WEBVTT

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good afternoon . I'm honored to welcome

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you all to the White House today for

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the special event honoring Americans in

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recovery , the incredible organizations

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that support them . I'm grateful toe

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our Office of National Drug Control

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policy and to Director Jim Carroll .

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Thank you for organizing this important

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discussion . I'm also glad to be joined

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today by Larry Carlo , director off the

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United States Economic Council Thank

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you and our surgeon general , Jerome

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Adams . Before I get started ,

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I would also like to think catching

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Bergen , the first lady off North

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Dakota . Thank you for joining us today ,

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as well as Patty McCarty , the CEO

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faces and voices of Recovery , whose

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organization is playing a key role

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throughout September , Commemorating

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recovery month around the United States .

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Today we're here to highlight two

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important themes in recovery the power

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of recovery tools and resources in the

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workplace and the role personal

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connection toe others place in

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achieving sobriety . These themes are

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also shared in might be best initiative ,

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which promotes healthy relationships ,

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strong families and supporting people

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and programs in our communities that

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give Children their best chance to

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succeed . Finding solutions to our

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nation's drug problem has always been

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something of care deeply about ,

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especially when it comes to its

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negative effects on Children and

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families . In My Thomas First Lady , I

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have traveled to hospitals and her

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publication centers around the country

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and have seen the devastating results

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off drug abuse and addiction . I have

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learned that addiction and drug abuse

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are universal issues that do not

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discriminate based on income , age ,

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race or wherever you leave . I

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believe that promoting education and

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awareness on this issue is critical toe

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overcoming this terrible trend , which

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is why I'm joining you here today . The

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Corona virus pandemic has increased

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feelings of loneliness and sadness for

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wall number populations . It has also

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increased the risk off substance abuse .

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But the American people are strong and

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always set up to help one another in

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times of need . My husband and this

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administration are also committed to

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making sure no one is left behind

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and forgot . Man and women are not

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forgotten no more . The gas we have

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with us today a shining examples off

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how we can uplift our communities

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businesses large and small . I

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represented a dis event . Each of them

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share a commitment and understanding

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that economic empowerment and the

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feeling off purpose play an important

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role in creating substance sobriety ,

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he said . The facts of recovery at work

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and I misfired . But each of your

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stories you're not just job creators .

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You empower the human spirit . I want

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to thank all of you again for your

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outstanding work and making our

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communities are much stronger and

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accepting place for all Americans .

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Thank you very much . And now I would

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like Toa turn back over to Director

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Carol . Thank you .

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Thank you , Mrs Trump , for your

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continued dedication to this cause . I

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have a great honor now of introducing

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you to some new friends . But these air

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friends of mine that are here today ,

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and but I think it's only fitting that

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we start with prayer . And so the first

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friend that I would like to introduce

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everyone . Teoh is Reverend Dan Brown

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and Reverend Round is the executive

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director of the Global Recovery

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Initiatives . She's the executive

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director of the Spirit Works Foundation .

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She serves as chairperson of the Board

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of directors of faces and voices of

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Recovery , which we'll hear more about

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in a few minutes . And she's also been

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appointed by the presiding bishop of

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the Episcopalian church to serve on the

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commission off impairment and

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leadership We're around . Would you

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please leave us ?

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Let us pray . God of all

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creation . We give you thanks for this

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glorious day . We give you thanks for

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the opportunity to come together , toe

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listen to one another and to share

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hopes and dreams and possibilities as

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they relate to issues of recovery in

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the workplace . We know that purpose

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and meaning are pillars of recovery .

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Help us be faithful stewards and

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intercessor for all in need of

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meaningful work . Engaging with

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goodwill in this spirited dialogue , we

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ask that you allow the conversation to

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unravel organically . That our

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differences not get in the way that

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will be fully present are we're here to

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do your work in this world . We know

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that in you all things are possible

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kindle and us your holy fire to allow

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us to be brave and bold and courageous

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around this important topic . We pray

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for those who continue to suffer with

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Kobe 19 and their families and friends

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and those who are caring for them . We

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pray for those who are struggling with

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economic , financial , health , racial

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and housing and securities and asked

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that you be with them to remove their

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fears and increase their reliance on

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you . We give thanks for the

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celebration of recovery month ,

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honoring the millions of lives that

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have been restored because of recovery ,

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the families that have been reunited

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and the communities that are now

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thriving . We know that there are many

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in our midst who continue their

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struggles , be with them now let them

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know that you are ever present and only

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a breath away . We pray for those who

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have died from overdose and other

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addiction related causes . We break for

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treatment centers , advocacy

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organizations , recovery organizations

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and all those working to end and to

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serve those who are in or working

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toward recovery throughout this

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difficult season of Kobe 19 and the

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ongoing addiction epidemic remind us to

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maintain and celebrate our connections ,

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help us to always remember that we are

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the face and voice of recovery in this

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country and beyond . We pray for the

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leaders gathered here that you would

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inspire us to find solutions that

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promote health and healing for all who

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have been affected by substance use

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disorders and any other addictions ,

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and that you would equip us with the

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will and the skills to make those

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solutions of reality continue in us The

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good work you have begun in your holy

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name , we break , Oh , men me

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keep thank you

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rubber around for the beautiful prayer .

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And when we first met , one of the

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first things that I did was ask her to

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pray for May and for the office on this

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issue that we could continue to be led

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and guided to do the right thing . And

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so , in addition to faith leading us

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and , of course , the first lady being

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the North Star to always do the right

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thing . We've also been blast at the

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White House with Larry Kudlow . Yeah ,

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he should be smiling , but I don't

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think that he is right now . In

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addition to being always a calm and

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reassuring force and as the lead for

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the Economic Council here and the

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leading person really in the United

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States on economic issues , Larry is

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well known to all but one thing I don't

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think is very well known . And I

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sincerely appreciate Larry coming

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forward today to be part of this . But

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Larry just celebrated his 25th year in

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recovery and so

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Okay , Thank you appreciate it very

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much . Um , many . Thanks to the first

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lady . I am Larry Kudlow . I just had a

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25th so brand of birth tree until I won ,

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and I don't want to say too much . My

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story has been out there for many years .

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I would just say that when the

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president and the first lady offered

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me this position , which is the

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greatest honor of my professional life ,

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I stayed a lot longer than probably a

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lot of people thought it would . It

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would not have been possible . It would

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not have been remotely possible . It

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would have been unthinkable that I

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could occupy such a job . Um ,

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25 years ago , unthinkable .

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I was a hopeless abuser of alcohol and

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drugs . I have

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tried several times unsuccessfully to

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get sober .

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Like a lot of my peers and friends .

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I went through bloody hell and suffered

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significant consequences . I'm not

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alone . Most of us had same troubles

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and , um , I was unemployable .

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But by the grace of God , I did stay

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married . My wife is a saint Duty . I

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said that before . I will repeat it .

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We've been married 34 years . It's a

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miracle , but it was

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difficult . The whole story was

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difficult . Having said that , I will

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offer this . It is

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because of my stubbornness

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and willfulness and the difficulties

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and consequences and the fact that I

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had to learn how to change my behavior

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and follow a few simple steps are

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guidelines . I believe

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sincerely today . That probably

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was the best thing that ever happened

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because it forced me to change and seek

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a new path and return to faith .

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I might not have said it at the time ,

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but more and more I've come to realize

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it down through the years . And so it's

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an honor for me to be with fellow

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suffering alcoholics on

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employers on I will just say to you ,

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you know you

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will . You can gets over

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you can . For those who were still

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second suffering you can . It's not

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easy , but you can get sober and you

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could stay sober and you can lead a

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productive life . And most importantly ,

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hopefully like myself , we can

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learn to help other people

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gets over and stays over so they could

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be productive and contribute to society

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and to life . I think it's a phenomenal

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thing that first lady has engaged

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yourself in this battle phenomena .

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But you're pretty phenomenal . And ,

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you know , I said that and actually

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written that in columns down through

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the years . So it is my pleasure and

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honor to be here with you today . The

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president has been remarkable . I've

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known in many years he brought me into

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this position . I didn't ask for it .

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I've served him to the best of my

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ability . He has been remarkable to me ,

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accessible . We have great discussions

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sometimes even debates his remarkable

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man . And , um , if I get time off for

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good behavior and write another book ,

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I want to write about that because I

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sincerely believe it . But I also say

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this

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drawing from what first lady said

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about loneliness and sadness .

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There's nothing as bad as that . You're

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trying to do good , but you can't .

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And for me , and I will kind of borrow

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paraphrase from the big book of

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Alcoholics Anonymous . Uh ,

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it became clear and clear in my life

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that I was hopeless alcoholic . It

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also became clear in my life that no

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human power could restore me to sanity .

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But I learned finally ,

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that God could and would , if he were

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sought and I saw him ,

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whether it's a higher power

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with some religious power . Fact is ,

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I had to acknowledge my problems , my

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frailties , my powerlessness over drugs

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and alcohol and just start over with

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the help of others . And to this day ,

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and I mean this truly to this day in my

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personal life , I don't make a single

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significant decision alone

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because I have a track record of making

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bad ones . Instead , I go to my

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friends , my sober friends and my

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wife to get advice and suggestions .

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And then I followed them , and that's

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worked for me . It may or may not work

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for you . I just put it out there . But

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it's worked for May left to my own

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devices . It was ugly , but

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leading and following the advice of

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others . And they're sober . Wisdom has

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worked for May , and I'm here

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helping out with our team , and you ,

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too , could do exactly the same thing .

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I don't care what you do for a living .

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It doesn't matter . This is a disease

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that , uh , has

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remarkable equality . No matter who we

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are , you get and I got ,

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um there isn't a day that goes

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by that I don't think about

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my alcoholism . There isn't a day

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that goes by that I don't read my daily

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meditation and prayer in the morning .

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There isn't a day that goes by that it

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on call or text one of my A buddies And

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there isn't a day that goes by that I

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don't say the surrounding per not a day

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for 25 years . Why ? Because I have to .

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That's all I need to be reminded of the

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main issue , which is my sobriety .

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I may have good forecast for bad

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forecast . I may give the president

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good advice or less good advice , but

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the one thing I dio without exception

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go through my meditations on the

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surrounding prayer . And oftentimes ,

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if things get a little intense around

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here just occasionally , I will say the

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surrounding prayer again . It works .

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It works if you work it . I hope you

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know that your phrase God bless all of

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you . Um

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I'm blessed . I'm lucky . But I'm

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blessed that I discovered God . I

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discovered a higher power that I

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discovered 12 step programs .

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And then I'm able to help out my fellow

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alcoholics , my fellow countrymen ,

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to give service . It really is pinnacle

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of my life . I'm an old guy . It came

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late , but it's been great . Honestly ,

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it's been great . My worst day ,

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My worst day president Come yelling at

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me or something goes wrong . It doesn't

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matter . Whatever . My worst day now

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is better than any day I had before I

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got sober and I mean that sincerely .

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So you can do it . And to the

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employers who were here and others , Um ,

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give us a chance . Please give us a

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chance . That's all we ask . And

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we will try to own up to our

18:23.471 --> 18:26.660
responsibilities and stay the road .

18:26.660 --> 18:28.993
Stay the path to stay on the right road .

18:29.000 --> 18:32.530
Help you . I think recovering

18:32.530 --> 18:35.190
alcoholics make great employees myself ,

18:38.220 --> 18:40.331
and that's what makes it such a great

18:40.331 --> 18:43.050
thing that the first lady and my pal

18:43.050 --> 18:45.960
Jim and Jerome have come to help in

18:45.960 --> 18:48.293
whatever capacity we're here . Official ,

18:48.293 --> 18:50.380
personal , whatever . It's very rare

18:50.390 --> 18:52.390
for people to do this . What you're

18:52.390 --> 18:54.501
doing , man . So we love you for it .

18:54.501 --> 18:57.550
We really appreciate it . And if you'll

18:57.550 --> 18:59.550
permit me , I'll just end with this

18:59.550 --> 19:03.080
thought . God grant me the

19:03.080 --> 19:06.020
serenity to accept the things I cannot

19:06.020 --> 19:09.350
change wisdom

19:10.640 --> 19:14.430
to know the difference God bless all of

19:14.430 --> 19:17.970
you . And , um , let's all stay

19:18.230 --> 19:21.360
on the happy road of destiny . Sober

19:21.410 --> 19:23.850
men and women . Thank you , man .

19:28.160 --> 19:30.590
You can see where we all love Larry on

19:30.600 --> 19:33.890
love having him here . We're also

19:33.890 --> 19:35.860
blessed to have someone in the

19:35.860 --> 19:39.350
administration , and I'm so blessed to

19:39.350 --> 19:42.330
have him as a friend . We have the

19:42.330 --> 19:44.108
nation's doctor . Her is firmly

19:44.108 --> 19:46.650
committed to safeguarding the lives of

19:46.650 --> 19:50.050
all Americans . Dr . Jerome Adams

19:50.540 --> 19:53.540
also like all of us at this table . And

19:53.540 --> 19:55.870
I think like so many of all Americans

19:56.230 --> 19:59.190
understand what addiction can dio to

19:59.190 --> 20:02.160
families the pain that is caused

20:03.400 --> 20:06.140
sometimes at a funeral , sometimes at a

20:06.140 --> 20:08.940
hospital or a treatment center , or

20:08.940 --> 20:12.750
sometimes at a jail song . And so we're

20:12.750 --> 20:15.260
blessed not only to have his expertise ,

20:15.640 --> 20:19.000
phenomenal medical training , but

20:19.000 --> 20:21.111
someone who understands the issue and

20:21.111 --> 20:23.510
someone that I can call as I frequently

20:23.510 --> 20:26.220
do on his cell phone , um to say ,

20:26.220 --> 20:29.450
Jerome , what should we do ? And he's

20:29.450 --> 20:33.170
always answered that call . And before

20:33.180 --> 20:35.124
I let you speak , one of the first

20:35.124 --> 20:37.291
things that you did was recognized the

20:37.291 --> 20:40.040
importance of naloxone , and I see you

20:40.040 --> 20:42.920
have it sitting in front of you and for

20:42.920 --> 20:45.700
the first time in 13 years , he issued

20:45.700 --> 20:48.450
an advisory to talk about this issue .

20:49.720 --> 20:52.330
So I now would like to introduce my

20:52.330 --> 20:54.550
friend and a friend to all Americans ,

20:55.300 --> 20:57.522
our surgeon General , Dr Jerome Adams .

21:03.290 --> 21:05.234
Well , good afternoon , everyone .

21:05.500 --> 21:07.611
Thank you all for being here today to

21:07.611 --> 21:09.880
lift up the lives that have been

21:09.880 --> 21:12.102
affected by substance misuse all across

21:12.102 --> 21:14.350
our country , especially during this

21:14.350 --> 21:17.660
incredibly unique and challenging time .

21:18.340 --> 21:20.229
I'm happy to be here alongside my

21:20.229 --> 21:22.396
federal colleagues . And I got to tell

21:22.396 --> 21:24.410
you , three years ago , when I took

21:24.410 --> 21:26.780
this job , I would have never predicted

21:26.780 --> 21:30.260
that two old white guys , Larry Kudlow

21:30.640 --> 21:32.730
and Jim Carroll , would be two of my

21:32.730 --> 21:35.010
best friends at the end of all this .

