The History Of Halloween Plus 5 Things You Didn't Know About The Holiday!

The History Of Halloween Plus 5 Things You Didn't Know About The Holiday!

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Lois Wilson

Lois Wilson (March 4, 1891 - October 5, 1988) was the founder of Al-Anon, a support group for the friends and family of alcoholics. She was the wife of Alcoholics Anonymous founder Bill Wilson. Lois was born into affluence in Brooklyn Heights with her father being a prominent surgeon and gynecologist. Abraham Lincoln's grandchildren were playmates of her siblings when they were young and they attended prestigious schools. Lois began to work on efforts for families of alcoholics after Bill had gone through rehab and founded A.A. These efforts led to the founding of Al-Anon.

After Bill died in 1971 of emphysema, Lois inherited 90% of her late husband's estate and copyright royalties from The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. Bill left the other 10% of his estate to his long-standing mistress.

Creative Approach

Ever want to try something different if the same 'ol thing isn't working for you? Reiki is the name given to a simple yet profound system of natural healing for body and mind, which was developed by Dr. Mikao Usui who lived in Japan during the nineteenth century. Rei means "universal", and ki, or chi, in Chinese, means "Life Force Energy." Many people also regard Reiki as a path to personal and spiritual growth. If you'd like to check it out, give Valarie a call.

Senate Bill 707 (DeSaulnier) Alcohol and Other Drug Counselor Certification and Licensure Update

Senate Bill (SB) 707 is the measure, sponsored by the Department of
Alcohol and Drug Programs (ADP) that will create an alcohol and other
drug (AOD) counselor certification and licensing system administered
by the department.

The bill was amended on June 23, 2009, and reflects the
recommendations of many stakeholders. Some comments that CAADE
has received in the past several weeks addressed provisions that
were in a previous version of the bill. They have a summary of the bill’s
provisions and a link to the actual bill on the ADP website. We
encourage everyone to visit the ADP website for updates and let us
know what you think. We will pass this info on to CAADE.

SB 707 is currently in the Senate Appropriations Committee. Senator
DeSaulnier and ADP plan is to move the bill in January. In
preparation for January, ADP is meeting with stakeholders who have
expressed an interest in the bill to hear their concerns and likes,
and to get their recommendations for strengthening the measure.

CAADE will be hosting meetings at ADP, at 1700 K Street in
Sacramento, and via conference call to discuss specific provisions of
the bill such as, but not limited to, the different tiers that will
allow for professional growth and a career path, criminal background
checks and wash out periods, and education requirements. The goal of
the topical meetings is to come up with solutions and participants
should submit their proposed amendments to ADP prior to the relevant
meeting(s). The following sessions will allow participants to hear
the broad array of perspectives on the issues and help them to
understand the various points of view and impact that proposed
amendments would have on the AOD service and provider system.

• Criminal Background Checks on Monday, October 26 from 1:30 to 3:30pm.
• Counselor Testing on Wednesday, November 17 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.
• Counselor Education and Experience Requirements on Monday, November
30 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
• AOD Counselor Scope of Practice on Monday, December 7 from 1:30 to
3:30 p.m.

Also, The Assembly Select Committee on Alcohol and Drug Abuse will be
holding an informational hearing in the Capitol on November 16. The
topic of the hearing will be counselor certification and licensing and
SB 707. Senator DeSaulnier and ADP Director Zito will be on the
agenda and there will be opportunity for public comment.

Advisory Council Meeting

S4R Board member Amy A. gave a presentation to the S4R Advisory Council about applying for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). So many great ideas were born from this discussion! There are quite a few eligible activities. One that was talked about was prison re-entry services. As we all know, inmates (both men and women) usually have a very difficult time when they get out of prison with very few services available to them. S4R can help make a difference. Come and join us. Let us know your ideas! The next Advisory Council meeting is Friday, November 20th at 5:00pm. We now have a Volunteer meeting for those who would like to be involved with our future events. That meeting will follow the Advisory Council meeting on November 20th. It will be at 6:00pm. Check out the events page at the S4R website for the calendar.

How about doing a big Spaghetti Feed??

Did You Know...?

Among the 5.1 million adults who reported an unmet need for mental health care and did not receive mental health services in the past year, several barriers to care were reported. These included an inability to afford care (42.7 percent), believing at the time that the problem could be handled without care (28.6 percent), not knowing where to go for care (19.8 percent), and not having the time to go for care (13.9 percent).

Source: Office of Applied Studies

St. Teresa's Retreat

Last night the Pleasant Hill Planning Commission passed Dr. Jordan's request to open a womens 12 month treatment center. Special thanks goes to Commissioner Diane Vavrek for having the courage to start the discussion which moved the commission towards a vote. She addressed the issue in a respectable manner to all involved including the recovering community. The City of Pleasant Hill should be proud to have such a compassionate woman serving the community. I am sure that their decision will more than likely be appealed to the City Council and Support4Recovery will organize as part our mission statement which says "breaking down the stigma and disrimination by creating a unified voice for positive change." I know that you will help us move our mission forward as we help get this program opened. More to come.

Marty Mann

She would be the first to claim that her sobriety, found through Alcoholics Anonymous in its very earliest days, was the most important factor in her success. Indeed, she was the first woman to stay sober in AA -- from 1940 until her death in 1980. Her vision was to educate the whole country about alcoholism. She was obsessed with eliminating the historic stigma attached to chronic inebriation. She joined forces with the Yale School of Alcohol Studies (now at Rutgers), where early significant scientific research into alcoholism was underway. Eventually her nationwide educational efforts led to the creation of a separate organization, the National Council on Alcoholism (now the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence or NCADD). NCADD has been this country's most important educational, referral resource for alcoholics, their families and communities all across the country.

Three ideas formed the basis of her message:

1. Alcoholism is a disease and the alcoholic a sick person.
2. The alcoholic can be helped and is worth helping.
3. Alcoholism is a public health problem and therefore a public responsibility.

Governor Signs Historic Prison Reform Agreement

Governor Signs Historic Prison Reform Agreement

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Now what??

Tonight's Planning Commision Gathering Postponed

The gathering for the Planning Commission meeting has been postponed. The NIMBY people are appealing the Commission's ruling in favor of Dr. Jordan so this issue is going to go before the City Council. That's when everyone can show up in support of St. Teresa's Retreat. Please pass this on. The new date will be posted as soon as the date is set.

Addictive Properties of Popular Drugs

Click on picture to enlarge.
Withdrawal: Presence and severity of characteristic withdrawal symptoms.

Reinforcement: A measure of the substance's ability, in human and animal tests, to get users to take it again and again, and in preference to other substances.

Tolerance: How much of the substance is needed to satisfy increasing cravings for it, and the level of stable need that is eventually reached.

Dependence: How difficult it is for the user to quit, the relapse rate, the percentage of people who eventually become dependent, the rating users give their own need for the substance and the degree to which the substance will be used in the face of evidence that it causes harm.

Intoxication: Though not usually counted as a measure of addiction in itself, the level of intoxication is associated with addiction and increases the personal and social damage a substance may do.

Source:
Jack E. Henningfield, PhD for NIDA, Reported by Philip J. Hilts, New York Times, Aug. 2, 1994 "Is Nicotine Addictive? It Depends on Whose Criteria You Use."

Unified Voice

S4R has gotten quite a bit of feedback on the hearing for the opening of St. Theresa's Retreat. So we can have a unified presence to support Dr. Jordan in a positive way, we'll be meeting in the parking lot at 6:30pm. Please join us at 100 Gregory Lane Pleasant Hill, CA 94523.