my brothers’ friends have died from their addictions. My greatest passion in seeking the title of Miss Utah is to implement my “P.L.A.N. to Recover from Addiction” nationwide: Provide the newest information on the disease of addiction; help the addicted affected as well as their families Learn how to manage the disease through attending free 12 step recovery meetings; implement Awareness assemblies and seminars to warn of the dangers of the disease of addiction; and Network with industry professionals, national organizations, and recovering addicts to provide the best possible support to those shackled by the chains of addiction.
Today, more than one in ten children in the United States under the age of 18 live in homes with a substance-dependent or substance-abusing parent. Substance abuse, when encompassing alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs, costs our society more than $484 billion dollars per year. In 2009, approximately 600,000 deaths were attributed to addiction, and for the past eleven years Utah has been the highest state per capita cited for the use of prescription drugs! 97% of Utah prisoners were incarcerated due directly or indirectly to some form of addiction. Addiction is devastating families in our communities and across the nation and it is imperative that this destructive disease be addressed and a P.L.A.N. of action taken! As Miss Draper, I have had the unique opportunity to combat addiction through speaking engagements at anti-drug events, teaming with the DARE program to speak to children at our local schools and promote twelve-step meetings through creating flyers and having them placed in our local newspapers. Currently I’m creating a national website (http://www.12steptestimonials.com/) where I will be streaming testimonials of long-term recovering addicts who share their heart wrenching stories and how twelve step meetings have become not only the foundation of their recovery but also have helped to save their lives! I have partnered with The Institute for Addiction Studies and am currently working with them to produce a commercial with a message of hope: Long term recovery from addiction is a reality! An alarming majority of addicts state that they began experimenting with drugs and alcohol when they were in middle school, barely older than children. By the time these teens are in high school most are fully addicted; experiencing a complete disconnect from their will, followed by complete hopelessness! Teenage suicide often stems from the deep despair of addiction and the Miss America Organization could enable me the opportunity to raise a voice to support the “P.L.A.N. to Recover from Addiction” in secondary schools nationwide! This Spring I have already arranged to speak with Alema Harrington, treatment professionals, and others at our local secondary schools to warn of the dangers of addiction. I am also working with Utah Support Advocates for Recovery Awareness (USARA) and have also received $1,000/month funding (as needed) for my “P.L.A.N. to Recover from Addiction” from Federal Financial Group, a National Financial Services company committed to educating families on the solutions for addiction.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), addiction is in fact an illness, as real as cancer, and addicts suffer from a literal brain disease with a genetic component. And like cancer, addicts need treatment and therapy in order to recover. Tragically, only 1 in 85 addicted people receive the help they need, and most are shunned as social outcasts. There are over 100,000 free 12 step meetings worldwide and over 50 different types of addiction meetings that correspond with those addictions listed on the internet! 12 step meetings have healed millions of alcoholics alone throughout the world and are now being used to heal a wide variety of addictions and addictive behaviors, such as codependency. 12 step meetings and the knowledge of addiction recovery has helped save my brothers, my family, and it’s my turn now, with the help of the Miss Utah title to help save others! The Miss America Organization will be seen as an organization that is committed to healing individuals and families who suffer from the disease of addiction as well as changing society’s views of the addicted, who are not bad people who need to be good, but sick people who need to get well!