21:35.610 --> 21:39.230
But they truly , truly are . And I also

21:39.230 --> 21:41.008
have to give a shout out to the

21:41.008 --> 21:43.230
passionate and compassionate leadership

21:43.230 --> 21:45.330
of our first lady . Do you know how

21:45.330 --> 21:47.274
special it is to have a first lady

21:47.274 --> 21:49.790
visit women who were in a neonatal

21:49.800 --> 21:53.440
abstinence syndrome clinic that that's

21:53.440 --> 21:56.040
powerful when we talk about busting

21:56.050 --> 21:58.610
stigma ? That was a moment that I will

21:58.610 --> 22:00.721
just never forget . And I will always

22:00.721 --> 22:02.943
appreciate and thank you for because as

22:02.943 --> 22:06.110
Larry has said far too many people .

22:06.110 --> 22:08.950
For far too long I have felt unheard ,

22:09.390 --> 22:12.020
and you made so many people across the

22:12.020 --> 22:14.700
country feel worthy and feel heard

22:14.710 --> 22:16.940
simply by your presence . So I just

22:16.940 --> 22:19.170
want to thank you for that . And I'm so

22:19.170 --> 22:21.281
happy to see the depth and breadth of

22:21.281 --> 22:23.226
organizations around the table and

22:23.226 --> 22:25.720
coming together here and every day to

22:25.720 --> 22:28.240
curb the many epidemics were facing in

22:28.240 --> 22:30.580
this country viral , chronic disease

22:30.990 --> 22:33.920
and of holly substances . As you all

22:33.920 --> 22:36.080
know , September is National Recovery

22:36.080 --> 22:38.390
Month , and while the observance itself

22:38.390 --> 22:41.260
only last a month , it sends an

22:41.260 --> 22:43.371
important message . But your favorite

22:43.371 --> 22:45.760
are guiding light all year alone . That

22:45.760 --> 22:48.920
message , the one Larry powerfully just

22:49.500 --> 22:51.722
just helped if become a little bit more

22:51.722 --> 22:53.760
familiar with is that recovery is

22:53.760 --> 22:56.440
possible . It's a message that I try to

22:56.440 --> 22:58.496
carry with me everywhere that I meet

22:58.496 --> 23:00.496
with individuals in recovery . As I

23:00.496 --> 23:02.607
meet with their loved ones and health

23:02.607 --> 23:04.607
professionals and community members

23:04.607 --> 23:06.970
seeking to provide support In many of

23:06.970 --> 23:09.350
those conversations , I see firsthand

23:09.350 --> 23:11.730
the powerful results when individuals

23:11.740 --> 23:14.110
fighting addiction are connected to

23:14.110 --> 23:16.054
care and provide that provided the

23:16.054 --> 23:19.140
sustained support they need on the road

23:19.220 --> 23:22.930
to recovery that I'm glad to see

23:23.200 --> 23:25.478
my buddy Larry here for another reason .

23:25.478 --> 23:27.367
And that's because something I've

23:27.367 --> 23:29.610
always empathized . If that public

23:29.610 --> 23:31.950
caliphate sometimes overlooked a key

23:31.950 --> 23:34.061
linkage in recovery , the workplace ,

23:34.840 --> 23:37.500
even if its virtual additive right now ,

23:37.830 --> 23:39.941
I'm convinced the workplace remains a

23:39.941 --> 23:42.108
critical component of support to those

23:42.108 --> 23:44.330
who were struggling with addiction . An

23:44.330 --> 23:46.552
estimated two thirds of individuals who

23:46.552 --> 23:48.450
misuse opioids are employed . I

23:48.460 --> 23:50.738
remember visiting Fort Wayne , Indiana ,

23:50.738 --> 23:52.849
and their health commissioner telling

23:52.849 --> 23:54.960
me that 70% of the overdoses in their

23:54.960 --> 23:56.849
county were among people who were

23:56.849 --> 23:59.470
employed . Given how much time

23:59.470 --> 24:01.310
employees spend at work and the

24:01.310 --> 24:03.830
powerful grip of addiction , it is

24:04.050 --> 24:06.620
possible and likely that many of these

24:06.620 --> 24:08.842
individuals will turn to 15 from issues

24:08.842 --> 24:11.330
while on the job the substance issues ,

24:11.330 --> 24:13.441
rates and key industry . They're very

24:13.441 --> 24:15.552
high , such of the accommodations and

24:15.552 --> 24:17.774
food services , industry , construction

24:17.774 --> 24:19.886
and mining . And Sampson's data tells

24:19.886 --> 24:21.997
us that one in five employees and the

24:21.997 --> 24:24.219
accommodations and food industry report

24:24.219 --> 24:26.274
illicit drug use in the last month .

24:26.274 --> 24:28.770
One in five substance misuse and

24:28.770 --> 24:30.826
addiction is not only harmful to our

24:30.826 --> 24:32.670
health , but it also leaves toe

24:32.670 --> 24:34.837
absentee of them . High turnover rates

24:34.837 --> 24:36.590
workplace injuries and reduce

24:36.590 --> 24:39.040
performance on the job . And it's why

24:39.040 --> 24:42.420
we must address it holistically . On

24:42.420 --> 24:44.642
the other hand , and this is critical ,

24:44.642 --> 24:46.753
we know that gainful employment is an

24:46.753 --> 24:48.864
important part of getting and staying

24:48.864 --> 24:51.010
healthy along with stable housing .

24:51.420 --> 24:53.370
Having a meaningful and adequately

24:53.370 --> 24:55.580
paying job is one of the best

24:55.590 --> 24:58.860
predictors of successful recovery , and

24:58.860 --> 25:00.940
I visited places like building like

25:00.950 --> 25:02.783
graced and bakery throughout the

25:02.783 --> 25:05.150
country that give people a chance toe

25:05.150 --> 25:07.372
work and have found that , as Larry has

25:07.372 --> 25:10.320
exemplified , they're often the most

25:10.330 --> 25:13.410
loyal and consistently productive

25:13.410 --> 25:15.910
employees that a company has . Once you

25:15.920 --> 25:19.370
give them that chance , we know that

25:19.370 --> 25:21.481
having healthy employees , workplaces

25:21.481 --> 25:23.537
and communities helps our businesses

25:23.537 --> 25:25.648
thrive . And what's good for health ,

25:25.648 --> 25:27.814
both mental and physical , is good for

25:27.814 --> 25:30.870
business . An important and still too

25:30.870 --> 25:33.260
often missed touch point for recovery

25:33.940 --> 25:36.860
is when individuals overdose . That's

25:36.860 --> 25:39.160
why my office , as director Carol

25:39.160 --> 25:41.382
mentioned , it , focused on putting the

25:41.382 --> 25:43.327
locks on in the hands of community

25:43.327 --> 25:45.438
members in an effort to reduce opioid

25:45.438 --> 25:48.620
related overdose deaths in April 2018 .

25:49.280 --> 25:52.680
Fantastic , Fantastic . In April 2018 I

25:52.680 --> 25:54.569
issued the first Surgeon Generals

25:54.569 --> 25:56.402
advisory in more than 10 years ,

25:56.402 --> 25:58.624
highlighting the importance of the lock

25:58.624 --> 26:00.847
zone and how we can use it to help curb

26:00.847 --> 26:03.013
opioid overdose deaths . And if Secret

26:03.013 --> 26:05.180
Service doesn't kill me , I'm going to

26:05.180 --> 26:07.236
demonstrate to the first lady how to

26:07.236 --> 26:09.291
use the lots a group like that , and

26:09.291 --> 26:12.840
you just push give us a push .

26:13.730 --> 26:15.952
That's literally how easy it is to save

26:15.952 --> 26:18.730
a life . That is , it is to save a life ,

26:19.010 --> 26:21.690
any of us one time . Yes ,

26:23.340 --> 26:25.890
that's the inter naval form . If if the

26:26.160 --> 26:30.080
auto injector for since the beginning

26:30.080 --> 26:32.310
of this administration we've seen a

26:32.310 --> 26:34.950
more than 400% increase in the locks on

26:34.950 --> 26:37.490
dispensed in , this amounts to real

26:37.500 --> 26:39.444
live saving communities across the

26:39.444 --> 26:41.500
country . Thanks to all of you .

26:41.550 --> 26:44.430
Because we put the word out , we

26:44.440 --> 26:46.662
demonstrate good behavior . But you all

26:46.662 --> 26:48.829
are the ones that are making it happen

26:48.829 --> 26:50.829
on the community level . And I know

26:50.829 --> 26:50.720
first responders have made great

26:50.720 --> 26:52.970
strides to make sure personnel carrying

26:52.970 --> 26:54.930
naloxone while on duty . So I'm

26:54.930 --> 26:57.080
grateful toe in D , c , P and CDC for

26:57.080 --> 26:59.247
formulating guidance for our frontline

26:59.247 --> 27:01.413
heroes , including law enforcement and

27:01.413 --> 27:03.636
firefighters , and delivering this life

27:03.636 --> 27:05.636
saving drug while staying safe from

27:05.636 --> 27:08.000
Cove in 19 . I want you to hear me say

27:08.000 --> 27:11.130
this . Covert 19 is not an excuse

27:11.940 --> 27:13.829
to not deliver in the locks on to

27:13.829 --> 27:15.884
someone who you suspect of having an

27:15.884 --> 27:19.070
overdose . It is a low risk endeavor to

27:19.080 --> 27:21.136
deliver in the locks on to someone ,

27:21.136 --> 27:23.136
but there is a high chance that you

27:23.136 --> 27:26.100
could save a life . It's also important

27:26.100 --> 27:28.044
that we encourage those beyond our

27:28.044 --> 27:30.211
traditional first responders on how to

27:30.211 --> 27:32.100
use in the carrying a Laaksonen ,

27:32.100 --> 27:33.989
including employees , employers ,

27:33.989 --> 27:35.822
teachers , coaches , parents and

27:35.822 --> 27:38.590
friends and first ladies . Speaking of

27:38.590 --> 27:41.350
engaging in and working with new and

27:41.350 --> 27:43.440
non traditional partners , I'm also

27:43.440 --> 27:45.496
committed to working diligently with

27:45.496 --> 27:47.384
communities to address the opioid

27:47.384 --> 27:49.440
crisis from multiple angles . Any of

27:49.440 --> 27:51.496
you all remember this guy called C .

27:51.496 --> 27:53.718
Everett Koop , one of my predecessors .

27:53.718 --> 27:53.150
He looked a little bit different than

27:53.150 --> 27:55.317
me . He was a little bit older , had a

27:55.317 --> 27:57.780
big grey beard . Well , in the eighties ,

27:57.780 --> 27:59.391
he put out a pamphlet called

27:59.391 --> 28:01.502
Understanding Aids to every household

28:01.502 --> 28:03.391
in America . Anyone remember that

28:03.391 --> 28:05.613
detail ing ways that everyone could get

28:05.613 --> 28:09.490
involved to stop the HIV epidemic ? The

28:09.490 --> 28:11.379
opioid crisis calls for a similar

28:11.379 --> 28:13.434
approach , but my office took a 21st

28:13.434 --> 28:15.379
century flint and issued a digital

28:15.379 --> 28:17.601
postcard to educate Americans about the

28:17.601 --> 28:19.712
opioid crisis . The postcard provides

28:19.712 --> 28:21.657
tangible actions that every single

28:21.657 --> 28:23.879
citizen can take to raise and wearing a

28:23.879 --> 28:26.060
prevent addiction and stop opioid

28:26.060 --> 28:28.060
overdose deaths . And I hope you'll

28:28.060 --> 28:30.116
visit my website . A surgeon general

28:30.116 --> 28:32.338
dot gov . Download the digital postcard

28:32.338 --> 28:34.338
and share it with your loved ones .

28:34.338 --> 28:36.560
Share it online , share it through your

28:36.560 --> 28:38.616
social media channels in addition to

28:38.616 --> 28:40.560
the postcard . Encourage others to

28:40.560 --> 28:42.782
share their stories , as Larry has done

28:42.782 --> 28:44.893
in an effort to educate and to reduce

28:44.893 --> 28:46.920
stigma . We know addiction is

28:46.920 --> 28:49.390
complicated , and we must work to help

28:49.400 --> 28:51.233
everyone understand that it is a

28:51.233 --> 28:54.780
disease and not a moral failing , and

28:54.780 --> 28:56.613
that it could happen to anyone .

28:57.530 --> 29:00.080
Reducing stigma can lead to better

29:00.090 --> 29:03.340
health outcomes . But if we don't , I

29:03.340 --> 29:06.180
remain convinced that stigma is and can

29:06.180 --> 29:08.069
continue to be one of our biggest

29:08.069 --> 29:10.270
killers unless their loved ones and

29:10.270 --> 29:12.381
their family feel comfortable seeking

29:12.381 --> 29:14.437
help will never be able to get it to

29:14.437 --> 29:16.603
those who need it to most . And that's

29:16.603 --> 29:18.826
why I also want to give a shout out toe

29:18.826 --> 29:21.048
first Lady Bird Jim from North Dakota ,

29:21.048 --> 29:23.270
who has been very public with her story

29:23.270 --> 29:25.492
That's how you bust stigma with a first

29:25.492 --> 29:27.714
lady of the United States visiting moms

29:27.714 --> 29:29.770
who with substance use disorder by a

29:29.770 --> 29:31.937
first lady of North Dakota sharing her

29:31.937 --> 29:35.020
story with Larry Kudlow in the powerful

29:35.020 --> 29:37.370
position that he then sharing his story

29:37.710 --> 29:40.350
of recovery . And I personally know the

29:40.350 --> 29:42.406
effects of health , substance misuse

29:42.406 --> 29:44.406
and addiction can hurt not just the

29:44.406 --> 29:46.461
individual but their entire family ,

29:46.461 --> 29:49.040
friends and broader community . There's

29:49.050 --> 29:51.330
rarely an individual suffering from

29:51.330 --> 29:53.840
addiction near the community around

29:53.840 --> 29:56.120
that individual who is also suffering

29:56.530 --> 29:59.160
in my own baby brother Philip struggles

29:59.460 --> 30:02.250
with mental illness and self medicated

30:02.610 --> 30:06.550
to cope . The good news is

30:06.550 --> 30:08.606
it . Together we've made headway and

30:08.606 --> 30:10.494
improving treatment for substance

30:10.494 --> 30:13.750
misuse , and my little brother has more

30:13.750 --> 30:16.460
of a chance than what people have had

30:16.540 --> 30:20.180
in the past . While treatments and

30:20.180 --> 30:22.402
services they're increasingly available

30:22.402 --> 30:24.570
and accessible , we still have far to

30:24.570 --> 30:26.403
go to ensure that every person ,

30:26.403 --> 30:28.626
regardless of race , ethnicity , gender

30:28.626 --> 30:30.681
and geography , received the support

30:30.681 --> 30:33.660
they need to recover . And like many of

30:33.660 --> 30:35.880
you , I want to help , uh , not just

30:35.880 --> 30:37.824
turn the faucet off or to turn the

30:37.824 --> 30:40.102
faucet off , not just mop up the flood .

