Our 25th anniversary was a truly defining year, and we are proud to share some of our noteworthy highlights of 2011. We express our gratitude and thanks to all of our supporters, partners and contributors who helped make them possible.
"Meet The Parents Hour" Debuts on Facebook.
"Meet The Parents Hour" is a live chat and Q&A session hosted on our Facebook page. Among others, the bi-monthly events have featured authors David and Nic Sheff, actor Melissa Gilbert and chef Andrew Zimmern – all parents or individuals touched by addiction. With each chat, attendance grows and conversations extend well beyond the hour. Families are engaging in a meaningful dialogue, and in real time.
View the chat with Andrew Zimmern »
Join Together Re-Launches.
Join Together, a longtime leader in bringing effective drug and alcohol prevention news, research and treatment programs to communities nationwide, transitioned from Boston University to become part of The Partnership at Drugfree.org, further defining our position as a cause leader in substance abuse education and through dissemination of vital information to more than 50,000 subscribers.
Sign up for Join Together »
Celebrating the Art of Recovery.
We were proud to be the Signature Partner of the 2011 Art of Recovery Expo in Phoenix, Arizona, a part of National Recovery Month.
You Are Not Alone - Your Story Can Change Someone Else's.
You Are Not Alone is a new initiative that calls on all impacted by addiction — individuals, families, communities and companies — to come forward, share stories and help teens and young adults get the support and services they need to get
well.
More from the "You
Are Not Alone Series" »
Parent Ambassadors
Expand Our Reach.
We welcomed a new network of parents who are volunteering their time to inspire and provide help to others struggling with a teen’s addiction.
Commissioner’s Play Healthy Award Winners.
Together with Major League Baseball, we honored high school coach Susan Mayberry and teen athlete Carlos Umana with the second annual Commissioner’s Play Healthy Awards, recognizing their commitment to fair and drug-free competition. The Play Healthy program helps educate parents and coaches about the dangers of using steroids and performance enhancing substances.
Read about the program »
National Study Confirms Teen Drug Use Trending in Wrong Direction.
Following a decade of steady declines, our 23rd annual Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS), sponsored by MetLife, indicated that teen drug and alcohol use is headed in the wrong direction, with marked increases in teen use of marijuana and Ecstasy, and the media took notice.
New: Prescription and Over-the-Counter Drug Abuse Guide.
With BeSmartBeWell.com, we introduced a comprehensive prescription and over-the-counter drug guide so you can better understand the medicines kids are abusing.
Learn more about the program »
"Emotional Drugs" Campaign.
Our new public service announcements show that parents’ emotions – avoidance, fear, enabling, shame – can be just as powerful and dangerous as drugs themselves, preventing even the most well-intentioned parent from taking action to address their child’s substance use.
Recognition of Innovation at
The Partnership at Drugfree.org.
The Webbys, also known as "the Oscars of the Internet," nominated our website, drugfree.org, for a People’s Voice Award in the Family/Parenting category. Later, our “Meet The Parents Hour” was named a finalist for best Facebook Communications Campaign by the PR News Nonprofit Awards.
New Monthly Telephone Seminar
Series for Parents and Families.
Both parents and professionals have benefited from our monthly series of telephone seminars developed with CIGNA, engaging and posing questions about today’s changing landscape of teen substance abuse.
Celebrity Champions Join Our Cause.
Along with our national spokesperson Melissa Gilbert, Major League Baseball pitcher CJ Wilson and country music artist Hannah Michelle Weeks joined us in 2011, all using their influence to help spread our important message to new audiences.
Melissa Gilbert »
Hannah Michelle Weeks »
CJ Wilson »
Parents Toll-Free Helpline
Takes First Call.
Support is just a phone call away at 1-855-DRUGFREE (1-855-378-4373), our new bilingual Helpline staffed by qualified parent specialists who offer direct services and expert advice to help callers plan a course of action for a child with drug and alcohol addiction. The Helpline was made possible through the generosity of pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma, the Bodman Foundation, a private foundation and numerous matching contributions from individuals.
I Thought I Knew: Real Stories of Addiction and Recovery.
Together with Moo Studios, Consulate Film Editing and director Pamela Hanson, we debuted a poignant, brief documentary. In it, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons and daughters all speak candidly about their own, or a loved one’s, struggle with the disease of addiction.