Road Recovery to Receive National Council for Behavioral Health Award for Work with At-Risk Youth
Unique Partnership with Music Industry Helps Youth Deal with Addictions and Other Adversities
WASHINGTON, DC - 03/24/2017 — The National Council for Behavioral Health announced that the President’s Award for Innovative Advocacy will be presented to Road Recovery, a nationally known non-profit organization providing services to at-risk youth centered around the music industry. This prestigious award honors people and organizations that demonstrate innovative approaches to raising awareness of the importance of behavioral health treatment and recovery.
Each year, the National Council, the unifying voice of America’s mental health and addictions treatment organizations, honors those who improve the lives of individuals living with mental health and substance use disorders through the Awards of Excellence. As part of this year’s celebration at the National Council’s annual conference on April 3-5 in Seattle, they are honoring Road Recovery and Simon Kirke, drummer for the legendary classic rock band Bad Company, for their efforts to raise awareness through powerful original music recordings and live outreach performances. In addition to the award presentation, the National Council will showcase some of the amazing work Road Recovery has completed in their almost 20 years of helping America’s young people.
“Behavioral health treatment is never one-size fits all. The more treatment can be tailored to the unique circumstances, needs and interests of a person, the more successful it will be in their recovery,” said Linda Rosenberg, President and CEO of the National Council. “The founders of Road Recovery have used their love of music and experience in the music industry to both reach individual young people who thrive in this supportive environment and showcase the music they create to spread the word that treatment works. We are so pleased to honor them with the President’s Award for Innovative Advocacy.”
Road Recovery’s house band Type II will perform at the National Council Awards of Excellence Celebration on April 4 in Seattle. Kirke, who has worked with Road Recovery for many years as a creative mentor and board member, and Road Recovery co-founders Jack Bookbinder and Gene Bowen will accept the award. In addition to the award presentation and performance, a special Backstage Pass will give attendees the opportunity to meet with Road Recovery participants, who will share their insight and perspectives on facing addiction and other adversities, such as depression, anxiety, self-harm, chronic pain and diabetes.
“The power of “we” is what it’s all about,” said Bowen. “Alone we are in trouble, together everything is possible. Road Recovery brings together creative people from the entertainment industry who have faced their personal adversities head-on and come to terms with who they are with the untamed energy of young people who have walked similar roads. We all come together gaining strength and solutions from each other and, in the process, create the most amazing experiences, art, friendships and lives for ourselves and each other.”
“We reached out to our friends in the music industry and sought input from mental health professionals to construct a program model where at-risk youth could pursue something they loved,” said Bookbinder. Igniting and nurturing passion in young people with something as powerful as music, combined with peer support and building life skills, increases their chances of success against the profound challenges of mental health and substance use disorders.”
Bowen and Bookbinder met while working in the music industry with some of the largest record labels and best-known acts in the world. They used their life experiences and career talents to create programs that engage youth to address the challenges of addiction and other adversities. Road Recovery’s Trax programs serve as an adjunct to young people’s ongoing, traditional outpatient services from independent clinicians and other treatment programs that enables them to write and play music together in bi-weekly workshops.
Many well-known artists who have personal experience with addiction and mental health challenges have voluntarily participated in Road Recovery’s mission by appearing at small peer support group meetings, hosting field trips at their concerts backstage, writing original material and recording entire albums. Artists roll up their sleeves to work with youth from Road Recovery’s RecoveryTrax at Threshold Recording Studios NYC, the state-of-the-art recording studio that is home to the charity’s youth programs.
In 2016, Road Recovery completed “Don’t Give Up,” a full-length album of original music featuring the young people in the RecoveryTrax Program who co-wrote and performed songs with such icons as Peter Frampton, Slash, Tom Morello, Jill Sobule, Wayne Kramer and others. One dance-rock track “No Rewind” was featured on www.RollingStone.com as a creative “collaboration with at-risk youth in the Road Recovery program” with founding members of Duran Duran, John Taylor and Roger Taylor.
Simon Kirke regularly serves as a creative mentor and performs with Type II and co-wrote “This Feeling Won’t Last,” with a sober teenage Road Recovery participant.
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About the National Council for Behavioral Health
National Council for Behavioral Health is the unifying voice of America’s mental health and addictions treatment organizations. Together with 2,800 member organizations, serving 10 million adults, children and families living with mental illnesses and addictions, the National Council is committed to all Americans having access to comprehensive, high-quality care that affords every opportunity for recovery. The National Council was instrumental in bringing Mental Health First Aid to the USA. In 2014, the National Council merged with the State Associations of Addictions Services (SAAS). To learn more about the National Council, visit www.TheNationalCouncil.org.
About Road Recovery
Founded in 1998, Road Recovery, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, is dedicated to helping young people battle addiction and other adversities by harnessing the influence of entertainment industry professionals who have confronted similar crises and now wish to share their experience, knowledge and resources. With support from the mental health field, Road Recovery provides hands-on mentorship training, educational/performance workshops, peer-support networking and “all access” to real-life opportunities by collaborating with young people to create and present live-concert events and recording projects. For More information go to www.roadrecovery.org
Media Contacts:
Company Name: National Council for Behavioral HealthFull Name: Aaron Cohen
Phone: 301.633.6773
Email Address: Send Email
Website: www.thenationalcouncil.org