30:40.140 --> 30:42.084
We must all continue promoting and

30:42.084 --> 30:44.307
investing in interventions that prevent

30:44.307 --> 30:46.420
addiction in the first place by

30:46.420 --> 30:48.531
treating mental health conditions and

30:48.531 --> 30:50.364
integrating medical , mental and

30:50.364 --> 30:52.476
physical health . Raving aware enough

30:52.476 --> 30:54.450
of and working to prevent adverse

30:54.450 --> 30:56.870
childhood experiences by promoting

30:56.870 --> 30:59.280
trauma informed care . Far too often ,

30:59.280 --> 31:01.800
we re traumatized people when they come

31:01.800 --> 31:04.610
to us at their low points and by

31:04.610 --> 31:06.777
working to prevent youth misuse of any

31:06.777 --> 31:09.040
and all substances that have been shown

31:09.250 --> 31:11.472
to impact brain development , including

31:11.472 --> 31:14.040
vaping , including marijuana use ,

31:14.310 --> 31:17.550
including alcohol misuse . So , in

31:17.550 --> 31:20.940
closing , I'd ask that you please join

31:20.940 --> 31:23.630
me in this important work and continue

31:23.630 --> 31:26.530
your effort to empower and enrich our

31:26.530 --> 31:29.770
communities . One person , one family ,

31:30.440 --> 31:33.630
one workplace , one nation at a time .

31:33.940 --> 31:36.162
I know we can do it the proof of around

31:36.162 --> 31:37.940
this table we just need to help

31:37.940 --> 31:40.430
everyone else understand . Addiction is

31:40.430 --> 31:43.040
a disease and not a moral failing . But

31:43.050 --> 31:46.050
recovery is possible . Thank you .

31:54.370 --> 31:57.220
Thank you , General Adams . He stole my

31:57.220 --> 32:00.070
thunder a little bit . Now have the

32:00.070 --> 32:02.070
honor of introducing another friend

32:02.070 --> 32:04.126
from North Dakota . The first lady ,

32:04.830 --> 32:08.030
First Lady Burgum has been an outspoken

32:08.040 --> 32:10.230
advocate for those who sometimes don't

32:10.230 --> 32:14.130
have a voice . And as she celebrates 18

32:14.130 --> 32:17.890
years in recovery . What she is

32:17.890 --> 32:19.890
doing is making sure that folks not

32:19.890 --> 32:23.180
only back home in North Dakota are able

32:23.180 --> 32:25.850
to escape the stigma of addiction .

32:27.300 --> 32:29.633
Working with her husband , the governor ,

32:29.633 --> 32:31.522
they're able to find employment .

32:31.522 --> 32:34.130
They're able to restart their lives As

32:34.140 --> 32:36.830
first lady . Trump has instructed us to

32:36.830 --> 32:40.810
dio to keep the light turned on to make

32:40.810 --> 32:42.921
sure that those people know that they

32:42.921 --> 32:44.960
have a home . And thanks to the

32:44.960 --> 32:47.180
employers in North Dakota and as

32:47.180 --> 32:49.950
evidence here at the table across the

32:49.950 --> 32:53.570
country And so as the first lady and as

32:53.570 --> 32:56.100
the chair of the North Dakota Office of

32:56.100 --> 32:58.450
Recovery Reinvented Advisory Council ,

32:59.130 --> 33:01.130
I'd love to introduce you all to my

33:01.130 --> 33:03.463
friend , the first lady of North Dakota ,

33:03.463 --> 33:03.450
Katherine Bergen .

33:05.140 --> 33:09.100
Thank you .

33:09.100 --> 33:11.580
Thanks so much , Director Carol . I'm

33:11.580 --> 33:13.750
so grateful and honored to be with you

33:13.750 --> 33:16.290
all today . Thank you so much for

33:16.290 --> 33:18.012
including me in this important

33:18.012 --> 33:19.957
discussion . And thank you for the

33:19.957 --> 33:21.734
incredible work . The Office of

33:21.734 --> 33:23.846
National Drug Control Policy does too

33:23.846 --> 33:25.846
support and care for so many people

33:25.846 --> 33:27.846
across our nation . And thank you ,

33:27.846 --> 33:30.000
First lady , for your incredible be

33:30.000 --> 33:32.970
best initiative , especially your focus

33:32.970 --> 33:36.140
on opioids and also your

33:36.920 --> 33:40.180
commitment and called action around ,

33:40.180 --> 33:42.347
helping to eliminate the stigma of the

33:42.347 --> 33:45.310
disease of addiction . So , as

33:45.310 --> 33:47.532
everybody knows , September is recovery

33:47.532 --> 33:49.421
month . And as a director , Carol

33:49.421 --> 33:52.440
mentioned , I am 18 years now in long

33:52.440 --> 33:54.607
term recovery from alcohol addiction ,

33:54.607 --> 33:56.560
and I'm deeply grateful for that

33:56.570 --> 33:59.980
because I , too , like Larry

34:00.100 --> 34:02.620
would not be here today at the White

34:02.620 --> 34:04.509
House . I don't know where I'd be

34:04.509 --> 34:06.509
without my recovery , so I'm deeply

34:06.509 --> 34:08.620
grateful . My struggle with addiction

34:08.620 --> 34:10.787
started when I was young when I was in

34:10.787 --> 34:12.731
high school and followed me for 20

34:12.731 --> 34:14.676
years of my life , including eight

34:14.676 --> 34:16.810
years of relapsing two things were

34:17.070 --> 34:19.014
really important to me and finding

34:19.014 --> 34:22.420
recovery . One was asking for help and

34:22.420 --> 34:25.120
the second waas a an incredibly

34:25.120 --> 34:27.500
supportive work environment and a

34:27.500 --> 34:31.270
deeply understanding team leader that

34:31.270 --> 34:33.603
was pivotal in helping me find recovery .

34:34.410 --> 34:36.690
When I became first lady , I decided to

34:36.690 --> 34:39.120
share my addiction and recovery story

34:39.600 --> 34:42.150
publicly , which I had not done before ,

34:42.150 --> 34:44.150
and at that point I had 15 years of

34:44.150 --> 34:46.790
recovery that led the governor and I to

34:46.800 --> 34:49.470
start an initiative called Recovery

34:49.470 --> 34:51.637
reinvented , which actually started as

34:51.637 --> 34:53.770
a one day event focused around

34:53.770 --> 34:55.881
eliminating the stigma of addiction ,

34:55.881 --> 34:58.103
but has really morphed into a statewide

34:58.103 --> 35:00.326
initiative with a lot of people focused

35:00.326 --> 35:02.492
on a lot of efforts around eliminating

35:02.492 --> 35:05.950
stigma those early years that we've

35:05.960 --> 35:08.016
hosted the conference we've had over

35:08.016 --> 35:09.904
three years now , we really had a

35:09.904 --> 35:11.860
population , an audience that was

35:11.870 --> 35:14.170
already deeply engaged in behavioral

35:14.170 --> 35:16.281
health and recovery in addiction . We

35:16.281 --> 35:18.900
decided to pivot and focus . About a

35:18.900 --> 35:21.950
year ago . We decided this and focus on

35:22.460 --> 35:24.530
corporate America , a nontraditional

35:24.530 --> 35:27.330
audience that could really make a big ,

35:27.680 --> 35:31.550
big impact in eliminating stigma . So

35:32.690 --> 35:35.730
this year at recovery reinvented one of

35:35.730 --> 35:37.619
our initiatives . We have another

35:37.619 --> 35:39.286
recover . Our fourth recovery

35:39.286 --> 35:41.452
reinvented will be happening this year

35:41.690 --> 35:43.890
on October 28th . It's all virtual ,

35:44.000 --> 35:46.570
but our initiative is one of them is

35:46.720 --> 35:49.240
focused on eliminating the steam of

35:49.240 --> 35:51.530
addiction and building recovery support

35:51.540 --> 35:54.550
in the workplace . So , um ,

35:55.430 --> 35:57.670
so when we pivoted to this a year ago ,

35:57.680 --> 35:59.347
I decided that in my speaking

35:59.347 --> 36:02.320
engagements I would focus on businesses

36:02.960 --> 36:05.071
and I would focus on eliminating this

36:05.071 --> 36:07.410
stigma of addiction . So I spoke to two

36:07.420 --> 36:09.364
really big audiences . One was the

36:09.364 --> 36:11.750
Chamber of Commerce for all the little

36:11.750 --> 36:13.972
cities across the state of North Dakota

36:13.972 --> 36:16.080
and the second was at the Amazon Web

36:16.080 --> 36:18.960
services Public Sector summit . And

36:18.960 --> 36:21.182
then I decided to at those events , ask

36:21.182 --> 36:23.590
people to stand with me and be a face

36:23.590 --> 36:25.870
and voice of recovery at the's big

36:25.880 --> 36:28.770
business events , which you goto heard

36:28.770 --> 36:31.740
a pin drop in those rooms when I asked

36:31.830 --> 36:34.108
people to stand with me and people did .

36:34.330 --> 36:36.497
And then there was thunderous applause

36:36.497 --> 36:38.441
and support for those people . And

36:38.441 --> 36:40.608
that's really what a recovery friendly

36:40.608 --> 36:42.830
workplace should be like . It should be

36:42.830 --> 36:44.941
an environment where there's no shame

36:44.941 --> 36:46.997
in admitting that you're in recovery

36:46.997 --> 36:48.997
and that you're a face and voice of

36:48.997 --> 36:48.850
recovery , or that you're a person that

36:48.850 --> 36:50.850
struggling and needs and might need

36:50.850 --> 36:53.480
help . In North Dakota , we are all in

36:53.480 --> 36:55.350
on the concept of peer support

36:55.350 --> 36:56.961
specialists or pure recovery

36:56.961 --> 36:59.300
specialists , and their two reasons why

36:59.300 --> 37:01.467
we're all in on that concept . And one

37:01.467 --> 37:03.633
it's because 50% of our state is rural

37:03.633 --> 37:05.578
and we're never gonna have all the

37:05.578 --> 37:07.800
behavioral hurts , health services that

37:07.800 --> 37:09.911
we need to reach people struggling in

37:09.911 --> 37:12.133
all corners of our state and to because

37:12.133 --> 37:14.133
it's a career path . It is a career

37:14.133 --> 37:17.250
path for people that have struggled

37:17.250 --> 37:19.417
with a deed , the disease of addiction

37:19.417 --> 37:21.583
or behavioral health and have criminal

37:21.730 --> 37:25.490
backgrounds . Andi cannot find jobs ,

37:25.490 --> 37:27.830
so it is a career opportunity . Also ,

37:27.880 --> 37:30.390
we have 472 people trained in our state

37:30.390 --> 37:32.810
is pure support specialists . We have a

37:32.810 --> 37:35.140
certification for them , and Medicaid

37:35.140 --> 37:37.550
reimbursement is now in effect for that

37:37.550 --> 37:41.100
service in our state . At this recovery

37:41.100 --> 37:43.267
reinvented event that we're gonna have

37:43.267 --> 37:45.544
on October 28th , we're focused on one .

37:45.544 --> 37:47.711
We're focusing on a lot of people . We

37:47.711 --> 37:49.489
celebrate people that do things

37:49.489 --> 37:51.544
differently related to helping other

37:51.544 --> 37:53.767
people who struggle with the disease of

37:53.767 --> 37:55.933
addiction . This year , we're focusing

37:55.933 --> 37:57.933
on a company called Solid Comfort ,

37:57.933 --> 37:59.933
which maids furniture for companies

37:59.933 --> 38:03.370
like no Marriott , Hilton , Wyndham and

38:03.370 --> 38:05.910
Best Western . 75% of their current

38:06.230 --> 38:07.952
employees either struggle with

38:07.952 --> 38:10.119
addiction or have criminal backgrounds

38:10.119 --> 38:12.286
or been incarcerated . So they attract

38:12.300 --> 38:14.560
this underdeveloped and underutilized

38:14.570 --> 38:16.910
pool of candidates . Through their

38:16.910 --> 38:19.390
program , called Solid Start , they

38:19.390 --> 38:21.612
actively recruit team members that were

38:21.612 --> 38:23.779
incarcerated . They participate in job

38:23.779 --> 38:25.880
fairs behind the prison walls . They

38:25.880 --> 38:27.991
maintain relationships with probation

38:27.991 --> 38:30.158
and parole officers , local judges and

38:30.158 --> 38:32.324
drug court administrators to keep that

38:32.330 --> 38:35.580
steady pipeline of people coming to

38:35.590 --> 38:39.010
work at their location . They believe

38:39.010 --> 38:41.121
that the greatest benefit isn't about

38:41.121 --> 38:43.232
good business . For them , it's about

38:43.232 --> 38:45.066
communities they serve , helping

38:45.066 --> 38:47.177
empower people with second chances to

38:47.177 --> 38:49.399
remake their lives . And they know that

38:49.399 --> 38:51.677
when we all do better , we all benefit .

38:51.677 --> 38:53.843
So in closing , I believe the two most

38:53.843 --> 38:55.899
impactful recommendations that I can

38:55.899 --> 38:58.280
make today to support building recovery

38:58.280 --> 39:00.830
friendly workplaces are number one .

39:00.840 --> 39:04.300
Encourage businesses to contract with

39:04.310 --> 39:06.500
peer support specialists as an

39:06.500 --> 39:09.920
extension of any AP program , and

39:09.920 --> 39:12.720
number two have senior level executives

39:12.720 --> 39:15.400
and managers focus on eliminating

39:15.400 --> 39:17.730
stigma by talking openly about

39:17.730 --> 39:21.450
addiction and mental illness , which

39:21.450 --> 39:24.250
can turn into a culture of openness and

39:24.250 --> 39:26.580
a safe environment for employees to

39:26.580 --> 39:28.747
talk about the issues that they face .

39:29.120 --> 39:31.320
It starts at the top level . It's not

39:31.330 --> 39:33.441
on Lee . A human resource is function

39:33.441 --> 39:35.552
to create culture and organizations .

39:35.560 --> 39:38.030
So thank you again for inviting me to

39:38.040 --> 39:40.096
be a part of this discussion today ,

39:48.400 --> 39:50.400
Mrs . Talk , I don't know that I've

39:50.400 --> 39:52.622
ever mentioned this , but I was working

39:52.622 --> 39:54.844
in the West . Bring for your husband in

39:54.844 --> 39:54.340
another capacity , and I started

39:54.340 --> 39:56.062
working behind the scenes with

39:56.062 --> 39:59.730
Kellyanne Conway on this issue , and I

39:59.730 --> 40:02.810
realized this position was open . And

40:03.550 --> 40:05.550
as I did mention publicly about 2.5

40:05.550 --> 40:07.770
years ago , I had had a My wife called

40:07.770 --> 40:09.659
me and turns out we have a family

40:09.659 --> 40:11.826
member who needed to get in detox that

40:11.826 --> 40:13.881
day . And so I knew that I wanted to

40:13.881 --> 40:16.400
get into this position . And when I met

40:16.410 --> 40:19.210
with the president his parting words to

40:19.210 --> 40:21.321
me after talking about this issue and

40:21.321 --> 40:23.550
we spoke about his brother Fred , who

40:23.550 --> 40:25.850
had died of this , his parting words as

40:25.850 --> 40:29.460
I left the Oval Office and we're

40:29.460 --> 40:31.627
talking about saving lives , he said ,

40:31.627 --> 40:34.280
Be relentless . And it was . It's been

40:34.280 --> 40:36.710
my charge to my staff to be relentless

40:36.710 --> 40:40.660
on this and the next

40:40.660 --> 40:42.716
person that I want to introduce this

40:42.716 --> 40:45.080
someone who really epitomizes that and

40:45.320 --> 40:47.320
has lived up to the charge of being

40:47.320 --> 40:49.320
relentless , even though she didn't

40:49.320 --> 40:51.320
know . The president told me to say

40:51.320 --> 40:53.487
that it's someone that I think she has

40:53.487 --> 40:55.620
done that every day , and Patty

40:55.620 --> 40:57.898
McCarthy , the CEO of faces and voices .

