12 Steps Again

“VH1 is riding high on its most successful wave of original hit programming yet. We launched more new hit series than any other cable network in the first quarter of 2009,” said Jeff Olde, Executive Vice President, Original Programming & Production, VH1. “Much of our momentum can be credited to many of the franchises and talent that we’re renewing today. These upcoming projects will continue to set the mark for reality television while connecting with some of the most loyal viewers in all of television.”

Dr. Drew Pinsky is tackling a new yet very real addiction in “Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew.” In this eight episode one-hour series, Dr. Drew is turning his attention and cameras on a very widespread but rarely talked about addiction. Sexual compulsion afflicts roughly 6% of the American population and carries the same devastating consequences as any other addiction. For addicts, sex isn’t even pleasurable, but rather a way to escape the pain of past loss, childhood trauma, abuse and abandonment. Like many other addictions, their habits can cost them their jobs, their marriages, even their lives.

Despite all this, the affliction is often dismissed because it’s not understood how something as natural and beautiful as sex can be an addiction. In this series Dr. Drew will treat a group of people in Los Angeles who are struggling with this disease while shedding some light on this oft-dismissed compulsion and all the destructive costs that come with it. The series is set to premiere in the fall of 2009.

“Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew” is executive produced by John Irwin and Bruce Toms for Irwin Entertainment. Dr. Drew Pinsky and Howard Lapides are also executive producing. Jeff Olde, Jill Holmes, and Noah Pollack are executive producers for VH1. Dr. Drew and VH1 are also bringing back the award-winning reality series “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew” for a third installment.

The series will follow a new group of celebrity patients who have volunteered to undergo a 21-day detoxification and treatment at a rehabilitation center in the Los Angeles area. The series has not yet been cast but aims to start filming sometime in late spring for a fall 2009 premiere. Returning to the show to help Dr. Drew are drug addiction counselor Bob Forrest and resident technician Shelly Sprague who have each spent years on both sides of the rehab fence.

“Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew” is executive produced by John Irwin and Bruce Toms for Irwin Entertainment. Dr. Drew Pinsky and Howard Lapides are also executive producing. Jeff Olde, Jill Holmes, and Noah Pollack are executive producers for VH1.

Sobriety is more than just not drinking or using heroin according to Joe Petri, who oversees a drug and center in Delray Beach, Florida. “Of course, the first step towards healthy and lasting sobriety is to stop drinking and using drugs. However, there is much more that needs to be done,” he remarked. Petri went on to explain that when it comes to ensuring lasting sobriety it is important for a person to substitute healthy activities for those destructive and harmful behaviors that destroy an individual’s life and that it starts with the proper treatment.

“In order to get sober, the heroin addict will have access to healthy options, that individual needs to have the proper rehab facility,” Petri said. “In this regard, on many different levels, Delray Beach is the absolute best place to find treatment for heroin. In many ways south Florida has earned the reputation of being the recovery capital of the United States if not the world.”

Petri has lead the way in establishing a treatment center for safe and healthy recovery in Delray Beach in part because of the variety of activities and support services that are available in the community. Delray Beach is home to a wide array of different recreational, entertainment and cultural options that are well suited to people who are committed to improving their lives, who are dedicated to developing and then maintaining true, lasting sobriety not only today but into the future as well.

“There are a number of different treatment centers for heroin in south Florida. We wanted to show everyone that it could be done at an affordable low cost and still show more care and compassion to the individual who seeks recovery,” Petri said.

For more information about heroin drug treatment in South Florida, be sure to visit www.HelpForHeroin.com and www.InTheRooms.com.

Things have gone from bad to worse for Macomb County resident Frances Dingle. You see, Macomb County is located in Detroit and addicts in Detroit who have no health insurance can expect to wait anywhere from 8 to 12 weeks for treatment they desperately need right away. And, if only indirectly, it seems clear that if help were available, Dingle may have prevented her recent relapse; a relapse that led to the death of four Lake Shore Public School teenagers after an alleged drunk driving accident.

Currently, anyone seeking drug treatment without health insurance in Detroit faces a waiting list of over 250 people at any given time. Surely, a big “what if?” still hovers over the issue of whether more accessible addiction treatment can prevent deaths like those caused by drunk drivers. Family members close to Dingle say that she was sober for nearly 3 years before her last relapse which led to the accident.

Truly, if anyone could have benefited from treatment, it would have been Frances Dingle, who was in recovery long enough to recognize a relapse. But could it be that people seeking treatment are simply lost in a maze of yellow tape? Gerald Roberts, the administrative director of Sobriety House Inc. in Detroit claims that his organization had over 50 beds available the same day as the accident. Although addicts seeking help from certain organizations may need to wait, other organization take patients after evaluating the severity of their situations. Roberts went on to state, “The problem usually is that people in their addictions don’t really want help. They’ll say they want help to satisfy family members or their children or the court, but they don’t actually want to be free of the addiction.”

When most people hear that Florida is planning to cut back on addiction treatment programs, they usually agree it is a bad idea. However, few people are willing to, not only voice their opinions, but make sure that their voices are heard.

TakeActionForRecovery.com is staying true to its URL, serving as a resource for contacting the Florida Legislature and taking a stand against cutbacks in addiction treatment.

TakeActionForRecovery.com urges, “Be a voice of Recovery by contacting the Florida Legislators who are poised to vote on substance abuse & mental health funding for the Department of Corrections and the Department of Children & Families in March. The list of Legislators is attached for the 6 Appropriations Committee Chairs who will be deciding if those who come after you get Treatment or Prison. YOUR SUCCESS can help change their mind and save the lives of those who come after you.”

Visit them online at www.TakeActionForRecovery.com

YOU CAN HELP STOP FURTHER CUTS TO SUBSTANCE ABUSE & MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT PROGRAMS Across the State of Florida

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE – TAKE ACTION IMMEDIATELY

STOP THE ELIMINATION OF THOUSANDS OF TREATMENT SERVICES FOR OUR MOST VULNERABLE CHILDREN & ADULTS

During the last two years, shortfalls in the State budget resulted in the Florida Legislature making substantial cuts to substance abuse and mental health treatment services throughout State. These cutbacks in diversion & re-entry services resulted in many adults being sent to prison and their children placed in foster care at a greater cost to you, the taxpayer.

The newly created Florida Recovery Activism Project needs your help during the upcoming Legislative session that starts March 2009. Our State Legislators want to cut vital treatment services for the most vulnerable citizens in our local communities to balance the budget. The Florida Recovery Activism Project is not asking you to give up the tradition of anonymity that formed the basis of your recovery.

We believe those who know and live recovery are the most qualified to be a voice to the Legislators.

We believe that people who have found this new way of life, can make a difference by taking a stand in what they believe – Treatment Works

How can YOU make a difference?

Be a voice of Recovery by contacting the Florida Legislators who are poised to vote on substance abuse & mental health funding for the Department of Corrections and the Department of Children & Families in March.

They need to hear your message on how treatment kept you from going to prison; kept your children out of foster care; and how you are now a contributing member of society, paying taxes instead of using them.

Ask your family and friends to get the message out to our legislators – Treatment Works