Promoting community activism in the battle against substance abuse, A Forever Recovery sponsors the 135th Annual Session of the National Baptist Convention.
Memphis, Tennessee (PRWEB) November 06, 2015
A Forever Recovery, a holistic treatment center for substance abuse located in Southwest Michigan, joined as a sponsor and participant in the 135th Annual Session of the National Baptist Convention held at the Memphis Cook Convention Center on September 7th-11th, 2015, in Memphis, TN. This event was a gathering that focused primarily on community activism and outreach, and building networks with other individuals and groups that seek advancement for American society and to improve the quality of living for all people.
“In the fight against addiction that faces our nation today, it is vital to make connections with other groups and organizations that hold the same passions for making our world a better place,” commented A Forever Recovery founder Per Wickstrom. “As we continue in our efforts to raise public awareness about the issues surround substance abuse, and to inform people about the options in treatment that are available to them, we must reach out to those who care about family values, our communities, and the potential of our youth. It was an honor to participate in the 135th Annual Session of the National Baptist Convention, and we hope to continue our relationship with them in the future.”
Taking advantage of the opportunities presented by A Forever Recovery’s sponsorship of this event, Wickstrom was invited to be the keynote speaker at a welcome luncheon on the first day of the event, as well as at a seminar held at the nearby Methodist University Hospital in Downtown Memphis. The main emphasis of his talks centered on drug and alcohol abuse and treatment of those individuals struggling with addiction. Armed with statistical information about the state of substance abuse in modern society, Wickstrom sought to further educate the conference attendees on some facts that the general public seems to be unaware of.
Founder Per Wickstrom Speaks at Convention
“People don’t know that in the 5th grade, you have heroin addicts,” Wickstrom said at the seminar, which surprised many of the attendees. “As a society, we have kind of closed a blind eye to it, and it needs to be brought up in the public viewpoint so that people realize that we’ve got to do something about it. Our FDA just approved oxycodone for 11 year olds. There’s 250 million prescriptions written for Xanex every year. The youth is where we need to concentrate, on the 7-12 year olds, because in the time they’re age 7 to the time they’re age 12, they will have tried marijuana. They will have tried alcohol.” Highlight videos of the convention, Wickstrom’s speeches, and some one-on-one discussions held with some of the leaders at the conference have been released on the A Forever Recovery YouTube channel or by clicking here.
A Forever Recovery has always kept community activism and outreach close to the top of its list of priorities. While the treatment of individuals struggling with addiction is the main role that the rehabilitation center fills in the battle against substance abuse, it seems that they always have time to contribute and support to offer, from fundraisers for Mothers Against Drunk Driving to college scholarships, and even donating to the Police Department of Battle Creek, MI, where AFR is located, helping to pay for a replacement drug sniffing K9 officer. For A Forever Recovery, striving to build up our communities and our society certainly does not begin and end at their doors.
For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/a-forever-recovery/baptist-convention/prweb13069458.htm
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