40:58.260 --> 41:00.460
It's a person in long term recovery ,

41:01.290 --> 41:04.070
and when I took the job and came over ,

41:04.580 --> 41:06.747
they said the first person that I need

41:06.747 --> 41:08.980
to meet because she is truly the

41:08.980 --> 41:11.620
national spokesperson for people in the

41:11.620 --> 41:13.540
recovery . She's been an ally and

41:13.540 --> 41:16.050
getting key legislation passed . She's

41:16.050 --> 41:18.680
been an ally and making sure that those

41:18.680 --> 41:22.020
folks are heard on Capitol Hill and

41:22.020 --> 41:23.964
that their heard here at the White

41:23.964 --> 41:25.909
House . And so I now would like to

41:25.909 --> 41:27.950
introduce my friend Patti Metcalf .

41:28.500 --> 41:29.611
Patty , thank you .

41:34.160 --> 41:37.050
Good afternoon and Happy Recovery Month .

41:37.050 --> 41:39.460
It's great to be here . I am Patty

41:39.460 --> 41:42.060
McCarthy and I am a woman in long term

41:42.060 --> 41:44.340
recovery , and for me , that means I

41:44.340 --> 41:46.980
have not used alcohol or drugs in over

41:46.980 --> 41:49.830
30 years . And I say that because if it

41:49.830 --> 41:52.230
wasn't for my recovery , I certainly

41:52.230 --> 41:54.286
wouldn't be here sitting with all of

41:54.286 --> 41:56.740
you at the White House or I would not

41:56.750 --> 42:00.230
be the mother and grandmother and

42:00.610 --> 42:04.180
employee and employer , taxpayer and

42:04.180 --> 42:07.120
voter that I am today . So if it wasn't

42:07.130 --> 42:09.060
for the opportunity to get into

42:09.430 --> 42:12.140
recovery , I wouldn't have the gifts

42:12.870 --> 42:15.490
have experienced here . But I just want

42:15.490 --> 42:18.540
to say a big shout out and thank you to

42:18.540 --> 42:20.960
the first lady for your very thoughtful

42:20.960 --> 42:23.070
remarks and support of the recovery

42:23.070 --> 42:26.210
community and for Director Carol for

42:26.550 --> 42:28.860
always supporting us in the recovery

42:28.860 --> 42:31.790
advocacy movement and faces and voices

42:31.790 --> 42:35.710
of recovery . I was , uh It was

42:36.010 --> 42:38.360
quite a surprise last November when I

42:38.360 --> 42:41.050
got a phone call from Director Carol on

42:41.050 --> 42:44.480
my 30 year anniversary . So very , very ,

42:44.490 --> 42:47.670
very nice to be here always . I just

42:47.670 --> 42:50.420
wanted to say that Faces and Voices is

42:50.420 --> 42:53.880
incredibly grateful to be part of this

42:53.880 --> 42:56.400
discussion , and we've been around for

42:56.400 --> 42:59.670
over 20 years leading a

42:59.740 --> 43:02.310
advocacy movement of the grassroots

43:02.310 --> 43:04.199
recovery community . So people in

43:04.199 --> 43:06.440
recovery family members , friends ,

43:06.440 --> 43:08.420
allies , all everyone here that

43:08.430 --> 43:10.740
supports recovery . And it's an

43:10.740 --> 43:13.620
incredible movement that has represents

43:13.620 --> 43:16.760
over 23 million Americans that are in

43:16.760 --> 43:18.770
recovery . And we've grown

43:18.770 --> 43:20.850
internationally . We have faces and

43:20.850 --> 43:23.350
voices of recovery . Canada , Brazil ,

43:23.350 --> 43:26.720
South Africa , United Kingdom . So

43:27.160 --> 43:29.880
the recovery advocacy movement is

43:29.880 --> 43:33.160
incredibly strong , and we want we

43:33.160 --> 43:36.040
encourage everyone to get involved . I

43:36.040 --> 43:37.929
worked with an incredible team of

43:37.929 --> 43:41.540
people who are dedicated

43:41.540 --> 43:44.330
to bringing awareness , fighting the

43:44.330 --> 43:47.420
stigma , eliminating the in fighting

43:47.420 --> 43:49.587
for the rights of people in recovery .

43:49.870 --> 43:52.200
It particularly around employment and

43:52.200 --> 43:55.220
housing and criminal justice issues

43:55.660 --> 43:58.090
that have often been a barrier for

43:58.090 --> 44:01.490
people in recovery . To find t , find

44:01.490 --> 44:03.601
the help that they need and to live ,

44:03.601 --> 44:06.920
productive and meaningful lives . So

44:06.930 --> 44:10.510
are we . Again , we we work

44:10.520 --> 44:13.670
to organize and mobilize the recovery

44:13.670 --> 44:16.110
community across the nation . I've

44:16.110 --> 44:18.270
visited so many grassroots

44:18.270 --> 44:20.740
organizations and individuals that have

44:20.750 --> 44:24.060
been telling their stories at the local

44:24.060 --> 44:25.782
level . And that's why it's so

44:25.782 --> 44:28.520
important that we step up and be part

44:28.520 --> 44:30.464
of the conversation that people in

44:30.464 --> 44:32.687
recovery are part of the solution . And

44:32.687 --> 44:34.576
we know that recovery is not only

44:34.576 --> 44:37.090
possible . It's not only probable , but

44:37.090 --> 44:39.090
it is the expected outcome . One of

44:39.090 --> 44:40.868
their appropriate treatment and

44:40.868 --> 44:42.812
recovery support services are made

44:42.812 --> 44:44.860
available , so we will continue to

44:44.860 --> 44:47.510
fight for that at every level , in

44:47.510 --> 44:51.380
communities and in federal legislation

44:51.380 --> 44:54.370
on Capitol Hill . So , um , bringing

44:54.370 --> 44:56.592
together the recovery community is just

44:56.592 --> 44:59.050
it's It's a pleasure to work with so

44:59.050 --> 45:00.828
many individuals that have been

45:00.828 --> 45:03.960
impacted by addiction and particularly

45:03.960 --> 45:05.904
the work of organizations that are

45:05.904 --> 45:07.682
supporting the Children and the

45:07.682 --> 45:10.280
Children who are the biggest , the

45:10.280 --> 45:12.740
biggest winners when Rickman when

45:12.740 --> 45:16.130
parents find recovery . So I'm very

45:16.130 --> 45:18.074
grateful to be here , and , uh and

45:18.074 --> 45:19.297
thank you very much ,

45:26.690 --> 45:28.690
Mrs Trump , I know you have another

45:28.690 --> 45:29.912
obligation to go to .

45:34.850 --> 45:36.906
I changed my schedule , so I want to

45:36.906 --> 45:39.010
hear the stories . I read amazing

45:39.020 --> 45:41.520
biographies off these people . So I

45:41.520 --> 45:44.710
wanna stay and hear from you , so Oh ,

45:44.710 --> 45:46.766
my gosh . That's great . Thank you .

45:50.690 --> 45:52.690
You can see why we're so blessed to

45:52.690 --> 45:54.912
have Mrs Trump is the first lady and so

45:54.912 --> 45:57.246
dedicated to this issue . Um , you know ,

45:57.246 --> 45:59.246
Larry , you said a minute ago , you

45:59.246 --> 46:01.412
know , But you're in the Oval Office .

46:01.412 --> 46:03.523
The president raises his voice . That

46:03.523 --> 46:05.746
you we've never had that I really don't

46:05.746 --> 46:07.801
know what you're talking . Yeah , It

46:07.801 --> 46:10.023
must just be you , Larry . The toughest

46:10.023 --> 46:12.246
person in the room . Really ? For me to

46:12.246 --> 46:14.301
win over probably was Mrs McCarthy .

46:14.301 --> 46:16.468
Patty . You know , I think wasn't sure

46:16.468 --> 46:18.468
when I came in whether or not I was

46:18.468 --> 46:20.523
gonna be the Advocate . But having a

46:20.523 --> 46:22.412
family member and having you with

46:22.412 --> 46:25.010
Philip having a family member , and

46:25.010 --> 46:27.121
Patty is not shy about I said I'm not

46:27.121 --> 46:29.066
try about picking up the phone and

46:29.066 --> 46:31.010
calling Dr Adams Patties . Not shy

46:31.010 --> 46:33.177
about picking up the phone and calling

46:33.177 --> 46:35.177
me the that . That's a compliment ,

46:35.177 --> 46:38.880
actually . Um , so at

46:38.890 --> 46:41.190
our office , it is important that we

46:41.190 --> 46:43.500
have people like the folks we've

46:43.500 --> 46:46.140
introduced so far nearby to make sure

46:46.140 --> 46:48.307
that we're doing the right thing . But

46:48.307 --> 46:50.380
it's also critical to make sure that

46:50.380 --> 46:52.720
here at the White House in my office ,

46:53.340 --> 46:55.451
that is the principle drug adviser of

46:55.451 --> 46:57.451
the president , that we have people

46:57.451 --> 46:59.960
much closer by 2 May . Who could make

46:59.960 --> 47:02.016
sure that I'm during the right thing

47:02.270 --> 47:04.437
and so to begin , the next part of the

47:04.437 --> 47:06.437
panel is one of those people and my

47:06.437 --> 47:08.492
colleague Peter Command , who's been

47:08.492 --> 47:10.659
working at the Office of National Drug

47:10.659 --> 47:12.714
Control Policy for 10 years and is a

47:12.714 --> 47:15.060
person in long term recovery . And

47:15.350 --> 47:18.680
before Peter begins , it also just like

47:18.940 --> 47:21.107
to recognize that we have other people

47:21.107 --> 47:23.273
in the audience today who might not be

47:23.273 --> 47:25.440
at the table but her work at the White

47:25.440 --> 47:28.380
House who have been on the other side

47:28.380 --> 47:30.790
of recovery . But they're here today ,

47:31.380 --> 47:33.380
and they know that recovery works .

47:34.550 --> 47:36.550
We've also have parents here , have

47:36.550 --> 47:38.272
lost a child , and we know how

47:38.272 --> 47:41.270
difficult this must pay . But we're

47:41.270 --> 47:43.310
blessed with Peter , who is not

47:43.310 --> 47:45.366
particularly shy either about making

47:45.366 --> 47:47.588
sure that I'm doing the right thing for

47:47.588 --> 47:49.699
people in recovery . And so , Peter ,

47:49.699 --> 47:52.032
if you could take over the next portion ,

47:52.032 --> 47:54.088
so the first lady and I can listen .

47:54.088 --> 47:56.254
That would be fantastic . Absolutely .

47:56.254 --> 47:58.310
Uh , well , my name is Peter . I'm a

47:58.310 --> 48:00.643
person in long term recovery . And that ,

48:00.643 --> 48:02.754
for me , means , among other things ,

48:02.754 --> 48:04.977
that I could be sitting at a table like

48:04.977 --> 48:04.720
this today . And I think a lot of us

48:04.730 --> 48:07.780
can imagine how far away that might

48:07.780 --> 48:10.050
have seemed at certain points in our

48:10.050 --> 48:12.750
own experience . What I'd like to do

48:12.750 --> 48:15.100
today is for everybody who hasn't been

48:15.100 --> 48:17.211
introduced so far . If you could just

48:17.211 --> 48:19.322
quickly introduce tell us your name .

48:19.322 --> 48:21.544
Tell us the organization . You work for

48:21.610 --> 48:23.721
no long introductions because we want

48:23.721 --> 48:25.888
to keep the time so we can talk . Talk

48:25.888 --> 48:27.832
about the issues , talk about what

48:27.832 --> 48:29.999
works , what doesn't . So why don't we

48:29.999 --> 48:32.110
start right here with you ? Douglas ?

48:33.890 --> 48:35.820
I am Doug Hiker , and I'm here

48:35.820 --> 48:38.700
representing retrofit careers now ,

48:38.940 --> 48:41.890
recovery careers , that con . And , um ,

48:42.650 --> 48:44.594
I'm an employer . I've been in the

48:44.594 --> 48:46.850
construction business for 36 years ,

48:46.910 --> 48:50.580
and I'm also in recovery . And in that

48:50.590 --> 48:52.730
time , I have put a lot of people toe

48:52.740 --> 48:54.962
work that are in recovery , and I could

48:54.962 --> 48:57.184
tell you people in recovery big , great

48:57.184 --> 49:01.180
and police . Um So I've been doing

49:01.180 --> 49:03.990
this on my phone at night . And , uh ,

49:05.100 --> 49:07.267
Pope spoke to my co founder over there

49:07.267 --> 49:09.433
at the end about it . He said , Well ,

49:09.433 --> 49:11.544
why don't we start a website ? And we

49:11.544 --> 49:13.600
looked around cause we thought there

49:13.600 --> 49:15.433
had to be a website dedicated to

49:15.433 --> 49:15.360
putting people in recovery , to work

49:15.370 --> 49:18.400
with people who were interested in

49:18.410 --> 49:20.750
hiring those people . And there was

49:20.750 --> 49:23.320
none . So we started a company called

49:23.320 --> 49:27.100
Retrofit careers dot com . And there's

49:27.110 --> 49:30.040
been several challenges to bring

49:30.040 --> 49:33.800
employees to bring any employers

49:34.100 --> 49:37.530
and to let people know we're here . I'm

49:37.530 --> 49:40.010
in construction and fans and sales ,

49:40.010 --> 49:43.290
and we funded this by herself so far ,

49:43.300 --> 49:45.790
but , uh , I have a lot more to say

49:45.790 --> 49:49.070
about it . But in the in the interest

49:49.070 --> 49:51.670
of time , I'll concede , Thank you very

49:51.670 --> 49:53.781
much . And it's an honor to be here .

49:53.781 --> 49:56.820
Thank you very much . Right down the

49:56.820 --> 50:00.650
line . Thank you . Thank you , Jim .

50:01.860 --> 50:03.971
Uh , my name is John Moser . I'm with

50:03.971 --> 50:05.971
Tony Loops in Philadelphia . If you

50:05.971 --> 50:09.940
can't hear by my accent , um , we have

50:09.940 --> 50:12.850
the recover futures initiative . The

50:12.850 --> 50:14.910
reason we started this after with

50:14.980 --> 50:17.280
Western witnessing the stigma

50:17.290 --> 50:19.520
surrounding addiction , derail his

50:19.520 --> 50:23.480
son's career aspirations , compromises ,

50:23.480 --> 50:26.120
sobriety and ultimately cost him his

50:26.120 --> 50:29.620
life . Tony Luke Jr . Standing behind

50:29.620 --> 50:32.880
me and Tony Luke's the brand

50:33.580 --> 50:35.600
pledged to establish initiative

50:35.890 --> 50:38.790
designed to empower the professional

50:38.800 --> 50:42.700
lives of those in recovery . We

50:42.700 --> 50:44.830
have a franchise system , and we're

50:44.830 --> 50:47.840
working diligently to bring people

50:47.840 --> 50:50.770
through recovery into ownership of

50:50.770 --> 50:54.180
their own franchise . We believe

50:54.460 --> 50:56.980
that the stigma of addiction

50:59.250 --> 51:01.472
well , we seek to aid these individuals

51:01.472 --> 51:04.650
developing confidence , job experience ,

51:04.870 --> 51:08.410
professional skills that dispel the

51:08.420 --> 51:12.140
unemployable rumor . These

51:12.140 --> 51:15.070
make our long term goals doable .

