Tuesday, January 31, 2012

NCADD News January, 2012

Hello friends,
            Welcome to an exciting New Year. The new year is a time to learn from the past, both our successes and our challenges, and to learn and grow. We at NCADD had a wonderful year last year, and we are proud to continue to bring help and hope to women throughout Arizona. We hope you have had a year that your are proud of, and even if you’ve had a year filled with challenges, we hope that it helps you grow into a stronger, happier you in the new year.

Highlights from Last Month:
           Last month was our staff Christmas Party and the Weldon House open house. We all had great fun, and it was wonderful to get to see everyone there. We are very grateful for everyone who donated their time and resources to help it go so well. Thank you all very much, we are very thankful for your kindness.


Coming Up:
            Coming up in March, NCADD presents Karen Casey. Karen Casey is the best selling and prolific author of more than 20 inspirational titles on recovery, hope, and spirituality. She will be in Arizona to share her wisdom on Saturday, March 17, 2012. We hope you will be able to join us for a day of community and personal growth. More information will be available as the date approaches. Tickets will be available Feburary 1st.

           
           

Inspiration of the Month
Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still.
                   ~Chinese Proverb

Closing Notes
            Remember to check out our website (http://www.ncadd-phx.org/) and our Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ncadd-Phoenix/206424812727198) for more information throughout the month.
           As always, we appreciate your generosity. If you would like to help NCADD give hope and support to women with Substance Abuse issues, please donate even just a dollar on our donation page or buy something from our wonderful store, Sustain.

Thank you again for your support and have a wonderful new year.
Ruthie Allen

Monday, November 28, 2011

NCADD News November 2011

Hello friends,
            With Thanksgiving coming up, November is a month to reflect on all the things we are thankful for. Even in the harshest of times, we have many things to be thankful for. We can be thankful for the friends we have found, who help us through and uplift us. We must also be thankful for the spirit within ourselves that empowers us to choose what is right, and that gives us the will to move forward in our lives. Remember that in both joy and sadness we can be grateful for all the forces that enrich our lives and give us strength and happiness.
Highlights from Last Month:
            Last month was a blast for everyone here at NCADD. We participated in the crossroads annual chili cook off. Everyone had a great time and we all hope you got to attend.
           In addition, we had the first annual NCADD staff picnic. It was a great opportunity for us to share time with each other and get to know each other better.
Coming Up This Month:
            We have the holiday season coming up! Starting with Thanksgiving and ending with New Years we have quite a festive time coming up. As for NCADD Festivities, next month we are having our annual open house
Get to Know NCADD
Karen Mullan
My husband and I relocated to Phoenix in 1997 a year after our eighteen year old son passed away from an accidental drug overdose.  Our son, Christian suffered from depression, alcoholism and addiction and found the sobriety he came to know living in a halfway house.  The disease of addiction transformed our loving, intelligent, compassionate, caring son into someone we didn’t know.  He spent time in residential treatment for both disorders and was in active counseling until his death.  Our entire family suffered as our son did for the disease of addiction is a family disease.   I learned first hand about the stigma of addiction through watching the judgments placed on my son. 

I came to Phoenix and began looking through the United Way Volunteer Service Directory and to find a place to volunteer my services.  I found the National Council On Alcoholism and Addiction in March of 1998.  I was interviewed by the Executive Director, Sally Lara who hired me as a volunteer office assistant and receptionist.  Several months later I was hired as a paid employee and I have been at the agency now for fourteen years.  I have true passion and compassion for the families and individuals the agency services.  I am in awe by the strength and courage of those who come through our doors in search of recovery and a better life. I now work as a case manager, benefits specialist assisting our clients with community resources, medical assistance and whatever may be a barrier to their recovery.

