Parents for Addiction Treatment and Healing, A New PATH works to reduce the stigma associated with addictive illness through education and compassionate support and to advocate for therapeutic rather than punitive drug policies.
Showing posts with label Therapeutic Justice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Therapeutic Justice. Show all posts
Monday, June 6, 2011
Join "Moms United" and Students For Sensible Drug Policy
On June 18th "Moms United To End The War On Drugs" says NO MORE DRUG WAR
Friday, May 27, 2011
"Community Solutions" to the failed WAR ON DRUGS!
- A community response to the 40-year War on Drugs and Mass Incarceration - Get educated, empowered and entertained!
A New PATH /Los Angeles is co-sponsoring with SSDP an all day festival SATURDAY JUNE 18TH; collaborating with 27 other drug war activist and advocacy groups to present 2 panels of speakers, poetry readings, candlelight vigil – ending the evening with live music till midnight!
About A New PATH (Parents for Addiction... Healing and Treatment) -
A New PATH works to reduce the stigma associated with addictive illness through education and compassionate support, and to advocate for therapeutic rather than punitive drug policies. We are anon-profit advocacy organization of parents, concerned citizens, individuals in recovery, healthcare professionals and community leaders working together to educate the public, media and decision makers about the true nature of the disease of addiction, reduce the harms of current drug laws and expand access to treatment services.
We advocate ending discriminatory drug policies that serve as roadblocks to recovery. We are bringing focus to our country's failed drug policies and the havoc they have wreaked on our families in our current campaign "Moms United to End the War on Drugs." We are leading a growing national movement dedicated to stopping the violence, mass incarceration and overdose deaths that are the result of current punitive and discriminatory drug policies. We started our movement in 2000 with our executive director Gretchen Bergman chairing the groundbreaking "Treatment instead of Incarceration" Prop 36 campaign.
Please email me if you need more information,
Julia Negron
Regional Director
A New PATH - Los Angeles
anewpathla@gmail.com
Saturday, June 18 · 1:00pm - midnight
Chuco's Justice Center
1137 East Redondo Boulevard
Inglewood, California
A New PATH /Los Angeles is co-sponsoring with SSDP an all day festival SATURDAY JUNE 18TH; collaborating with 27 other drug war activist and advocacy groups to present 2 panels of speakers, poetry readings, candlelight vigil – ending the evening with live music till midnight!
About A New PATH (Parents for Addiction... Healing and Treatment) -
A New PATH works to reduce the stigma associated with addictive illness through education and compassionate support, and to advocate for therapeutic rather than punitive drug policies. We are anon-profit advocacy organization of parents, concerned citizens, individuals in recovery, healthcare professionals and community leaders working together to educate the public, media and decision makers about the true nature of the disease of addiction, reduce the harms of current drug laws and expand access to treatment services.
We advocate ending discriminatory drug policies that serve as roadblocks to recovery. We are bringing focus to our country's failed drug policies and the havoc they have wreaked on our families in our current campaign "Moms United to End the War on Drugs." We are leading a growing national movement dedicated to stopping the violence, mass incarceration and overdose deaths that are the result of current punitive and discriminatory drug policies. We started our movement in 2000 with our executive director Gretchen Bergman chairing the groundbreaking "Treatment instead of Incarceration" Prop 36 campaign.
Please email me if you need more information,
Julia Negron
Regional Director
A New PATH - Los Angeles
anewpathla@gmail.com
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
A Mother Speaks Out
Stories From The Movement
On June 13, 1971, I became a mother when my first son was born. Five days later, President Nixon declared the "war on drugs." Little did I know then that this war would be waged against families like mine for the next four decades.
I reflect on the joys and the challenges of motherhood, and I feel compelled to speak out against this silent but deadly war that has stealthily eaten away at the fabric of our lives. It has caused countless casualties, wasted taxpayer money, promoted discrimination against people of color, and taken away basic human liberties.
Employing fear-based, nonscientific dogma, this misguided war has robbed children of their futures, while building a massive prison-industrial complex. Grieving and angry mothers, tormented by needless loss, are speaking out to stop the violence, mass incarceration and overdose deaths.