51:16.930 --> 51:18.880
Recover Futures believes that the

51:18.880 --> 51:21.350
social stigma surrounding addiction is

51:21.350 --> 51:23.830
the primary barrier standing between

51:23.830 --> 51:26.640
those in recovery and the realization

51:26.650 --> 51:29.880
off their full career potentials . So

51:29.880 --> 51:31.850
we're working diligently to bring

51:31.850 --> 51:34.960
people through and actually own their

51:34.960 --> 51:38.410
own businesses through , Um

51:38.510 --> 51:42.390
um , some very hard work

51:42.460 --> 51:44.580
and we're starting to get some help

51:44.580 --> 51:46.790
from our state level . So we're very

51:46.790 --> 51:49.400
excited . And , uh , Mr Carl's been

51:49.400 --> 51:52.930
awesome also . Thank you . And I dont

51:52.940 --> 51:55.220
Tony didn't wait , But Tony , we're

51:55.220 --> 51:57.387
blessed to have Tony here . And I know

51:57.387 --> 51:59.609
you do all this in memory of your son ,

51:59.780 --> 52:01.780
and we had the great opportunity to

52:01.780 --> 52:03.891
meet when I came up there . When I've

52:03.891 --> 52:05.780
been on the road , I eat too many

52:05.780 --> 52:05.500
places . Whether it's Nalley , fresh or

52:05.500 --> 52:08.410
Tony folks , I'm sure my doctor here is

52:08.410 --> 52:11.530
gonna tell me Toe watch my what I have

52:11.530 --> 52:13.530
been known to have from Tony Luke's

52:13.530 --> 52:16.190
during my time . Teoh moderation .

52:17.950 --> 52:20.117
I just want to really quickly Fay that

52:20.117 --> 52:22.172
that you brought up a very important

52:22.172 --> 52:24.450
point . And that's not just employment .

52:24.450 --> 52:26.940
It's gainful employment and a pathway

52:26.940 --> 52:29.051
forward because what I experienced as

52:29.051 --> 52:30.773
I've gone around the country ,

52:30.773 --> 52:32.884
employment is important that it's the

52:32.884 --> 52:35.107
first step . But far too many people in

52:35.107 --> 52:37.280
recovery are chronically underemployed

52:37.570 --> 52:39.630
on . That leads to frustration and

52:39.630 --> 52:41.800
anxiety and depression and a feeling

52:41.800 --> 52:43.967
feeling like they can't get out of the

52:43.967 --> 52:45.856
hole . So I just really wanted to

52:45.856 --> 52:47.911
highlight that and say Thank you for

52:47.911 --> 52:50.240
creating the pathway that pipeline .

52:50.240 --> 52:52.351
You got to get in somewhere . But you

52:52.351 --> 52:54.462
gotta have a vision for where you can

52:54.462 --> 52:56.462
be . Thank you for recognizing that

52:56.462 --> 52:58.573
that tow us . That's the very essence

52:58.573 --> 53:00.518
of what we're trying to dio , um ,

53:00.518 --> 53:02.740
everyone that we've met and worked with

53:02.740 --> 53:04.629
the recovery or super intelligent

53:04.629 --> 53:07.070
people . Extremely intelligent , I

53:07.070 --> 53:09.090
should say . And

53:09.600 --> 53:13.430
unfortunately I feel the stigma has

53:13.440 --> 53:15.551
put these people into debt and jobs .

53:16.070 --> 53:18.440
There is no stigma in our operation .

53:18.720 --> 53:22.130
Not at all , Mom . And we are working

53:22.130 --> 53:24.019
for that . That's a thank you for

53:24.019 --> 53:26.130
pointing it out . I appreciate that .

53:27.440 --> 53:29.790
Thank you . And as we move along , if

53:29.790 --> 53:31.957
we could try to be brief because we do

53:31.957 --> 53:34.012
want to have a discussion across the

53:34.012 --> 53:37.290
table to thank you . I'm John Mines are

53:37.290 --> 53:40.170
named the founder and owner of Fortune

53:40.180 --> 53:43.670
Modern on Ventanas . Sober living . I

53:43.680 --> 53:46.660
am a designer and an artist on I am

53:46.660 --> 53:48.716
also in recovery , grateful to be in

53:48.716 --> 53:50.960
recovery what I have done as I

53:50.960 --> 53:53.050
transitioned what I used to do to

53:53.050 --> 53:55.800
change people's atmospheres to actually

53:55.800 --> 53:59.320
changing their lives . We create a line

53:59.330 --> 54:01.440
of beautiful , architecturally

54:01.440 --> 54:04.350
significant furniture that is , or

54:04.350 --> 54:06.620
commercial and residential use . Ah ,

54:06.620 --> 54:09.750
percentage of those proceeds go to

54:09.760 --> 54:11.816
support people in their continuum of

54:11.816 --> 54:14.780
care through a beautiful , rewarding ,

54:14.780 --> 54:17.630
sober living program that's open ended .

54:18.060 --> 54:21.360
We have a stigma free , obvious

54:21.360 --> 54:23.340
environment , but I've had an

54:23.340 --> 54:25.820
opportunity to take the relationships

54:25.830 --> 54:28.240
that I had forged in my previous life

54:28.240 --> 54:30.500
as an interior designer before shifting

54:30.500 --> 54:33.420
my focus to what's really important on .

54:33.600 --> 54:36.880
I have been so encouraged by those

54:36.880 --> 54:39.430
progressive companies that have

54:39.710 --> 54:42.230
recognized the opportunity with these

54:42.620 --> 54:45.780
brilliantly talented people . One of

54:45.790 --> 54:48.940
the things that I look at , the

54:48.940 --> 54:52.100
symbolism of four just that we worked

54:52.100 --> 54:54.680
mostly in steel because it's a U . S

54:54.680 --> 54:57.260
product . But more importantly ,

54:57.260 --> 54:58.982
because the process of forging

54:58.982 --> 55:00.871
something you have to practically

55:00.871 --> 55:03.200
destroy it on the people that come out

55:03.210 --> 55:05.310
of or on the fortunate to be on the

55:05.320 --> 55:07.900
other side of recovery are stronger ,

55:07.960 --> 55:10.940
much like steel for their triumphs and

55:10.950 --> 55:12.783
for the things that they've gone

55:12.783 --> 55:15.070
through to get there . So I'm grateful

55:15.220 --> 55:17.680
to be here on . I'm grateful for the

55:17.680 --> 55:19.680
opportunity to have this platform .

55:19.680 --> 55:23.340
Thank you . I'm Tyler

55:23.340 --> 55:25.396
Libby , the operations coordinator ,

55:25.396 --> 55:28.180
was hoping based out of Wisconsin , I'm

55:28.180 --> 55:30.291
in recovery , and I'm just blessed to

55:30.291 --> 55:32.236
work for recovery and for recovery

55:32.236 --> 55:34.180
friendly environment that offers a

55:34.180 --> 55:36.180
great career development . All that

55:36.180 --> 55:38.291
Peter explain a little bit more about

55:38.291 --> 55:41.880
what we actually do . Mais Peter runs

55:41.880 --> 55:43.880
Ellen , executive director of , Was

55:43.880 --> 55:46.920
Hope in Wisconsin , and I myself , I'm

55:46.920 --> 55:49.280
in recovery for 26 years since I was 18

55:49.280 --> 55:53.010
years old . And , um , through time ,

55:53.020 --> 55:55.242
my passion was to simply learned how to

55:55.242 --> 55:57.409
give and be a part of that process and

55:57.409 --> 55:59.500
my everyday life and one of the

55:59.500 --> 56:01.667
programs that we have created the last

56:01.667 --> 56:03.833
two years is something called Recovery

56:03.833 --> 56:06.056
Business Association . And that's where

56:06.056 --> 56:08.111
we go into employers . We teach them

56:08.111 --> 56:10.333
how to have recovery , thriving culture

56:10.333 --> 56:12.444
and environment , and we also support

56:12.444 --> 56:14.167
them by pure supports . As you

56:14.167 --> 56:13.720
mentioned ,

56:18.530 --> 56:20.530
Hi , I'm Lisa Sheller , and I'm the

56:20.530 --> 56:22.808
founder of Hope and Coffee . And first ,

56:22.808 --> 56:25.141
let me say thank you . First Lady Trump ,

56:25.141 --> 56:27.252
Director Carol , Dr Adams , Larry and

56:27.252 --> 56:29.308
everyone in this room for everything

56:29.308 --> 56:31.530
that you're doing to normalize recovery

56:31.530 --> 56:33.641
and the stigma and help find and help

56:33.641 --> 56:35.641
end this opioid epidemic . Um , the

56:35.641 --> 56:37.586
most liberating day of my life was

56:37.586 --> 56:39.808
April 1st 1982 . It's the day I entered

56:39.808 --> 56:41.641
treatment for heroin addiction ,

56:41.641 --> 56:43.752
admitted that I was powerless over my

56:43.752 --> 56:45.752
addiction and by the grace of God ,

56:45.752 --> 56:47.974
I've been clean and sober for more than

56:47.974 --> 56:49.919
38 years . I went on to get live a

56:49.919 --> 56:51.974
really great life , Got it degree in

56:51.974 --> 56:54.030
engineering . I run an international

56:54.030 --> 56:56.252
chemical company , and but I was always

56:56.252 --> 56:58.252
told , never tell anyone about your

56:58.252 --> 57:00.474
addiction . Stay anonymous . People are

57:00.474 --> 57:02.641
gonna think bad things of you . People

57:02.641 --> 57:04.974
are gonna tell stories about you . Well ,

57:04.974 --> 57:07.086
as the opioid epidemic unfolded a few

57:07.086 --> 57:09.308
years ago , I realized that I needed to

57:09.308 --> 57:11.308
take what I was told was my biggest

57:11.308 --> 57:13.141
liability and make it my biggest

57:13.141 --> 57:16.340
strength . And in 2018 I decided to

57:16.340 --> 57:18.507
break my and I felt compelled to break

57:18.507 --> 57:20.507
my own anonymity , and I found it a

57:20.507 --> 57:22.562
coffee shop called Hoping Coffee and

57:22.562 --> 57:24.618
Tomoko Pennsylvania . And as part of

57:24.618 --> 57:26.729
founding that shop , I told my I told

57:26.729 --> 57:28.784
my story to help fundraise so hoping

57:28.784 --> 57:30.470
coffee is located in Tomoko ,

57:30.470 --> 57:32.990
Pennsylvania , a town that has more

57:32.990 --> 57:35.630
than two x , the national addiction

57:35.630 --> 57:37.741
rate . That's the town that I grew up

57:37.741 --> 57:39.574
in , and it is a coffee shop and

57:39.574 --> 57:41.686
employees addicts in early recovery .

57:41.686 --> 57:43.630
And as we know , these folks can't

57:43.630 --> 57:45.741
Folks like me can't get a job because

57:45.741 --> 57:47.797
spotty employment history , criminal

57:47.797 --> 57:51.610
background , lack of education It's a

57:51.610 --> 57:53.666
family friendly shop that has become

57:53.666 --> 57:56.300
the community focal point . The people

57:56.300 --> 57:58.750
who go there we have also created or I

57:58.750 --> 58:00.806
have also created a partnership with

58:00.806 --> 58:03.028
our local community college so that our

58:03.028 --> 58:05.083
baristas , who are very grateful for

58:05.083 --> 58:06.917
their sobriety as well , can get

58:07.230 --> 58:09.341
vocational training and then graduate

58:09.341 --> 58:11.130
and become part of the general

58:11.130 --> 58:13.760
workforce and lead clean , sober ,

58:13.760 --> 58:16.130
better lives . Um , I've made it my own

58:16.130 --> 58:18.241
personal mission to elevate the cause

58:18.241 --> 58:20.297
and eliminate the stigma of being in

58:20.297 --> 58:22.408
recovery that someone in recovery can

58:22.408 --> 58:25.070
do any aspire to anything . And this

58:25.070 --> 58:26.959
year , I decided to run for U . S

58:26.959 --> 58:29.320
Congress . So But I'd like to say my

58:29.330 --> 58:31.497
managing my director of hoping coffees

58:31.497 --> 58:33.608
here she's amazing . And we'd like to

58:33.608 --> 58:35.552
all invite you to come to Tomoko ,

58:35.552 --> 58:37.608
Pennsylvania , and see what recovery

58:37.608 --> 58:39.663
looks like on how we're changing the

58:39.663 --> 58:41.552
conversation around addiction and

58:41.552 --> 58:43.719
recovery . One conversation in one cup

58:43.719 --> 58:42.650
of coffee at a time .

58:51.150 --> 58:53.094
My name is Lauren Claure . I'm the

58:53.094 --> 58:55.206
director of hoping Coffee . I am also

58:55.206 --> 58:57.261
very thankful to be here . Thank you

58:57.261 --> 58:59.039
for having me today . A za Lisa

58:59.039 --> 59:00.983
mentioned hoping coffee is ah as a

59:00.983 --> 59:03.140
place a cafe that normalizes recovery

59:03.350 --> 59:05.406
and works to reduce this dig win are

59:05.406 --> 59:07.890
small rural town . Um we create

59:07.890 --> 59:10.160
bystander opportunities by just being a

59:10.170 --> 59:12.600
regular community cafe where anybody

59:12.600 --> 59:14.680
can come and enjoy a cup of coffee .

59:14.680 --> 59:16.624
Enjoy Bates Good . Enjoy some life

59:16.624 --> 59:19.600
music . Go to recovery based meeting

59:19.610 --> 59:22.300
where we house them there . We really

59:22.300 --> 59:25.080
just our resource hub for our entire

59:25.080 --> 59:28.050
community . So far , hoping Coffee has

59:28.050 --> 59:31.720
employed 18 employees and 16

59:31.720 --> 59:34.030
of of our employees are currently

59:34.030 --> 59:36.370
living still in recovery today and

59:36.370 --> 59:38.450
working successfully with their

59:38.450 --> 59:41.870
employers . So we pride ourselves in

59:41.870 --> 59:44.830
just focusing on the fact that you know

59:47.880 --> 59:49.830
the opposite of addiction is not

59:50.280 --> 59:52.502
sobriety . The opposite of addiction is

59:52.502 --> 59:54.830
positive connection . Thank you .

01:00:03.520 --> 01:00:05.409
Good afternoon . My name is Brian

01:00:05.409 --> 01:00:07.409
Courson , the founder and executive

01:00:07.409 --> 01:00:09.631
director of M V P . Recovery . So we're

01:00:09.631 --> 01:00:11.576
the largest and most comprehensive

01:00:11.576 --> 01:00:13.576
recovery program in the region were

01:00:13.576 --> 01:00:15.631
about 15 minutes from Philadelphia .