My son has always been my guiding light, he taught our family many lessons in his short eighteen years of life.  I am reminded daily that miracles do happen and I am privileged to work at the agency whom  has never turned anyone away for their inability to pay for treatment.  Addicts and Alcoholics are not “those people” they all belong to a family.  I consider it an honor to be part of the NCADD family and thank all those who have come through our doors  for allowing me to be a part of their journey. I will be with the agency fifteen years in March and I am thankful everyday to be able to work at this magical place where dreams do come true and people are cherished and where hope thrives.
Inspiration of the Month
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, and confusion into clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
Client Story: Gratitude by Mellisa
I was in my addiction for 23 years. I was in a very abusive relationship for a little over 20 years. I lived in despair. I lived in bitterness and anger. I hated myself. Today I have 18 months clean and sober. I don’t have any of that anger or resentment. I don’t live in despair today. I’m actually starting to love myself. I have a new appreciation in life. I have a new appreciation for everything. Everything is clear today and pretty.  I can actually look at myself in the mirror, I can actually look in my eyes and say I’m okay, I can look into my eyes and tell myself I love you. I’m 42 today. It’s taken me 41 years to get here, but today I can love; I’m not filled with hatred. I’m very grateful for that.
Closing Notes
            The holiday season is coming and it’s time to give to those who need it. To assist with this, NCADD has set up a gift registry at Walmart. You can find the wish list here: http://www.walmart.com/giftregistry/gr_detail.do?registryId=80513191046.  We would be very grateful if you would take some time to give to people in need.
Remember to check out our website (http://www.ncadd-phx.org/) and our Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ncadd-Phoenix/206424812727198) for more information throughout the month.
Thank you again for your support and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Have a wonderful month,
Ruthie Allen

Monday, October 17, 2011

NCADD News October 2011

Hello friends,
            It’s finally starting to feel like fall. Outside, the temperature is changing, and festive decorations are starting to show up everywhere. It’s nice to finally get out of the heat. We hope everyone out there is enjoying the cooler weather, and we hope you have a wonderful month
Highlights from Last Month:
            We all had a great time at the Art of Recovery Expo on the 24th, and we hope you got a chance to be there.
           Also last month, the Walgreens at 51st Avenue and  Indian School held a fund raiser for NCADD. This fund raiser was facilitated by ATRS, the providers of our donation bins. Everyone there was wonderful, and we are very grateful for their support. They helped provide many necessary items for women and their children. Thank you very much Walgreens and ATRS.
            In addition, last month was the beginning of our collaboration with the STEM program at Xavier school to make Weldon House more energy efficient. They will be working this semester, next semester, and perhaps the semester after that to add energy saving, environmentally friendly innovations to Weldon House. We are very excited to be working with them both to help Weldon house and to help raise awareness about what we do.
Coming Up This Month:
            This month crossroads is having its annual chili cook off. NCADD will be there with its volleyball team. People will bring a chili dish to compete in the cook off and plenty of fun for everyone. Activities include horse and buggy rides, face painting, a water dunk, volleyball, and a car raffle. The cook off is on Saturday, October 15th at noon at Crossroads West just off 35th and Glendale.  Come out and support NCADD and Crossroads. We hope to see you there.
Inspiration of the Month
Check out NCADD e-cards for more inspirational quotes.
Closing Notes
            As always, we are grateful for your support. Right now, we are in need of a car to transport the women living at Legacy House and Weldon. We provide transportation to things like doctor’s appointments and meetings, things that  are very important for the women to attend. Although we have vans, they are very energy inefficient when transporting only one or two women. The amount of gas needed can be quite costly, and not very environmentally friendly. If you can help out, please contact Thelma Ross.
      Did you know: when you are filling out your state taxes, you can help NCADD out and get a tax credit. You do have a say in where your money goes at tax time. For singles, you can donate up to $200 and $400 for couples to your favorite school or charity. This donation gives you a tax credit equal to the amount you donate. So why not remember NCADD when it comes time to fill out your taxes. And that’s not the only way to help NCADD. Any other donation you make to NCADD is also tax deductable.
Remember to check out our website (http://www.ncadd-phx.org/) and our Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ncadd-Phoenix/206424812727198) for more information throughout the month.
Thank you again for your support
Have a wonderful month,
Ruthie Allen

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

NCADD Inspirational Greetings


If you would like to inspire someone, or thank someone who inspired you, send out one  of our Inspirational Greetings today. And if you want to keep inspiring people after your greeting is sent, please visit our donations page and donate just $1 to help inspire women to live a happy, healthy, substance abuse free life.

Thank you for your support.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

NCADD News September 2011

Hello friends,
            With this being our first newsletter we wanted to thank you for your involvement and interest. We are always very glad when we receive support from the community. We all hope that we can help keep you informed of all the exciting things happening at NCADD and provide a little hope to brighten your day.

