AIR receives Organizational Achievement Award for 2009
Allies in Recovery has been awarded the Organizational Achievement Award for 2009 by the Association of Addiction Professionals (NAADAC), the largest organization of substance abuse professionals in the country.
According to NAADAC: “Passion, vision and commitment links the winner of the 2009 award. [Allies in Recovery] ha[s] excelled in their field and exemplif[ies] the qualities held in highest regard by the addiction profession and the community.”
Dr. David G. Scherer, Professor of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, spoke glowingly of the award winner: “Under the competent and dynamic leadership of Dr. Simon-Levine, Allies in Recovery has matured into a premier training and service provider and is an organization that deserves recognition. Rather than resting on their laurels; they are pressing ahead, evaluating the effectiveness of their work and seeking new ways to disseminate CRAFT.”
AIR Partners with the University of Massachusetts
A unique partnership between Northampton-based Allies in Recovery and the Psychological Services Center community mental health clinic at the University of Massachusetts is widening the support available to area families in crisis over substance abuse.
"One of the most common questions we get is, 'Do you know someone?'" says Dr. Christopher Overtree, Director of Psychological Services Center at UMASS. "The partnership with AIR expands our possibilities in terms of the resources we are able to offer families in crisis, as well as the resources AIR is able to offer."
Recently featured on the Emmy-winning HBO special "Addictions", Allies in Recovery teaches family members a program called Community Reinforcement and Family Training, or CRAFT, developed by Dr. Robert Meyers at the University of New Mexico.
"CRAFT is the single most effective approach family members can use to get their loved ones into treatment," says Allies in Recovery's executive director, Dr. Dominique Simon-Levine. "It simply out-performs everything else out there."
Jail Program to Manage Addiction Will Focus on Families
Allies in Recovery, in collaboration with the Hampden County Correctional facility and Baystate Medical Center, is now recruiting participants for an innovative family program to reduce the potential for relapse in newly released HIV-positive inmate addicts and improve the quality of recovery and family life.
"What this means for people in Western Massachusetts is that individuals will be released to families trained on how to maintain sobriety and how to support recovery. It's a win-win proposition for the inmate, the family, and the community," says Dr. Dominique Simon-Levine, director of Allies in Recovery.
The program's goal is to reduce the spread of HIV by bringing proven therapeutic approaches and medical treatment to those with HIV leaving jail and returning home. "Since the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, injection drug use has been a leading cause of HIV infection," Simon-Levine says.
AIR Wins Award from State Substance Abuse Association
In December, Dr. Dominique Simon-Levine and Northampton-based Allies in Recovery received the Robert Logue Memorial President's Award from the Massachusetts Association of Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Counselors for their work in helping over 150 families get their loved ones into treatment.
"We're thrilled that she got it because of all the work that she's done with Allies in Recovery and CRAFT (Community Reinforcement and Family Training), so we were delighted," said Linda A. Mullis, MAADAC Treasurer.
The award, given each year in memory of Robert Logue, past president and charter member, is presented to an individual who has supported alcohol and drug treatment and the goals and professionalism of the association.
A substance abuse researcher since 1998, Dr. Simon-Levine previously worked with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's Bureau of Substance Abuse Services to develop and evaluate federally-funded substance abuse programs for community-based organizations and low-income clinics in Massachusetts and New York.