Mobilize Recovery announces its sixth annual initiative that aims to bring together individuals who have overcome substance use disorder and mental health challenges, along with their supporters, local and national non-profit organizations, private companies, policymakers, and federal agencies. The goal of the initiative is to celebrate recovery, raise public awareness, and prevent overdoses throughout October 2024 and National Addiction and Mental Health Recovery Month.
The initiative, called Mobilize Recovery Across America 2024, will begin in Southern California on September 20. It will involve a cross-country bus tour that will make stops in 15 cities throughout September and October. During each stop, community members, partners, and volunteers will offer community trainings, listening sessions, and overdose response support. They will also engage local policymakers and communities in discussions about issues that are important to the recovery movement.
Each event will be specific to the area in which it is held. Mobilize Recovery executive director Ryan Hampton states, “Building community is at the heart of the recovery movement. This tour will help center the voices, experiences, and hard work of local communities across the country who are on the frontlines of America’s addiction and mental health crisis. Each person’s recovery journey is unique and should be celebrated. Through this unifying experience, we hope to shine a light on their stories—and uplift recovery to the masses in a unique, meaningful, and moving way.”
Examples of local activation on tour stops include:
- Distributing overdose prevention education, trainings, & resources (such as naloxone) at pop-up stations in local retail, commercial, & residential areas.
- Engaging policymakers in listening sessions with residents in their hometowns.
- Convening roundtables with local employers & businesses around topics such as mental health wellness for employees & recovery-ready workplace initiatives.
- Engaging schools through TEDx-style talks by recognizable individuals in recovery from addiction and/or mental health challenges.
- Empowering families through practical prevention tools & strategies offered through organizational partners & peers.
- Connecting participants to partner resources, advocacy tools, and discussion forums.
- Linking locally based events happening as part of Mobilize Recovery’s Day of Service with the national tour.
Meta and iHeartMedia have announced that they will continue to support Mobilize Recovery’s mission. To do so, they will provide significant promotional support, including mass-market broadcast radio, public service announcements featuring renowned recording artists and personalities, and digital promotions. Furthermore, Braeburn, Inseparable, the Masimo Foundation for Ethics, and Opioid Response Network will also offer major support for the 2024 initiative.
“Both Meta and iHeartMedia have been critical to the success of Mobilize Recovery—and their commitment to the recovery community is an example for other major corporations to follow. When we mainstream recovery, more people find help and more lives are saved,” said Ryan Hampton.
“We are committed to helping connect people with resources to raise awareness about the dangers of illicit drug misuse and support individuals in recovery and their families. We’re proud to partner with Mobilize Recovery and continue our shared mission of supporting those affected,” said Neil Potts, Vice President of Trust and Safety at Meta.
“The 2024 Mobilize Recovery initiative leverages the creativity, commitment, knowledge, and resilience of the recovery community to break stigma and celebrate the achievements of the nearly 50 million Americans in recovery from substance use and mental health conditions,” said Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, Ph.D., HHS Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use and the leader of SAMHSA. “The bus tour will visit communities across the country, providing lifesaving resources including training, naloxone, and importantly, hope.”
Executive Vice President of iHeartMedia Unified Partnerships, Alexandra Cameron, said, “This award-winning recovery program has been part of a longstanding commitment, and we are thrilled to continue to elevate our partnership supporting the important mission of Mobilize Recovery. iHeartMedia delivers public education, promotes available resources to help prevent overdose and reduce stigma—telling the positive and inspiring stories of America’s recovery community. These efforts are central to our annual iHeart Recovery Month. Every year, we also invite influencers with lived experience to join us in celebrating recovery and amplify those messages, proving that recovery is real. From across the iHeartMedia universe to on the ground support and activations, iHeart Recovery Month contributes to meaningful behavior change outcomes supporting all the communities we serve. “
“The connections between people are so important–sharing stories, supporting each other, knowing we’re all in it together,” said Bill Smith, founder and CEO of Inseparable, a national nonprofit committed to advancing mental health advocacy. “We are so proud to be partners in the Mobilize Recovery bus tour as it facilitates these connections in communities across the country. This is how we come together to ensure that people have the support they need to live their best lives.”
The 2024 Mobilize Recovery initiative is being led by a diverse group of individuals, including Melissa Etheridge, Danny Trejo, Noah Thompson, Fitz and the Tantrums, Chris Herren, Dr. Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, Neil Potts, and Dr. Karen DeSalvo. The initiative aims to reach partners of all kinds across the United States to develop action-oriented goals that can be measured and scaled. They empower advocates, creators, people in recovery, and their family members, as well as people working on the front lines of the overdose epidemic, to inspire their communities to make change.
The bus tour route and local events will be announced on Mobilize Recovery’s Facebook page and website on June 10th. At every stop on the bus tour, participants sign the bus in honor of their own recovery or that of a loved one, or to memorialize someone they’ve lost. By the end of the tour, the bus is covered in signatures and messages, connecting individuals in very different places, all of whom have been touched by addiction and mental health challenges.
Mobilize Recovery partners with national and local organizations for substantial support and other significant participation, including Google, Opioid Response Network, Braeburn, Masimo Foundation for Ethics, National Council for Mental Wellbeing, Partnership to End Addiction, Young People in Recovery, Bicycle Health, Arnall Golden Gregory, Shatterproof, Behavioral Health Group, The Kennedy Forum, Foundation for Recovery, The Phoenix, The Herren Project, Truth Initiative, Hazelden Betty Ford, McShin Foundation, Aliya Health Group, Caron Foundation, Release Recovery, Discovery Institute for Addictive Disorders, CCAPP, Pew Charitable Trusts, Oxford Houses, Get Help, and NAATP.
Individuals and community organizations interested in participating are encouraged to sign up for updates at mobilizerecovery.org.
