David Van Der Velde shared a post to Thrive Global about how to approach the holidays this year for both those in recovery and their families. David, as the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Awakening Recovery, definitely has his finger on the pulse of the substance recovery community in Los Angeles as he discusses how the drugs that are being abused this year have evolved to include: hyper-potent THC dabs, fentanyl, and polysubstance abuse combining methamphetamines with opioids. David shares in the article that more than 107,000 lives were lost to drug overdose deaths in the past year driven by illicit fentanyl and other opioids.
However, there is much reason for hope, as more people are in recovery from substance abuse than ever. David provides some great advice both for those in recovery and their families about how to approach holiday get togethers without undue stress and tempting a relapse. He also advocates for some proactive steps we can take for the good of all, which include expanding the availability of naloxone (most commonly known as brand-name Narcan®), the nasal spray that reverses opioid overdoses.
Read the article here on Thrive Global.
David got clean and sober in 1988 at the age of 19, close to death from his own struggles with drug addiction and alcoholism. Now 32+ years clean and sober, he has been consistently active in his recovery community by mentoring others, serves on recovery and youth related non-profit Boards such as LifeWorks and the West Hollywood Recovery Center, and serves on panels at institutions speaking from his own experience about recovery.
Joelene Knight, is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Grace Recovery, a sub-acute and residential treatment program located in Hollywood, California, as well as a Board Member at Awakening Recovery, a unique life-saving nonprofit that specializes in recovery homes with a long-term, 12-Step addiction solution that creates a lasting change in core beliefs and behaviors.