Highlights from Last Month:
            Last month was an exciting month for NCADD. Thelma Ross, our CEO received an award at the Phoenix Mercury game for excellence in service. We are very proud of her. We are also very proud to be part of the amazing play “Pass it On, an Evening with Bill W. and Dr. Bob.” We thank them for their support of NCADD, and we hope all of you got the chance to attend.  We had a sold out show and are hoping to have another performance in April. If you missed the chance to attend, April would be a great time to see this great play.

Coming Up This Month:
This month is National Recovery month, the theme of this year is “Recovery is possible for Everyone,” so take this time to reach out to people in your community and let them know that help is out there.

Also coming up this month is the Art Of Recovery Expo at the phoenix convention center. Admission is free and Grammy award winner Paul Williams will be the keynote speaker. There are activities for the whole family, including art activities for the kids, and seminars for families. Recovery experts from all sorts of organizations will be there. It’s Saturday, September 24, so save the date. If you need more information go to http://www.artofrecoveryexpo.com/ or call contact Barbara Brown (602-684-1136 or aztogether@yahoo.com) or Rick Baney (602-451-0123 or rickIresource@cox.net

Story of Recovery
This month’s story comes from Morgan at Weldon House. Here’s her story:

“My name is Morgan. I’m 44, a single mom and an addict/alcoholic. I’ve been clean and sober for 14 months. It took the death of my daughter Lilly, and a year of full blown meth addiction with my infant son Dane for me to realize I had a problem. Before Lilly was born I smoked meth and pot all the time. After I had her I “quit” but had I had no treatment, no recovery. Throughout her life my use increased but I thought it was under control. Until she died, and I was in the depths of my addiction. I bounced around with my baby boy, getting hi. When I had to spend a week in a homeless shelter that was enough. I went to residential rehab. I got clean and I got treatment. After rehab I was accepted into Weldon House. Living here has been a wonderful experience. I have a firm foundation in my sobriety. I’ve started school. I’ve got a support system that has allowed me to grow and start becoming the woman and mother I am meant to be”

Closing Notes
We always appreciate your support. Donations to NCADD are tax deductable and go to a good cause. If you have money to spare in these hard times, please remember us. Money donated to NCADD helps to give women and their families a second chance at a better life.

Remember to check out our website (http://www.ncadd-phx.org/) and our Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ncadd-Phoenix/206424812727198) for more information throughout the month.

Thank you again for your support

Have a wonderful month,
Ruthie Allen

Monday, September 12, 2011

About NCADD Phoenix

NCADD’s goals are to support women and their children through substance abuse treatment, to educate the community on substance abuse, to advocate for substance abuse funding and to help reduce the stigma of addiction. NCADD has been serving the Greater Metropolitan Phoenix area since 1960.

In 1999, NCADD began the development of a long-term outpatient program for women and built on the program by adding additional services including transportation, child care and food. To continue to meet the client needs, NCADD added a Nurse Practitioner to assess and medication management of clients with mental illness issues, a volunteer Psychologist and Licensed Vocational Counselor.

In 2003, Weldon House was opened, providing each family with a 2 bedroom apartment (a home) where they can learn to be a family and where children have the opportunity to live normal and stable lives.

In July 2007, NCADD opened Healthy Connections. The name was chosen to promote hope, not judgment. Healthy Connections is an intensive case management program that links pregnant substance abusing women to services and resources that will give them the foundation to deliver drug/alcohol free babies and establish a healthy lifestyle for their families and the community. May 1, 2011 was the addition of Legacy House, emergency housing for pregnant women with substance abuse.

January 2010 Sustain Work Adjustment Program became operational. Work adjustment programs typically in the past have been focused on assisting mentally and physically disabled to obtain the skills needed to enter the work force. NCADD’s work adjustment program utilizes best practices that are making a break through within the treatment of substance abuse

All of NCADD’s programs focus on providing the tools and resources to assist the women in becoming financially self-sufficient and to believe in their potential to remain drug/alcohol free and life a quality life.


You can visit our webpage at http://www.ncadd-phx.org/ or check out our facebook.