01:00:15.631 --> 01:00:18.940
And I come here to you today as a

01:00:18.940 --> 01:00:21.180
father of three young Children , as a

01:00:21.190 --> 01:00:22.746
member of the community and

01:00:22.746 --> 01:00:24.857
specifically is a person in long term

01:00:24.857 --> 01:00:27.910
recovery myself , I'd be remiss in not

01:00:27.910 --> 01:00:30.320
to say that a little over 16 years ago ,

01:00:30.510 --> 01:00:32.490
I wasn't invited toe just about

01:00:32.490 --> 01:00:34.712
anybody's house . So for you to have me

01:00:34.712 --> 01:00:36.768
at the White House today , I want to

01:00:36.768 --> 01:00:38.768
thank you very much and for anybody

01:00:38.768 --> 01:00:40.823
that's watching this or listening to

01:00:40.823 --> 01:00:43.046
this if that doesn't show that recovery

01:00:43.046 --> 01:00:45.720
is not just possible . But recovery is

01:00:45.720 --> 01:00:48.340
amazing . If you really stick and stay

01:00:48.340 --> 01:00:50.830
and utilize what is what is available

01:00:50.980 --> 01:00:53.091
and when we talk about recovery , dem

01:00:53.091 --> 01:00:55.360
VP recovery We talk about what Samsa

01:00:55.360 --> 01:00:57.416
identifies is the four components of

01:00:57.416 --> 01:00:59.527
recovery , and that's health , home ,

01:00:59.527 --> 01:01:01.970
purpose and community . Those are the

01:01:01.970 --> 01:01:04.570
things that an individual needs to be

01:01:04.570 --> 01:01:06.681
in a program of recovery . And that's

01:01:06.681 --> 01:01:08.737
what we focus on as we've identified

01:01:08.737 --> 01:01:10.737
treatment and different things like

01:01:10.737 --> 01:01:13.070
that that help people get to that point .

01:01:13.070 --> 01:01:15.014
Here at M V P . We identified that

01:01:15.014 --> 01:01:17.181
there was mawr toe obtain and maintain

01:01:17.181 --> 01:01:19.550
long term recovery . And when we talk

01:01:19.550 --> 01:01:22.520
about purpose , employment comes so

01:01:22.520 --> 01:01:24.687
hand in hand when we talk about having

01:01:24.687 --> 01:01:26.853
a purpose . And what we were seeing is

01:01:26.853 --> 01:01:28.687
individuals in the midst of this

01:01:28.687 --> 01:01:30.853
epidemic coming into us and they're 19

01:01:30.853 --> 01:01:33.050
years old and they have a criminal

01:01:33.050 --> 01:01:35.660
charge behind their substance use and

01:01:35.670 --> 01:01:37.781
that Felonious following them for the

01:01:37.781 --> 01:01:39.948
rest of their life . And we're telling

01:01:39.948 --> 01:01:41.837
them that anything is possible in

01:01:41.837 --> 01:01:43.948
recovery except for thes certain jobs

01:01:43.948 --> 01:01:46.059
over here . And that's something that

01:01:46.059 --> 01:01:48.281
we're looking toe , you know , with the

01:01:48.281 --> 01:01:50.503
with the assistance of individuals like

01:01:50.503 --> 01:01:52.392
you here today , toe work on that

01:01:52.392 --> 01:01:54.448
because , um , as everyone's talking

01:01:54.448 --> 01:01:56.392
about , when someone get sober and

01:01:56.392 --> 01:01:58.337
someone gets in recovery sky's the

01:01:58.337 --> 01:02:00.800
limit . And we see that every day . And

01:02:00.800 --> 01:02:02.856
when we see barriers that are put in

01:02:02.856 --> 01:02:04.856
place , that is not the individuals

01:02:04.900 --> 01:02:06.870
full on responsibility , but is a

01:02:06.870 --> 01:02:08.592
consequence of this disease of

01:02:08.592 --> 01:02:10.592
addiction . We want to help support

01:02:10.592 --> 01:02:12.759
them and move them forward with that .

01:02:13.900 --> 01:02:16.122
Like most things as we identified these

01:02:16.122 --> 01:02:18.233
issues , I'm sure it's the same thing

01:02:18.233 --> 01:02:19.900
here at the White House is we

01:02:19.900 --> 01:02:21.900
identified these issues and my wife

01:02:21.900 --> 01:02:24.122
came up with the best ideas for it . So

01:02:24.122 --> 01:02:26.289
I'm gonna have her share what programs

01:02:26.289 --> 01:02:25.970
that we established here at M V . P .

01:02:25.970 --> 01:02:28.240
But I want to thank you for having us

01:02:28.240 --> 01:02:30.240
here today . And thank you for your

01:02:30.240 --> 01:02:31.407
commitment to this .

01:02:36.800 --> 01:02:38.522
Thank you for having us . Good

01:02:38.522 --> 01:02:40.744
afternoon . Thank you . Mr Adams . Mr .

01:02:40.744 --> 01:02:42.800
Dr Adams . Mr . Carroll . First Lady

01:02:42.800 --> 01:02:45.210
Trump and Mr Could Low . Um , as you

01:02:45.210 --> 01:02:47.210
did show I am a person in long term

01:02:47.210 --> 01:02:49.900
recovery and , um , as it says in the

01:02:49.900 --> 01:02:52.067
big book , you will be rocketed to the

01:02:52.067 --> 01:02:54.233
fourth dimension . But , boy , this is

01:02:54.233 --> 01:02:56.620
a trip good to be here today . I am

01:02:56.620 --> 01:02:59.930
very grateful . Um , we has my husband

01:02:59.930 --> 01:03:03.360
said we operate and he recovery in

01:03:03.360 --> 01:03:05.249
Philadelphia , right ? outside of

01:03:05.249 --> 01:03:07.471
Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . And about

01:03:07.471 --> 01:03:09.527
four years ago we started our female

01:03:09.527 --> 01:03:12.680
program , and what I noticed was that

01:03:12.680 --> 01:03:15.220
most often times in our mail program ,

01:03:15.580 --> 01:03:17.691
men would come in and they would have

01:03:17.691 --> 01:03:19.913
the construction job to fall back one .

01:03:19.913 --> 01:03:23.120
Or they would have some type of trade

01:03:23.280 --> 01:03:25.520
when the female program opened . That

01:03:25.520 --> 01:03:27.800
was not the case . And I would see

01:03:27.800 --> 01:03:30.650
women moms that were trying their

01:03:30.650 --> 01:03:33.550
hardest to get back their kids , that

01:03:33.550 --> 01:03:35.661
we're trying their hardest to pay the

01:03:35.661 --> 01:03:37.550
rent . Um , that we're trying the

01:03:37.550 --> 01:03:39.606
hardest to walk away from their past

01:03:39.606 --> 01:03:41.717
and to walk away and to really try to

01:03:41.717 --> 01:03:44.640
attack their trauma being told No , no ,

01:03:44.640 --> 01:03:46.696
you you can't be hired here or yes ,

01:03:46.696 --> 01:03:49.029
you're hired pending a background check .

01:03:49.100 --> 01:03:51.360
And every time they were told , no ,

01:03:51.640 --> 01:03:55.040
they were re traumatized , and I came

01:03:55.040 --> 01:03:57.330
up with the thought of second chance

01:03:57.330 --> 01:04:00.120
employment , and that is essentially to

01:04:00.130 --> 01:04:02.720
give these people , and not just the

01:04:02.720 --> 01:04:05.070
women . It is now a full on county wide

01:04:05.070 --> 01:04:07.870
initiative to give these people that

01:04:07.870 --> 01:04:11.340
are in recovery the chance to get a job ,

01:04:11.350 --> 01:04:14.090
and once people put their give their

01:04:14.090 --> 01:04:15.923
hope to them and give them a job

01:04:16.480 --> 01:04:19.780
they're the best employees from that

01:04:19.780 --> 01:04:22.002
has stemmed . Second chance parenting .

01:04:22.020 --> 01:04:24.510
Um , it has I have another initiative

01:04:24.510 --> 01:04:26.860
home for the holidays . We have so many

01:04:26.860 --> 01:04:28.860
initiatives at MPP recovery because

01:04:28.860 --> 01:04:30.971
what we have realized through working

01:04:30.971 --> 01:04:33.193
hand in hand with individuals and being

01:04:33.193 --> 01:04:35.450
in recovery ourselves is that recovery

01:04:35.450 --> 01:04:37.672
and maintaining and obtaining long term

01:04:37.672 --> 01:04:41.230
sobriety is a puzzle . And it requires

01:04:41.240 --> 01:04:44.480
attention at every piece of that puzzle .

01:04:44.640 --> 01:04:47.240
And part of that , again is employment

01:04:47.250 --> 01:04:49.700
and purpose . So thank you for having

01:04:49.700 --> 01:04:50.700
us here .

01:04:55.890 --> 01:04:58.920
Uh , dogwood , I'm promote Anderson ,

01:04:58.920 --> 01:05:01.031
South Carolina . I'm a small business

01:05:01.031 --> 01:05:02.809
owner . I'm in the installation

01:05:02.809 --> 01:05:04.698
contracting business , some small

01:05:04.698 --> 01:05:06.698
business in a small town . And it's

01:05:06.698 --> 01:05:08.531
just blessing to be here to have

01:05:08.531 --> 01:05:10.531
opportunity to speak and listen toe

01:05:10.531 --> 01:05:12.650
these wonderful stories in this group

01:05:12.650 --> 01:05:15.160
of people . I just want to say that

01:05:15.170 --> 01:05:18.520
it's a blessing . What My story of

01:05:18.520 --> 01:05:21.470
recovery is never had to be recovered .

01:05:21.480 --> 01:05:23.424
Thank the Lord . I've never had an

01:05:23.424 --> 01:05:25.647
issue with substance abuse , and I know

01:05:25.647 --> 01:05:28.080
what's the blessing , and but I do see

01:05:28.080 --> 01:05:30.680
it . I see it every day and I try my

01:05:30.680 --> 01:05:34.360
best to hire and and promote

01:05:34.450 --> 01:05:37.900
and give opportunity and chances toe

01:05:37.910 --> 01:05:40.640
the gentleman our community who do have

01:05:40.640 --> 01:05:43.250
problems , and that's what I found so

01:05:43.250 --> 01:05:46.080
many times is there . They're shut out

01:05:46.080 --> 01:05:48.900
of so many opportunities and with what

01:05:48.900 --> 01:05:51.260
I do in the installation contracting

01:05:51.260 --> 01:05:53.640
business , it's not a very glamorous

01:05:53.640 --> 01:05:55.751
job . It's usually a starting point ,

01:05:55.751 --> 01:05:57.807
but I try to tell the guys as I hire

01:05:57.807 --> 01:06:00.010
him to start off with this level of

01:06:00.010 --> 01:06:02.110
work , Did you ? I'm giving you the

01:06:02.110 --> 01:06:04.332
opportunity . Show me what you can do ,

01:06:04.880 --> 01:06:07.290
and we'll help you find a better job as

01:06:07.290 --> 01:06:09.940
you prove yourself . And that's what I

01:06:09.940 --> 01:06:12.220
try to explain the minds of first step

01:06:12.220 --> 01:06:14.387
minds opportunity to show that you can

01:06:14.387 --> 01:06:16.498
do the work , and if you're better at

01:06:16.498 --> 01:06:18.900
it and you want a better job , I'm

01:06:18.900 --> 01:06:21.067
gonna help you find if I find a better

01:06:21.067 --> 01:06:23.122
job , I'm gonna take you know that's

01:06:23.122 --> 01:06:25.122
what we're here for . And so that's

01:06:25.122 --> 01:06:27.122
That's the whole idea . So I try to

01:06:27.122 --> 01:06:29.178
lead them that way . Try to show him

01:06:29.178 --> 01:06:31.178
that you know that we do love . You

01:06:31.178 --> 01:06:33.011
know there's going through these

01:06:33.011 --> 01:06:35.180
problems there . Think that life could

01:06:35.180 --> 01:06:38.200
be it a dating in this , but it's not .

01:06:38.210 --> 01:06:40.377
They can always start over . You could

01:06:40.377 --> 01:06:42.488
end up working for President Trump at

01:06:42.488 --> 01:06:44.488
the White House . You know , that's

01:06:44.488 --> 01:06:46.599
that's how far you could go if you're

01:06:46.599 --> 01:06:48.599
if you're dedicated and you and you

01:06:48.599 --> 01:06:50.766
won't . You know if you do what you're

01:06:50.766 --> 01:06:52.710
supposed to do . You have the self

01:06:52.710 --> 01:06:54.932
control of self esteem to do it . But I

01:06:54.932 --> 01:06:56.800
just saw try to give them many

01:06:56.800 --> 01:06:58.744
opportunities . They can cause the

01:06:58.744 --> 01:07:00.578
biggest gift . I can give us the

01:07:00.578 --> 01:07:02.744
opportunity . If they show me that can

01:07:02.744 --> 01:07:04.800
work . I can promote him as far as I

01:07:04.800 --> 01:07:06.911
can promote him . But most of all , I

01:07:06.911 --> 01:07:09.078
could help them find their next step ,

01:07:09.078 --> 01:07:11.189
their next job and hopefully , having

01:07:11.189 --> 01:07:13.411
reconciled with your family or whatever

01:07:13.411 --> 01:07:15.633
it is they're trying to do because it's

01:07:15.633 --> 01:07:15.360
the most important thing . They know

01:07:15.360 --> 01:07:17.320
they can talk to me . I'm there to

01:07:17.320 --> 01:07:19.500
listen to him . We have a devotion ,

01:07:19.500 --> 01:07:21.667
wants to wait with all my guys that if

01:07:21.667 --> 01:07:23.889
they're interested . But I just want to

01:07:23.889 --> 01:07:26.111
know that you know , there's not . This

01:07:26.111 --> 01:07:28.300
may be an honestly , maybe a bad job .

01:07:28.380 --> 01:07:30.547
It is , I do . It doesn't do it all my

01:07:30.547 --> 01:07:32.769
life . I know what a bad job . It's not

01:07:32.769 --> 01:07:34.769
fun . It's not a good one , but you

01:07:34.769 --> 01:07:36.769
have to start somewhere teaches you

01:07:36.769 --> 01:07:38.880
good worth at Get your self esteem up

01:07:38.880 --> 01:07:40.991
and we'll go the next step . So thank

01:07:40.991 --> 01:07:43.240
you . One other thing and I before we

01:07:43.890 --> 01:07:47.140
were born . Talking Brian , Christine

01:07:47.150 --> 01:07:49.640
and John is I know Secretary Scalia

01:07:49.640 --> 01:07:51.473
wanted to be here today from the

01:07:51.473 --> 01:07:53.880
Department of Labor and the statistics

01:07:53.880 --> 01:07:56.060
show . I mean , this isn't just a sort

01:07:56.060 --> 01:07:58.480
of feeling it . The statistics show

01:07:58.480 --> 01:08:01.110
that employees in recovery are the best

01:08:01.110 --> 01:08:04.250
employees . They're so grateful , you

01:08:04.250 --> 01:08:06.528
know , we have the opportunity to work .

01:08:06.670 --> 01:08:08.448
You know , whether it's for the

01:08:08.448 --> 01:08:10.448
president , United States , whether

01:08:10.448 --> 01:08:13.210
it's toe work for you and Carolina to

01:08:13.210 --> 01:08:15.900
work at the restaurants . It's that

01:08:15.900 --> 01:08:18.210
opportunity , you know , to be able tow

01:08:18.450 --> 01:08:20.617
your start over again and have someone

01:08:20.617 --> 01:08:23.010
believe in them . And so the statistics

01:08:23.010 --> 01:08:25.660
show what we feel . Thank you . And we

01:08:25.660 --> 01:08:27.882
recognize that one of the things I want

01:08:27.882 --> 01:08:30.049
folks to think about and we won't have

01:08:30.049 --> 01:08:30.040
time to hash through all the issues

01:08:30.200 --> 01:08:32.311
today . But one of the things we want

01:08:32.311 --> 01:08:34.422
to know from a federal perspective is

01:08:34.422 --> 01:08:36.644
how can we help people like you because

01:08:36.644 --> 01:08:38.700
you've got the heart to do the right

01:08:38.700 --> 01:08:40.422
thing . But we also have to be

01:08:40.422 --> 01:08:42.589
realistic that you run an installation

01:08:42.589 --> 01:08:42.510
company . You're not a psychiatrist .

