September is National Recovery Month!

National Recovery Month (Recovery Month) is a national observance held every September to educate Americans that substance use treatment and mental health services can enable those with a mental and/or substance use disorder to live a healthy and rewarding life.

Recovery Month celebrates the gains made by those in recovery, just as we celebrate health improvements made by those who are managing other health conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, asthma, and heart disease. This observance reinforces the positive message that behavioral health is essential to overall health, prevention works, treatment is effective, and people can and do recover.

There are millions of Americans whose lives have been transformed through recovery. Since these successes often go unnoticed by the broader population, Recovery Month provides a vehicle for everyone to celebrate these accomplishments. Each September, tens of thousands of prevention, treatment, and recovery programs and facilities around the country celebrate Recovery Month. They speak about strides made by those in recovery and share their success stories with their neighbors, friends, and colleagues. In doing so, everyone helps to increase awareness and foster a greater understanding about mental and substance use disorders.

Moving forward, there will no longer be a new Recovery Month theme announced each year. Recovery Month has adopted the 2022 theme of “Every Person. Every Family. Every Community.” as its permanent tagline. The 2022 Recovery Month observance will work to promote and support new evidence-based treatment and recovery practices, the emergence of a strong and proud recovery community, and the dedication of service providers and community members across the nation who make recovery in all its forms possible.

Recovery Month will continue to educate others about substance use disorders and co-occurring disorders, the effectiveness of treatment and recovery services, and that recovery is possible. All of us, from celebrities and sports figures to our co-workers, neighbors, friends, and family members, throughout our lives have experienced peaks and valleys, both big and small. But with strength, support, and hope from the people we love, we are resilient.

National Addiction Professionals Day will be celebrated on September 20, 2022, as part of National Recovery Month. This day aims to celebrate the vital players of the health system and continuum of care: addiction professionals. The day was established by NAADAC to commemorate all the hard work that addiction professionals do on a daily basis.

Previously, Recovery Month was sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). In June of 2020, SAMHSA announced its decision to retire its annual convening of Recovery Month stakeholders as well as the development of future themes and assets, and the management of the events calendar.

Faces & Voices of Recovery has created a new Recovery Month website that will host all Recovery Month events and assets that make this celebration possible. Download shareable graphics and more on the Recovery Month website.

You can find and post upcoming events on the Recovery Month website as well.