Recovery Voices Count

Faces & Voices of Recovery wrote
on May 30, 2008 at 9:03 AM
Recovery Voices Count is a national project working to build the recovery community (people in recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs, families,friends and allies)into a strong unified constituency with one voice for the 2008 Elections and beyond. Growing numbers of recovery community organizations and recovery advocates across the country are getting involved in nonpartisan voting activities so that their voices can be heard in the local, state and national arenas. They are conducting voter registration and Get-Out-the-Vote activities, sponsoring candidate forums and getting candidates for political office on record about critical policies that will make recovery a reality for even more Americans. Recovery Voices Count is one part of Faces and Voices of Recovery's (www.facesandvoicesofrecovery.org) national movement to make it possible for even more of our friends, neighbors and family members to experience long-term recovery from addiction by building recognition of the recovery community as a constituency of consequence. As recovery community organizations and recovery advocates register voters, educate candidates for public office about key issues and turn out voters in growing numbers, we will have an even greater impact on the lives of people who still need help with their addiction, people in long-term recovery, their family members and communities. With less than half of eligible Americans voting, Recovery Voices Count is a great way to help people take the first step in civic participation and build your recovery community organization. Every individual eligible to vote needs to be encouraged to register to vote and, if already registered, encouraged to vote. One policy issue that is very important to the recovery community is restoring the right of people with criminal convictions to vote. More than five million Americans are barred from the polls because of these restrictions. Many of these disenfranchised people have experience with addiction and face lifetime bans on participating in our civic life as voters. Recovery community organizations around the country are working in coalition with allied organizations to right this wrong. Many people in recovery have also experienced insurance descrimination from insurance companies. We need to work towards equality as someone's treatment should be covered as equally as if someone was dealing with a physical illness. Join us in reaching out and organizing the recovery community to participate in our electoral process. Join us in making Recovery Voices Count!

There are many things you can do to take action!

A Recovery Voices Count guide and many other tools can be found at

http://facesandvoicesofrecovery.org/about/campaigns/recovery_voices_count_tools.php

You can use the guide to do many things to help the project.

There are three important parts to the project that anyone can get involved in

1. Voter Registration

2. Voter and Candidate Education

3. Voter Participation by having your voice heard by voting on behalf of the recovery community!

Voter Registration

The guide can get you started in organizing a Voter Registration drive. Here you can learn who is eligible to vote, how to recruit volunteers for your project, and research voter registration deadlines. If you have not registered to vote yourself please register at http://facesandvoicesofrecovery.org/about/campaigns/recovery_voices_count.phprvc

Click on the banner that says register to vote!

Voter and Candidate Participation

Their are many ways you can educate candidates running for public office on the local, state, and national levels.

Learn and practice 5 questions to ask candidates, and work to get a candidate to sign this pledge here...

http://facesandvoicesofrecovery.org/pdf/Call_to_Action.pdf

It is important that we hold candidates for office accountable and get them on the record before they are elected. This makes our job as advocates easier when we are working to get legislation passed or working against a bill that does not help the recovery community.

Voter Participation

It is important to call our friends family and allies in recovery and make sure they are turning out to vote in numbers! We can organize Get Out the Vote drives to the recovery community.

A sample script can be found here...you can use this to organize your own drive!

http://facesandvoicesofrecovery.org/about/campaigns/recovery_voices_count_tools.php

If you have any questions regarding this campaign or need some guidance for the project please contact the lead Recovery Voices Count Field Organizer Aaron Kucharski at

aaronkucharski@yahoo.com