As the National Recovery Movement started gaining momentum, more and grassroots organizations began forming local community advocacy groups in support of the movement.  These entities became known as "Recovery Community Organizations" (RCOs) and received support, technical assistance and guidance from Faces & Voices of Recovery - the nation’s leading non-profit recovery advocacy organization. 

 

The purpose of the RCOs was "to enable people in recovery, their friends and allies, and communities to engage in recovery advocacy and to support each other in their recovery journeys."  These individuals, who were living, breathing proof of the reality of recovery themselves,  began to  meet with community leaders and government officials at every level to "change the script" around substance use and mental health disorders.  The unified message was that "individuals with substance use and mental health disorders can heal, actively participate in their own care, and lead meaningful lives in their communities".

 

As the number of local community organizations increased and they collaborated with the leaders of the National Recovery Movement "the needle started to move".  The combined efforts at the local, state and national levels began to culminate into a systemic change that humanized substance use disorder, fought stigma and began bringing global awareness to the prevention of drug overdose and the reality of recovery. 

 

Along with this shift in public perception, it also became increasingly evident that "recovering and recovered people were a valuable part of the solution"

- that people with "lived experience" could play an important role in reducing the community impact of un-treated/under-supported evidence based substance use and co-occurring disorders;  that recovery gives back what has taken from individuals, families, and communities.   

​

 

In 2012, community leaders from across the state began

working together to establish and lay the foundation for

Idaho's own Recovery Advocacy Movement.

​

 

Their efforts and the vision developed in 2012 still guide today's Recovery Advocacy Movement and laid a solid foundation for the  growth and impact that has helped transform "the face of addiction" from a source of silence and shame into a public health issue that requires a compassionate, supportive, and action-oriented community response to substance use and/or co-occurring disorders, celebrates the reality of recovery, and actively promotes the prevention of drug overdoses across the state.  

​​