New Orleans LA - Xavier University of Louisiana will celebrate HBCU Substance Abuse Recovery Month in September with a forum, rally and other activities, and is one of three selected HBCU sites for the first National Substance Abuse Awareness Day webcast.
The Substance Abuse Recovery Week celebration will take place Sept. 20-24 on the Xavier campus. There will be speakers, displays, videos on substance abuse issues and recovery, as well as giveaways and information tables. Students will have the opportunity to volunteer at area substance abuse recovery facilities.
On Tuesday (Sept. 21) at 9:00 a.m., Xavier, along with Clark Atlanta and Coppin State Universities, will collaborate to launch the first National Substance Abuse Awareness Day webcast. Also part of the collaboration are the HBCU-CFE in Substance Abuse and Mental Health at Morehouse School of Medicine, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)/Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), and Southeast Addiction Technology Transfer Center (SATC). There will be presentations from faculty and students at all three universities as well as presentations from the other collaborating organizations.
The purpose of the HBCU Substance Abuse Awareness Day is to increase student and public knowledge and awareness about substance abuse issues and call attention to the positive outcomes of treatment and recovery programs. Xavier is one of the 12 grant recipients of a $10,000 HBCU Center for Excellence’s (HBCU-CFE) Substance Abuse Treatment/Workforce Development grant. Xavier has developed the Xavier University Substance Abuse Workforce Experience (XU-SAWE) to increase awareness among its students and the community.
“We are excited to be celebrating recovery during the month of September,” said Shirley Labbe, campus coordinator. “Substance abuse is happening in our communities and we want to make our students aware and vigilant about this danger. In celebrating recovery, we are also showing that there is hope for those who are affected.”
On Friday, guest speakers will include: Tonja Myles from Free Indeed and James Becnel, from the LSU Health Sciences Center.
Tonja Myles is an ordained minister whose life mission is to assist those who are struggling with addiction to be set free. She has two successful substance abuse ministries, Set Free Indeed and the Free Indeed Outpatient Treatment Center, the first licensed faith-based treatment center in Louisiana. Myles’ uses her personal story from sexual abuse and drug addiction to her success today as a motivation to those suffering from addition and destructive behaviors.
James Becnel, MSW is an assistant professor in the department of psychiatry with the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, and he leads the Jefferson Parish Alliance of Concerned Citizens and facilitates treatment groups with the St. Bernard Parish Drug Court. Becnel has done extensive research and presentations on substance abuse and treatment.
For more information visit the Xavier website at http://www.xula.edu/ < http://www.xula.edu/ > and for more information on National Recovery Month visit http://www.recoverymonth.gov/