01:08:43.070 --> 01:08:44.959
You're not a expert on medication

01:08:44.959 --> 01:08:47.420
assisted treatment . You're not someone

01:08:47.420 --> 01:08:50.520
who necessarily equipped to deal with

01:08:50.530 --> 01:08:54.290
the issues that will come up . We know

01:08:54.290 --> 01:08:56.410
for people in recovery , but we know

01:08:56.410 --> 01:08:58.466
that those supports are available in

01:08:58.466 --> 01:09:00.354
the community . And so we want to

01:09:00.354 --> 01:09:02.354
understand what we can do to better

01:09:02.354 --> 01:09:04.410
create that collectivity between the

01:09:04.410 --> 01:09:06.354
support services that are probably

01:09:06.354 --> 01:09:08.466
already right there in your community

01:09:08.466 --> 01:09:10.577
or that we can help make available in

01:09:10.577 --> 01:09:12.799
your community and the opportunity that

01:09:12.799 --> 01:09:12.410
you're giving people so that they can

01:09:12.410 --> 01:09:14.990
be maximally successful in recovery .

01:09:15.870 --> 01:09:17.510
Thank you . Appreciate it .

01:09:19.960 --> 01:09:22.071
Hi , everybody . M Julie Fankhauser .

01:09:22.071 --> 01:09:24.240
I'm the co founder and CEO of the

01:09:24.240 --> 01:09:26.351
recovery Connection . And I just have

01:09:26.351 --> 01:09:30.160
to say , um it is beyond an honor and a

01:09:30.160 --> 01:09:32.271
privilege to be here . And I hope I'm

01:09:32.271 --> 01:09:34.216
not the only one that was , like ,

01:09:34.216 --> 01:09:36.549
totally nervous this morning about this ,

01:09:36.549 --> 01:09:38.549
But But I do have to share with you

01:09:38.549 --> 01:09:41.950
after hearing your story and First Lady

01:09:41.950 --> 01:09:44.310
Trump and just everybody having an

01:09:44.310 --> 01:09:48.310
opportunity , Teoh share words and

01:09:48.320 --> 01:09:50.598
meeting the folks that I've met so far .

01:09:50.600 --> 01:09:52.840
It just shows me time and time again

01:09:52.850 --> 01:09:54.870
that , um , you know , recovery is

01:09:54.870 --> 01:09:57.037
everywhere , even in the White House ,

01:09:57.037 --> 01:10:00.030
you know ? And so I must say that I'm

01:10:00.030 --> 01:10:02.230
not I'm not very nervous , you know ,

01:10:02.230 --> 01:10:04.286
because I sense the love and I sense

01:10:04.286 --> 01:10:06.780
the authenticity and the , um ,

01:10:06.860 --> 01:10:10.510
sincerity . You know , um , but I am a

01:10:10.510 --> 01:10:12.590
person in long term recovery . I

01:10:12.600 --> 01:10:16.510
celebrated 12 years back in April , and

01:10:16.510 --> 01:10:18.732
I'm originally from Northern Virginia .

01:10:18.732 --> 01:10:20.880
I am out in Winchester , Virginia ,

01:10:20.880 --> 01:10:22.658
which I don't know if anybody's

01:10:22.658 --> 01:10:24.769
familiar with that . It's kind of out

01:10:24.769 --> 01:10:28.330
there . Um , but my so the recovery

01:10:28.330 --> 01:10:30.760
connection is a transitional living

01:10:30.760 --> 01:10:33.610
program . Uhm , for women that struggle

01:10:33.610 --> 01:10:35.890
with substance use disorder . My

01:10:35.890 --> 01:10:38.001
partner , Well , she's my best friend

01:10:38.001 --> 01:10:40.223
is , well married a spear . We , um two

01:10:40.223 --> 01:10:42.390
years ago , we just celebrated our two

01:10:42.390 --> 01:10:44.501
year anniversary of being open . Um ,

01:10:44.501 --> 01:10:46.557
and we are peer based , as it stands

01:10:46.557 --> 01:10:48.410
right now , we believe in I'm a

01:10:48.410 --> 01:10:50.632
certified recovery specialist , and I'm

01:10:50.632 --> 01:10:53.050
a certified nor can trainer , too . So ,

01:10:53.590 --> 01:10:56.090
um yeah ,

01:10:57.370 --> 01:11:00.340
but we believe in in in cultivating a

01:11:00.340 --> 01:11:03.400
culture of transparency , you know , we

01:11:03.410 --> 01:11:05.521
were small . Right now , we're in the

01:11:05.521 --> 01:11:07.299
process of expansion beyond one

01:11:07.299 --> 01:11:09.190
location , and we are becoming

01:11:09.190 --> 01:11:11.990
residential treatment and not just so

01:11:11.990 --> 01:11:14.250
weird incorporating clinical services ,

01:11:14.250 --> 01:11:16.250
which is very exciting . And so I'm

01:11:16.720 --> 01:11:18.887
looking forward to having a discussion

01:11:18.887 --> 01:11:20.887
in regards to , at least on a state

01:11:20.887 --> 01:11:22.942
level here in Virginia , some of the

01:11:22.942 --> 01:11:25.053
challenges that we face and employing

01:11:25.053 --> 01:11:27.120
people in recovery in a clinical

01:11:27.120 --> 01:11:29.510
setting because oftentimes their

01:11:29.510 --> 01:11:32.520
records haunt them . And so , you know ,

01:11:32.530 --> 01:11:34.580
that's something that we face on a

01:11:34.580 --> 01:11:36.524
regular basis because we're in the

01:11:36.524 --> 01:11:38.636
hiring process right now . And , um ,

01:11:38.636 --> 01:11:40.747
you know , I have a line out the door

01:11:40.747 --> 01:11:42.969
of people in recovery that want to work

01:11:42.969 --> 01:11:45.191
for us because they , they they believe

01:11:45.191 --> 01:11:47.524
in that that unspoken automatic empathy .

01:11:47.524 --> 01:11:51.280
You know , um , and there's way can't

01:11:51.950 --> 01:11:53.840
because there's , you know ,

01:11:54.270 --> 01:11:56.548
legislation that that blocks that . So ,

01:11:56.730 --> 01:11:58.952
um , so I'm looking forward to having a

01:11:58.952 --> 01:12:01.780
discussion . I am also a mental health

01:12:01.780 --> 01:12:05.470
and recovery advocate . Um , and I

01:12:05.480 --> 01:12:07.870
didn't intentionally sign . Not for

01:12:07.870 --> 01:12:09.703
that . Unfortunately , I lost my

01:12:09.703 --> 01:12:12.060
husband , Danny , to an overdose on

01:12:12.060 --> 01:12:15.080
September 11th , 2018 and already very

01:12:15.080 --> 01:12:18.030
solemn day . Um and so , you know ,

01:12:18.030 --> 01:12:20.141
coming up on the two year anniversary

01:12:20.141 --> 01:12:22.490
of that , I kind of , you know , after

01:12:22.490 --> 01:12:26.170
his passing , I , um you know the

01:12:26.170 --> 01:12:28.820
events leading up to his decline were

01:12:28.820 --> 01:12:31.300
indicative of of some gaps that existed

01:12:31.300 --> 01:12:33.467
in the system and every crack that was

01:12:33.467 --> 01:12:35.780
there . He fell through across several

01:12:35.780 --> 01:12:37.724
different entities that the crisis

01:12:37.724 --> 01:12:39.724
level . And so I found a passion in

01:12:39.724 --> 01:12:41.720
advocating for different types of

01:12:41.720 --> 01:12:43.776
crisis intervention services . And I

01:12:43.776 --> 01:12:45.776
just wanted to share . I'm thrilled

01:12:45.780 --> 01:12:48.002
that , um , in the state of Virginia as

01:12:48.002 --> 01:12:50.224
of July 1st , ah , piece of legislation

01:12:50.224 --> 01:12:52.113
SB 903 known as Danny's law , was

01:12:52.113 --> 01:12:56.050
passed uncontested . So that's tryingto

01:12:56.060 --> 01:12:58.282
laying a foundation to provide standard

01:12:58.282 --> 01:13:00.449
operating procedures and how substance

01:13:00.449 --> 01:13:02.560
use related emergencies , air handled

01:13:02.560 --> 01:13:04.727
in the emergency rooms and hospitals .

01:13:04.727 --> 01:13:07.004
So , um , I won't close with this very ,

01:13:07.004 --> 01:13:09.530
very quickly . When I decided to dive

01:13:09.530 --> 01:13:11.586
into advocacy , I didn't know what I

01:13:11.586 --> 01:13:13.808
was doing . But I remember saying to my

01:13:13.808 --> 01:13:16.320
dad , he also he has 36 years in

01:13:16.330 --> 01:13:19.750
recovery . Um , and I you know , he

01:13:19.750 --> 01:13:22.028
said , You're going to do this , kiddo .

01:13:22.028 --> 01:13:24.139
And I said , One day I'm going to get

01:13:24.139 --> 01:13:27.460
to the White House . Guess what ? Thank

01:13:27.460 --> 01:13:28.260
you so much .

01:13:36.690 --> 01:13:39.370
34 people to speak . So if we could

01:13:39.370 --> 01:13:41.370
keep that in mind so that everybody

01:13:41.370 --> 01:13:45.290
gets a chance to speak , Doc the

01:13:45.290 --> 01:13:48.510
director first lady in Larry K for

01:13:48.510 --> 01:13:51.050
having us here . Um , money was Greg

01:13:51.050 --> 01:13:53.740
Nalli , my chef and founder of Nalley .

01:13:53.740 --> 01:13:55.684
Fresh restaurants in the Baltimore

01:13:55.684 --> 01:13:58.570
region have , ah , fortunate to have 11

01:13:58.580 --> 01:14:02.360
locations . Three album I

01:14:02.370 --> 01:14:05.400
solely used for what I call second

01:14:05.400 --> 01:14:07.456
Chance , And it's not just drugs and

01:14:07.456 --> 01:14:09.400
alcohol . It's rehabilitation from

01:14:09.400 --> 01:14:12.710
prison and a lot of other things . What

01:14:12.710 --> 01:14:15.430
I found and I , you know , instead of

01:14:15.430 --> 01:14:18.740
having all my 11 locations with with

01:14:18.750 --> 01:14:20.806
with folks in recovery , I feel it's

01:14:20.806 --> 01:14:22.861
better to have two or three and have

01:14:22.861 --> 01:14:24.250
more of a concentrated ,

01:14:27.500 --> 01:14:31.170
uh , more of a concentrated energy or

01:14:31.170 --> 01:14:34.460
synergy with the people because it's

01:14:34.460 --> 01:14:36.770
mentioned several times a day and , you

01:14:36.770 --> 01:14:39.590
know , is that connection . It's the

01:14:39.590 --> 01:14:42.440
connection of people like minded people .

01:14:42.450 --> 01:14:45.190
When Larry talked this morning , he set

01:14:45.190 --> 01:14:48.220
the tone like minded people that you

01:14:48.220 --> 01:14:50.387
can talk to , and this whole thing for

01:14:50.387 --> 01:14:52.750
May is drinking is but a symptom .

01:14:53.440 --> 01:14:56.180
Drugs or but a symptom . It's

01:14:56.180 --> 01:14:58.490
everything else . It's how do I handle

01:14:58.490 --> 01:15:00.657
it If it's left up to my own devices ,

01:15:01.020 --> 01:15:03.260
I want to feel good , quick , and I

01:15:03.260 --> 01:15:05.427
want to feel good fast , and I want to

01:15:05.427 --> 01:15:08.780
feel good as easily as I can , and for

01:15:08.780 --> 01:15:11.058
a long time that was drugs and alcohol .

01:15:11.058 --> 01:15:13.002
And now it's not that way , and it

01:15:13.002 --> 01:15:15.058
doesn't have to be . And so it has .

01:15:15.058 --> 01:15:17.002
You know , the same man will drink

01:15:17.002 --> 01:15:18.891
again . And based on my spiritual

01:15:18.891 --> 01:15:21.090
condition , I have a chance today and

01:15:21.090 --> 01:15:23.201
that's what I try to preach with with

01:15:23.201 --> 01:15:25.368
everybody that comes to work with me .

01:15:25.368 --> 01:15:27.479
And I'm very fortunate came in here ,

01:15:27.479 --> 01:15:31.030
uh , in a cavalier attitude today . And

01:15:31.030 --> 01:15:34.440
I am very , very humbled right now and

01:15:34.440 --> 01:15:36.551
very grateful . And thanks for having

01:15:36.551 --> 01:15:39.590
me . I know Time's limited , but I have

01:15:39.590 --> 01:15:41.534
to say , Greg , I talked about the

01:15:41.534 --> 01:15:43.646
stores , were able to visit the store

01:15:43.646 --> 01:15:45.868
once on , and I shared that story about

01:15:45.868 --> 01:15:47.923
the practice there because it really

01:15:47.923 --> 01:15:50.146
blew my mind because you don't so often

01:15:50.146 --> 01:15:52.368
going toe a situation or location where

01:15:52.368 --> 01:15:51.740
they have , like one person or two

01:15:51.740 --> 01:15:54.990
people in recovery and much like Patty

01:15:54.990 --> 01:15:57.450
Greg sort slot me around and said , No ,

01:15:57.450 --> 01:15:59.339
no , no . We're bringing everyone

01:15:59.339 --> 01:16:01.450
together in one location because they

01:16:01.450 --> 01:16:04.680
can recognize when someone is about

01:16:05.110 --> 01:16:07.460
to slip . When someone is about to go

01:16:07.460 --> 01:16:10.020
down that path more so than someone he

01:16:10.020 --> 01:16:12.076
was never experienced the disease of

01:16:12.076 --> 01:16:14.242
addiction . Someone else could see and

01:16:14.242 --> 01:16:16.576
think you were the first person to said ,

01:16:16.576 --> 01:16:20.130
um , you re left before the relapse and ,

01:16:20.140 --> 01:16:22.600
you know , so thank you for putting my

01:16:22.600 --> 01:16:24.322
head on the right way near the

01:16:24.322 --> 01:16:26.267
beginning of my term . Thank you .

01:16:28.230 --> 01:16:30.820
Hello . I'm a Dr Donovan Beckett . I'm

01:16:30.820 --> 01:16:32.700
the CEO , executive director of

01:16:32.700 --> 01:16:34.867
Williams and Health and Wellness . I'm

01:16:34.867 --> 01:16:36.644
also a physician that practices

01:16:36.644 --> 01:16:38.811
medicine . Thank you all for having me

01:16:38.811 --> 01:16:40.922
here is an incredible honor . Were in

01:16:40.922 --> 01:16:43.033
southern West Virginia , right on the

01:16:43.033 --> 01:16:45.256
Kentucky border , which is , you know ,

01:16:45.256 --> 01:16:47.311
as you know , has been devastated by

01:16:47.311 --> 01:16:49.422
three opioid epidemic and addiction .