Throughout history, mothers have come forward for the sake of their children to promote therapeutic and life-affirming policies. In the early '70s, I belonged to an organization called "Another Mother for Peace." In the 1930s, a group of mothers were instrumental in ending alcohol prohibition in the U.S. because they wanted to end the gangland violence and loss of lives caused by organized crime, fueled by Prohibition.
Moms can again be effective in calling for widespread drug policy reform, in order to stop the devastating loss of lives and liberty.
When my son was born, I realized that my most important role had just begun, and all my other passions and interests paled by comparison. Both of my sons were much adored, and we tried to give them every opportunity to ensure fabulous and fulfilling futures.
Unfortunately, both had addictive illness, which would have caused enough heartbreak and struggle, without the blundering roadblocks to recovery created by a criminal justice approach to what was essentially a health care problem. Besides dealing with the pain of lives interrupted by a life-threatening disorder, parents whose children are lost in the maze of addiction must also suffer humiliation, anger and stigma.
My older son spent a decade of his young life cycling through the criminal justice system for nonviolent drug offenses and relapse. This was a tragic waste of human potential, a painful journey for the family, and a tremendous cost to the state. I have several friends who have lost children to overdose, which could have been prevented if their children’s friends hadn’t been afraid of being arrested if they called the authorities.
With a Mama-bear mentality, I seek to alter what we know must be changed. I believe that we mothers are the silent majority. Far too many of us have experienced the devastation, but have been too stigmatized to speak out. To continue to pursue a war that has utterly failed and created so much damage is unconscionable. Mothers must speak out with courage and determination to promote policies of harm reduction and restoration for the sake of our children and the future of the next generation.
Gretchen Burns Bergman is the Co-Founder & Executive Director of A New PATH (Parents for Addiction Treatment & Healing). The Moms United to End the War on Drugs campaign is a project of A New PATH.
On June 13, 1971, I became a mother when my first son was born. Five days later, President Nixon declared the "war on drugs." Little did I know then that this war would be waged against families like mine for the next four decades.
I reflect on the joys and the challenges of motherhood, and I feel compelled to speak out against this silent but deadly war that has stealthily eaten away at the fabric of our lives. It has caused countless casualties, wasted taxpayer money, promoted discrimination against people of color, and taken away basic human liberties.
Employing fear-based, nonscientific dogma, this misguided war has robbed children of their futures, while building a massive prison-industrial complex. Grieving and angry mothers, tormented by needless loss, are speaking out to stop the violence, mass incarceration and overdose deaths.
Throughout history, mothers have come forward for the sake of their children to promote therapeutic and life-affirming policies. In the early '70s, I belonged to an organization called "Another Mother for Peace." In the 1930s, a group of mothers were instrumental in ending alcohol prohibition in the U.S. because they wanted to end the gangland violence and loss of lives caused by organized crime, fueled by Prohibition.
Moms can again be effective in calling for widespread drug policy reform, in order to stop the devastating loss of lives and liberty.
When my son was born, I realized that my most important role had just begun, and all my other passions and interests paled by comparison. Both of my sons were much adored, and we tried to give them every opportunity to ensure fabulous and fulfilling futures.
Unfortunately, both had addictive illness, which would have caused enough heartbreak and struggle, without the blundering roadblocks to recovery created by a criminal justice approach to what was essentially a health care problem. Besides dealing with the pain of lives interrupted by a life-threatening disorder, parents whose children are lost in the maze of addiction must also suffer humiliation, anger and stigma.
My older son spent a decade of his young life cycling through the criminal justice system for nonviolent drug offenses and relapse. This was a tragic waste of human potential, a painful journey for the family, and a tremendous cost to the state. I have several friends who have lost children to overdose, which could have been prevented if their children’s friends hadn’t been afraid of being arrested if they called the authorities.
With a Mama-bear mentality, I seek to alter what we know must be changed. I believe that we mothers are the silent majority. Far too many of us have experienced the devastation, but have been too stigmatized to speak out. To continue to pursue a war that has utterly failed and created so much damage is unconscionable. Mothers must speak out with courage and determination to promote policies of harm reduction and restoration for the sake of our children and the future of the next generation.
Gretchen Burns Bergman is the Co-Founder & Executive Director of A New PATH (Parents for Addiction Treatment & Healing). The Moms United to End the War on Drugs campaign is a project of A New PATH.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)