SAMHSA's Road to Recovery Update

September Is Recovery Month—Join Us! Across the Nation, thousands of people are observing Recovery Month by hosting or attending events, getting proclamations issued in their community, or working with local media to air public service announcements and raise awareness. They are also helping others find treatment or help for substance use or mental disorders, and showing support for those already in recovery. Be sure to post your recovery event now so others will attend your event. Get Involved With Recovery Month Watch the September Road to Recovery Program: Building Communities of Recovery: How Community-Based Partnerships and Recovery Support Organizations Make Recovery Work The goal of recovery is for individuals to lead successful, satisfying, and healthy lives integrated in the community. This requires the availability of prevention, health care, treatment, and recovery support services. Community-based organizations play a vital role in addressing the diverse needs of people in recovery from mental and/or substance use disorders. Partnerships and networks within communities serve to leverage the particular contribution that individual community-based organizations have to offer. Recovery support organizations, those that focus on the recovery needs of individuals, are becoming an increasingly important part of the solution. Housing, employment, education, and socialization are all pieces of the puzzle that fit together to achieve overall behavioral health objectives. This show will describe how communities are organizing and networking to provide recovery support. The show also will highlight efforts to change the culture of communities to accept and embrace people in recovery. View the September Road to Recovery Program Announcing the September Ask the Expert Cynthia Moreno Tuohy, Executive Director, NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals Cynthia Moreno Tuohy, NCAC II, CCDC II, SAP, is the executive director of NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals. She previously served as the executive director of the Danya Institute and the Central East Addiction Technology Transfer Center. Ms. Moreno Tuohy has administered multicounty, publicly funded alcohol/drug prevention, intervention, and treatment centers with services ranging from prenatal care to serving the elderly. Ms. Moreno Tuohy will answer questions on the September Road to Recovery program: Building Communities of Recovery: How Community-Based Partnerships and Recovery Support Organizations Make Recovery Work. Submit your questions by September 21. Answers from Ms. Moreno Tuohy will be posted on the Recovery Month website in mid-October. Contact information for questions will be kept confidential. Submit a Question Submit Your Recovery Month Proclamations! Thank you for getting your community to issue a Recovery Month proclamation! Please submit your proclamation in electronic format (.jpg) or via hard copy, to post to the Recovery Month website. Show your community's support of people in recovery by adding your proclamation to the many cities, towns, counties, tribes, and states that issued proclamations. Submit Your Proclamation

Minority Health Action Alert Provided by the Office of Minority Health Resource Cente September 06, 2012 Register: National Conference on Using Data to Promote Health Equity and Address Disparities The Knowledge 4Equity National Conference, funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health and the Office of Minority Health, will be held Nov. 13-14 in Silver Spring, MD. Designed to help community-based organizations better understand how to access, analyze and use existing national, state and local data, the conference will include workshops, breakout sessions and presentations. Register for the Knowledge 4Equity Conference .
Funding	Data/Statistics	Cultural Competency	Health Topics	Minority Populations

2013 White House Internship Program

SPRING 2013 WHITE HOUSE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM APPLICATION NOW OPEN

Posted on August 21, 2012 by sfranklin

Application Deadline: September 23, 2012

As White House Interns, young men and women from across the country dedicate their 

time, talents, energy, and service to better the White House, the community, and the nation. While their tasks vary by department, all interns are united through weekly events including a weekly speaker series with senior staff members, off-site field trips,and mentorship opportunities. Most importantly, the internship experience includes an emphasis on service and interns participate in regularly scheduled service projects at schools and non-profit organizations in Washington, D.C.

Please encourage the young leaders you know to apply for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Visit www.whitehouse.gov/internships for details

Contaminated Tattoo Inks Can Cause Dangerous Infections

Tattoo inks and the pigments used to color them can become contaminated by bacteria, mold, and fungi. In the last year, inks contaminated with a family of bacteria called nontuberculous mycobacteria have caused serious infections in at least four states. Some bacteria in this family can cause lung disease, joint infection, eye problems, and other organ infections. The skin ointments provided by tattoo parlors are not effective against them.

Read about symptoms and what you should do if you suspect you have a tattoo-related infection.

Boston Subway System Test

Boston Subway System to be Used to Test New Sensors for Biological Agents

S&T scientists will spray small quantities of killed Bacillus subtilis in the subway tunnels.

Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate’s “Detect to Protect” program will assess trigger and confirmer sensors designed to detect biological agents within minutes

The idea that disease and infection might be used as weapons is truly dreadful, but there is plenty of evidence showing that biological weapons have been around since ancient times. Bioterrorism, as it is dubbed, is nothing new, and although medicines have made the world a safer place against a myriad of old scourges both natural and manmade, it still remains all too easy today to uncork a nasty cloud of germs.

The Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T) has scheduled a series of tests in the Boston subways to measure the real-world performance of new sensors recently developed to detect biological agents.  

S&T’s “Detect-to-Protect” (D2P) Bio Detection project is assessing several sensors (made by Flir Inc., Northrop Grumman, Menon and Associates, and Qinetiq North America) to alert authorities to the presence of biological material.  These devices with “trigger” and “confirmer” sensors have been designed to identify and confirm the release of biological agents within minutes.

In 2009, and in early August this year, inert gasses were released in the Boston subway system in an initial study to determine where and how released particulates would travel through the subway network and to identify exactly where to place these new sensors. The current study will involve the release of a small amount of an innocuous killed bacterium in subway stations in the Boston area to test how well the sensors work.  After the subway stations close, S&T scientists will spray small quantities of killed Bacillus subtilis in the subway tunnels.  This common, food-grade bacterium is found everywhere in soil, water, air, and decomposing plant matter and, even when living, is considered nontoxic to humans, animals, and plants. 

S&T’s Dr. Anne Hultgren, program manager for the D2P project, says, “While there is no known threat of a biological attack on subway systems in the United States, the S&T testing will help determine whether the new sensors can quickly detect biological agents in order to trigger a public safety response as quickly as possible.”

DHS leads federal efforts to prepare for, respond to, and recover from a possible domestic biological attack.  The testing will continue periodically for the next six months and will be monitored by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority as well as state and local public health officials.

The particles released in the stations will dissipate quickly.  But before they do, their brief travels will provide invaluable data for DHS’ ongoing effort to protect American travelers from potential hazards. Unlike the “Charlie on the MTA” made famous by the Kingston Trio folk group, these particles will NOT ‘ride forever ’neath the streets of Boston.’

http://www.dhs.gov/st-snapshot-detect-protect