01:16:49.422 --> 01:16:51.644
Our clinic , It's a federally qualified

01:16:51.644 --> 01:16:53.700
health center , but we see it as the

01:16:53.700 --> 01:16:55.867
economic driver for the community . So

01:16:55.867 --> 01:16:57.811
it we are traditional clinic , but

01:16:57.811 --> 01:16:59.978
we've done a lot of things outside the

01:16:59.978 --> 01:17:02.089
box . Our motto is being different on

01:17:02.089 --> 01:17:04.710
purpose , and that's very important for

01:17:05.090 --> 01:17:07.257
recovery , addiction , the stigma that

01:17:07.257 --> 01:17:09.590
we've always talked about . But with us ,

01:17:09.590 --> 01:17:11.479
we've started farmers market . We

01:17:11.479 --> 01:17:13.590
started community gardens , all these

01:17:13.590 --> 01:17:13.550
things associated with our clinic . But

01:17:13.630 --> 01:17:15.574
one thing that happened after we'd

01:17:15.574 --> 01:17:17.297
started are medically says the

01:17:17.297 --> 01:17:19.297
treatment program was you know , we

01:17:19.297 --> 01:17:21.408
knew an integral part of recovery was

01:17:21.408 --> 01:17:23.574
having employment . So we looked at at

01:17:23.574 --> 01:17:25.797
possibilities and came up with a gluten

01:17:25.797 --> 01:17:27.519
free bakery that just took off

01:17:27.519 --> 01:17:29.540
amazingly well . And , um so well ,

01:17:29.540 --> 01:17:31.651
that it's expanding . Now we're gonna

01:17:31.651 --> 01:17:34.600
locate into a new space . But also , it

01:17:34.600 --> 01:17:36.890
just reinforced that if we confined

01:17:36.890 --> 01:17:39.112
mawr employers that would be willing to

01:17:39.112 --> 01:17:41.112
take a chance on people in recovery

01:17:41.112 --> 01:17:43.168
that would be very beneficial to our

01:17:43.168 --> 01:17:45.334
program , but also to the community as

01:17:45.334 --> 01:17:47.446
well and on the road to recovery . So

01:17:47.446 --> 01:17:49.334
we have now worked with community

01:17:49.334 --> 01:17:51.112
college on creating certificate

01:17:51.112 --> 01:17:53.223
programs . So we're gonna begin other

01:17:53.223 --> 01:17:55.334
programs and other employees that are

01:17:55.334 --> 01:17:57.390
interested in employing our patients

01:17:57.390 --> 01:17:59.390
that are coming to recovery to give

01:17:59.390 --> 01:18:01.640
them that opportunity . Teoh recover .

01:18:01.950 --> 01:18:05.540
And with as Dr Adams having gainful

01:18:05.540 --> 01:18:07.873
employment , I mean , that's , you know ,

01:18:07.873 --> 01:18:10.040
we've got a lot of opportunities to do

01:18:10.040 --> 01:18:12.207
things , a lot of short gin and people

01:18:12.207 --> 01:18:14.373
looking for employment . But this will

01:18:14.373 --> 01:18:16.429
give us the opportunity to do that .

01:18:16.429 --> 01:18:15.530
Thank you very much .

01:18:21.120 --> 01:18:23.231
Good afternoon , everyone . My name's

01:18:23.231 --> 01:18:25.342
Keegan weeks and I'm a person in long

01:18:25.342 --> 01:18:27.342
term recovery . I am with faces and

01:18:27.342 --> 01:18:29.564
voices of recovery and specifically , I

01:18:29.564 --> 01:18:31.731
just want to spend the moments to talk

01:18:31.731 --> 01:18:33.842
about the word connection that's been

01:18:33.842 --> 01:18:36.064
referenced throughout the day today . I

01:18:36.064 --> 01:18:35.610
think that that is such an incredible

01:18:35.610 --> 01:18:37.930
description and something t carry with

01:18:37.930 --> 01:18:40.120
us as we travel through all of

01:18:40.120 --> 01:18:42.160
September during National Recovery

01:18:42.160 --> 01:18:44.360
month were at faces and voices really

01:18:44.360 --> 01:18:46.630
fortunate to be to be afforded the

01:18:46.630 --> 01:18:48.910
opportunity to coordinate efforts for

01:18:48.910 --> 01:18:52.290
national recovery month in our 31st

01:18:52.440 --> 01:18:55.350
annual celebration . I encourage all of

01:18:55.350 --> 01:18:57.350
you to continue to follow along and

01:18:57.350 --> 01:18:59.239
celebrate with us and in your own

01:18:59.239 --> 01:19:01.183
events and in your own communities

01:19:01.183 --> 01:19:03.406
throughout America . And for that , I'm

01:19:03.406 --> 01:19:07.360
grateful . Thank you , Dr

01:19:07.360 --> 01:19:09.790
Tracy Strawberry and grateful to be

01:19:09.790 --> 01:19:13.110
here . I am also the wife of Mate ,

01:19:13.120 --> 01:19:15.120
former major league baseball player

01:19:15.120 --> 01:19:17.120
Darryl Strawberry , whose story has

01:19:17.120 --> 01:19:19.060
been very public so addiction and

01:19:19.060 --> 01:19:21.570
alcoholism can affect anyone . I also

01:19:21.570 --> 01:19:24.710
have 21 years in recovery from an

01:19:24.710 --> 01:19:28.180
addiction that I had to surrender

01:19:28.430 --> 01:19:30.940
custody of my Children , so we're

01:19:30.940 --> 01:19:33.390
strong advocates of reconcile ing . The

01:19:33.390 --> 01:19:36.930
family were also strong advocates for

01:19:37.700 --> 01:19:40.640
the communities of families ,

01:19:40.650 --> 01:19:42.780
individuals but also our Children .

01:19:42.790 --> 01:19:44.820
Within the high schools . Family

01:19:44.820 --> 01:19:47.360
development resource is to reconcile

01:19:47.360 --> 01:19:49.620
the family in the individuals so we

01:19:49.620 --> 01:19:51.676
provide . Resource is in for sake of

01:19:51.676 --> 01:19:53.787
time . Also private sector of what we

01:19:53.787 --> 01:19:56.290
do . I started finding your way , Inc .

01:19:56.300 --> 01:19:58.522
And in the private sector , I go on , I

01:19:58.522 --> 01:20:01.340
create programs for employers ,

01:20:01.350 --> 01:20:03.870
organizations , churches , any

01:20:03.870 --> 01:20:05.950
organizations . How do we handle the

01:20:05.950 --> 01:20:08.160
issue of recovery ? How do we remove

01:20:08.160 --> 01:20:10.450
the stigma and what do they need ? And

01:20:10.450 --> 01:20:12.860
how can we meet that need ? The

01:20:12.860 --> 01:20:14.804
community is ready , and I want to

01:20:14.804 --> 01:20:16.804
thank each and every person because

01:20:16.804 --> 01:20:18.971
recovery would not be possible without

01:20:18.971 --> 01:20:20.916
each and every person here at this

01:20:20.916 --> 01:20:22.971
table or outside of these four walls

01:20:22.971 --> 01:20:24.804
that participate in the recovery

01:20:24.804 --> 01:20:26.916
community and do what they do . First

01:20:26.916 --> 01:20:29.027
Lady , I thank you from the bottom of

01:20:29.027 --> 01:20:31.027
our heart . Our deepest gratitude .

01:20:31.027 --> 01:20:30.710
Thank you for the position that you

01:20:30.710 --> 01:20:32.710
take in stand in , helping us break

01:20:32.890 --> 01:20:35.112
that stigma . And for all that you do .

01:20:35.112 --> 01:20:38.380
Thank you . Well , I want to thank

01:20:38.380 --> 01:20:40.269
everybody . I'm gonna hand off to

01:20:40.269 --> 01:20:42.840
Director Carol , but beforehand I just

01:20:42.840 --> 01:20:45.007
want to say briefly , I think we could

01:20:45.007 --> 01:20:46.896
have going on for quite a while .

01:20:46.896 --> 01:20:49.007
There's so much to talk about . So if

01:20:49.007 --> 01:20:50.784
you're willing on would like to

01:20:50.784 --> 01:20:52.729
continue the dialogue via email or

01:20:52.729 --> 01:20:54.951
other ways . Please see me afterwards ,

01:20:54.951 --> 01:20:57.118
will exchange cards and we'll keep the

01:20:57.118 --> 01:20:59.284
conversation going . Can I ask a favor

01:20:59.284 --> 01:21:01.451
of you and Director Carol ? Also , one

01:21:01.451 --> 01:21:03.229
of the things that I think it's

01:21:03.229 --> 01:21:05.396
critically important is that we find a

01:21:05.396 --> 01:21:08.130
way Teoh start toe publish and

01:21:08.140 --> 01:21:10.660
catalogue each of your stories and

01:21:10.660 --> 01:21:14.140
experiences because we know that

01:21:14.610 --> 01:21:17.100
to some extent having it in the

01:21:17.110 --> 01:21:19.660
published literature then leads to the

01:21:19.660 --> 01:21:21.771
evidence base that's needed to create

01:21:21.771 --> 01:21:24.010
new policies and to further facilitate

01:21:24.010 --> 01:21:26.177
funding . And resource is , and that's

01:21:26.177 --> 01:21:28.232
one way of busting stigma . And so I

01:21:28.232 --> 01:21:30.288
actually have ah , Surgeon General's

01:21:30.288 --> 01:21:32.454
Report that's coming out in October on

01:21:32.454 --> 01:21:32.100
community health and economic

01:21:32.100 --> 01:21:34.322
prosperity , and we talk about recovery

01:21:34.322 --> 01:21:36.489
friendly workplaces . But we also talk

01:21:36.489 --> 01:21:38.267
about other businesses that are

01:21:38.267 --> 01:21:40.322
investing in their communities in an

01:21:40.322 --> 01:21:42.433
array of ways . But I think one thing

01:21:42.433 --> 01:21:44.378
Oh , in D . C . P could do . And I

01:21:44.378 --> 01:21:44.360
would love to work with you on this

01:21:44.860 --> 01:21:47.027
figure out how we peer you all up with

01:21:47.027 --> 01:21:48.971
from academic centers and actually

01:21:48.971 --> 01:21:51.690
start publishing some stories . Some

01:21:51.690 --> 01:21:53.801
vignettes like they do in the Harvard

01:21:53.801 --> 01:21:55.746
Business Review , to say this is a

01:21:55.746 --> 01:21:59.410
proven way of increasing your

01:21:59.410 --> 01:22:02.370
workforce , it doesn't provide extra

01:22:02.370 --> 01:22:04.481
legal liability . One of the problems

01:22:04.481 --> 01:22:06.703
that I found is that any of you all who

01:22:06.703 --> 01:22:08.648
owned businesses also have lawyers

01:22:08.648 --> 01:22:10.740
whose job it is to protect you . And

01:22:10.740 --> 01:22:12.962
they have stick their subject of stigma

01:22:12.962 --> 01:22:15.073
also . So we need to publish and they

01:22:15.073 --> 01:22:17.296
not only if it's not a legal risk , but

01:22:17.296 --> 01:22:19.462
actually they have less Workman's comp

01:22:19.462 --> 01:22:21.629
claims , and these folks actually have

01:22:21.629 --> 01:22:23.740
a lower legal risk than everyone else

01:22:23.740 --> 01:22:25.684
out there . But that's something I

01:22:25.684 --> 01:22:27.907
think we could do together to help lift

01:22:27.907 --> 01:22:29.962
these stories up on and not just let

01:22:29.962 --> 01:22:32.129
them end with a round table discussion

01:22:32.129 --> 01:22:34.310
the day but become the start of US

01:22:34.320 --> 01:22:36.940
busting stigma in the literature and

01:22:36.940 --> 01:22:39.107
creating a pathway for other people to

01:22:39.107 --> 01:22:40.218
follow your example

01:22:43.000 --> 01:22:45.111
in closing , I do hope to stay and be

01:22:45.111 --> 01:22:47.278
in touch with you all . I've been able

01:22:47.278 --> 01:22:49.333
to visit you so many places . I look

01:22:49.333 --> 01:22:51.278
forward to going to North Carolina

01:22:51.278 --> 01:22:53.333
coming to North Dakota at the end of

01:22:53.333 --> 01:22:55.556
October , the first lady's promised the

01:22:55.556 --> 01:22:57.500
weather will still be nice . Maybe

01:22:57.500 --> 01:22:59.722
still warm , no snow . Even though it's

01:22:59.722 --> 01:23:01.889
North Dakota , the reality is that all

01:23:01.889 --> 01:23:03.900
of you have come from across the

01:23:03.900 --> 01:23:06.700
country to be with us today to share

01:23:06.700 --> 01:23:10.590
their stories of recovery and hope and

01:23:10.590 --> 01:23:14.300
to talk about that life goes on and

01:23:14.300 --> 01:23:17.510
that not only that recovery is possible

01:23:18.020 --> 01:23:20.242
and that with love and support and with

01:23:20.242 --> 01:23:22.490
the faith of God , it's probable it can

01:23:22.500 --> 01:23:26.470
be that continuation . And we

01:23:26.470 --> 01:23:28.960
would not be possible , though without

01:23:28.960 --> 01:23:31.410
the brave leadership of the first lady

01:23:32.000 --> 01:23:34.300
and also her incredible kindness and

01:23:34.300 --> 01:23:36.467
generosity and letting us use her call

01:23:36.570 --> 01:23:39.750
Theo the Americas House for this . And

01:23:39.750 --> 01:23:42.710
so , Mrs Trump , thank you for hosting

01:23:42.710 --> 01:23:44.680
this event here in your home and

01:23:44.680 --> 01:23:46.847
allowing us to hear the stories of the

01:23:46.847 --> 01:23:48.958
people that are out there from across

01:23:48.958 --> 01:23:50.958
the country and really during God's

01:23:50.958 --> 01:23:53.650
work and bringing forth the economy on

01:23:53.650 --> 01:23:56.770
the rebound and the personal stories on

01:23:56.770 --> 01:23:58.937
the rebound . So thank you very much .

01:24:04.190 --> 01:24:07.990
Thank you , Director Cao , thank you

01:24:07.990 --> 01:24:10.990
so much for sharing your stories and

01:24:10.990 --> 01:24:13.430
congratulations to all of you . Please

01:24:13.430 --> 01:24:15.700
work hard and get rid of stigma .

01:24:16.260 --> 01:24:18.371
That's what we need . We need to talk

01:24:18.371 --> 01:24:20.427
more on more and more people need to

01:24:20.427 --> 01:24:22.680
hear it . And , um , I just want to

01:24:22.680 --> 01:24:25.410
thank you again for joining us here at

01:24:25.410 --> 01:24:27.132
the White House today for this

01:24:27.132 --> 01:24:30.100
important conversation . Our nation's

01:24:30.100 --> 01:24:33.280
drug problem will not be solved by one

01:24:33.280 --> 01:24:36.670
person . It will take champions and

01:24:36.670 --> 01:24:40.270
care families , communities , places

01:24:40.270 --> 01:24:43.140
and off worship . And people like you

01:24:43.890 --> 01:24:46.170
coming together to keep our Children

01:24:46.560 --> 01:24:49.470
the very best future . I appreciate

01:24:49.470 --> 01:24:51.303
your time and dedication on this

01:24:51.303 --> 01:24:55.220
important issue . Be safe and God bless

01:24:55.220 --> 01:24:57.331
you . God bless your families and God

01:24:57.331 --> 01:24:59.800
bless our great nation . Thank you .