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200,000 in Tri-State Area Worry About a Friend/Family Member with Alcohol/Drug Problem;
Campaign Helpline and Web site Available for Those Seeking Information
CINCINNATI, Jan. 18 – Cincinnati today becomes the first city in America to launch Hope, Help & Healing – an innovative, multimedia campaign designed to encourage people to seek help for alcohol and drug problems. Locally, the Coalition for a Drug-Free Greater Cincinnati (CDFGC) is coordinating and hosting the initiative, created by the national Partnership for a Drug-Free America.
According to Congressman Rob Portman (R-OH-02), Founding Chair of CDFGC, “The Coalition is proud to serve as the local coordinator for this important initiative in our community. Although the Coalition has historically focused on prevention, we believe it is critical to begin to look at the cycle of addiction. Congressman Portman added, “The Hope, Help & Healing campaign is a natural extension of the Tri-state’s successful community wide approach to keeping kids away from drugs and alcohol. The campaign demonstrates that there are real consequences to substance abuse and that getting help can have a positive impact on the addict’s future and that of his or her family.”
“Millions of Americans, and thousands of Ohioans, have alcohol and drug problems, yet few believe they genuinely need help,” said Rhonda Ramsey Molina, president & CEO of the Cincinnati coalition. “This remarkable initiative will challenge us to see addiction for what it really is – a disease that is eminently treatable. What makes this campaign exceptionally different is the up-front research that’s been conducted to understand a) complex attitudes people have about addiction, and b) what prevents people from seeking help. All of this learning has been worked into the effort’s thoughtful, provocative messages, which will surely inspire people to seek information and get help.”
Research conducted in Greater Cincinnati for the new campaign reports that 200,000 people in Greater Cincinnati are concerned about a friend or family member with an alcohol or drug problem. (Complete research results will be released in the coming weeks.)
The vast majority of Americans with drug or alcohol problems do not receive treatment. In 2002, for example, some 22 million Americans were in need of drug and alcohol treatment, yet just 3 million received any form of help. Most who have alcohol/drug problems simply do not believe they need help. Addiction to drugs and alcohol is a problem that touches millions of families throughout the United States. Some 63 percent of Americans report being impacted in some way in their own lives by addiction, and for most of them (72 percent) that addiction was among a family member.
The Hope, Help & Healing campaign is the first communications initiative from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America that aims to reach people with alcohol and drug problems and their families. Most of the group’s work to date has focused on preventing drug use among children and teenagers. The new effort includes more than a dozen research-based messages for television, newspapers, radio and billboards; a local toll-free hotline to help people find the appropriate help; and a unique and comprehensive Web site , specifically tailored for those dealing with addiction, and for friends and families worried about a loved one. The site includes a vast array of information about alcohol and drug problems; engaging first-person stories about addiction and recovery; and interactive questionnaires to help people assess their own drug and alcohol behaviors. Throughout 2005, campaign coordinators will work with local news media outlets to share stories about local families and individuals who have experienced addiction.
Major funding for the Hope, Help & Healing campaign has been provided to the Partnership by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation .
“Research-based communications campaigns work,” said Steve Pasierb, president & CEO of the Partnership. “Such efforts have contributed to reductions in drunk driving, tobacco use among teenagers and drug use in the general population. Time and time again, independent studies have validated the effectiveness of the Partnership’s prevention programs. For this campaign, we are dealing with a very distinct consumer, with very distinct attitudes, dealing with a very difficult problem. We are confident that this effort will reach and help those struggling with alcohol and drug problems, and offer a way to find the path to recovery.”
Three television spots in the campaign challenge social attitudes about addiction versus other serious medical conditions. “If I had cancer,” says one of the spots, “you’d understand I’d need treatment, not a lecture.” Another spot features a family at a restaurant all but ignoring their father choking on food. “Everything’s fine,” says his son, brushing off the emergency. “We’re going to take care of it,” illustrating how many families handle addiction with embarrassment and denial, rather than urgency. (See attached description of campaign advertising in press kit.) Campaign messages have been tested for effectiveness. All campaign ads carry a local toll-free
telephone number – (877) 281-7884 – operated by the Recovery Health Access Center, which offers information, clinical assessment, and referrals for treatment and prevention services, 24 hours a day. All ads also carry the campaign Web site address: www.interveneNOW.org.
Media outlets throughout greater Cincinnati have committed to campaign messages throughout 2005.
"We need to improve public understanding of this problem and what to do about it,” said Ginna Marston, executive vice president of the Partnership who led the development of the new campaign. "When we treat addiction as the progressive illness that it is, more people will seek help. Early intervention can save thousands of lives.”
To develop the Hope, Help & Healing campaign, the Partnership commissioned extensive communications research to understand consumer attitudes about alcohol and drug addiction; stigma and shame associated with these problems; and why drug- and alcohol-troubled individuals fail to seek help. In creating the effort, the organization worked closely with top scientists, health practitioners and marketing executives from the Partnership’s national advisory board, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Boston University’s Join Together / Demand Treatment! program, and the Treatment Research Institute at the University of Pennsylvania.
The campaign will be evaluated through research conducted by TNS NFO in Cincinnati. The effort will run in two U.S. cities throughout 2005: Cincinnati, Ohio and Houston, Texas. Should the effort prove effective, it will be offered in other parts of the country.
“To those 200,000 people in greater Cincinnati who are concerned about a friend or family member with an alcohol or drug problem, your situation is not hopeless,” said Ramsey Molina. “Help is available, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Pick up the phone and call us, or visit the campaign Web site. You will find a way to help your loved one.”
The campaign’s Web site – www.interveneNOW.org – was made possible through generous support from the Cardinal Health Foundation, the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention and Endo Pharmaceuticals.
Coalition for a Drug-Free Greater Cincinnati
The Coalition for a Drug-Free Greater Cincinnati is a comprehensive long-term effort to mobilize every sector of the Greater Cincinnati community to take an active role in preventing substance abuse. Established in 1996 by Congressman Rob Portman, the Coalition brings local community organizations together with business leaders, parents, youth, clergy, law enforcement and school officials to implement comprehensive and community-wide anti-drug initiatives. For more information on the Coalition for a Drug-Free Greater Cincinnati, visit the council’s Web site at www.drugfreecincinnati.org.
The Partnership for a Drug-Free America®
The Partnership for a Drug-Free America is a non-profit coalition of professionals from the communications industry. Using a national drug-education advertising campaign and other forms of media communication, the Partnership exists to help reduce illicit drug use in America. With deep roots in the advertising industry, the Partnership is comprised of a small staff and hundreds of volunteers from the communications industry, who create and disseminate the Partnership’s work. The organization began in 1986 with seed money provided by the American Association of Advertising Agencies. The Partnership, which receives major funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and support from more than 200 corporations and companies, is strictly non-partisan and accepts no funding from manufacturers of alcohol and/or tobacco products. All actors in the Partnership’s ads appear pro bono through the generosity of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. For more information, visit the Partnership’s Web site at www.drugfree.org.
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