Rick Ohrstrom and Jack O'Donnell
On a mission to battle stigma and unmet needs in addiction treatment
A few years ago, before boarding a flight to London to attend Europe’s largest addiction conference, I read the program out-loud to a friend: “The human fire extinguished — The rise of burnout; Bio-hacking the nervous system for mental and behavioral health recovery; Nutrition, sleep and physical exercise…”
My friend interrupted me: “Cool! Now, THAT interests me! I had no idea that’s what you’re going to learn there.”
Usually when I share that I’m going to yet another addiction conference, people respond with silence. Some say: “There she goes again: addicted to addiction.” Taking a deep breath, I let their comments go. They have no idea of the joy and energy I derive from working as a coach with sober individuals who understand the value of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing and as a nonprofit donor, empowering Rhode Island mental health programs.
Why do most people respond with such coolness to the word “addiction?”
The answer is stigma.
The word “addiction” is charged. People have visions of dirty, smelly, abscess-covered addicts with needles coming out of their arms. Addicts don’t get much sympathy.
The reality is we are surrounded by addicts. They look “normal.” They own homes and businesses. They hide their suffering. Their Instagram accounts portray perfect families, but behind the veneer, there is despair. There is the wife who breaks into her husband’s safe to access his pain pills and cash; or the husband who drives drunk despite countless DUI’s, or the dad who makes covert sexual comments to his teenage daughter.
According to the CDC, nearly 800,000 people have died in the USA from drug overdoses in the last 10 years. This isn’t counting alcohol and nicotine related deaths. 88,000 people die each year from alcohol-related causes alone.
Considering these numbers, I am still dismayed at the lack of knowledge and compassion out there. People still see addicts as subhuman, as morally depraved individuals who lack discipline and self-will. I’ve even heard people say: the world is over-populated; why try to save them? With that kind of attitude, no wonder people are dying. Then, I wonder how their attitude would change if their own child were on the verge of self-annihilation.
So what made my friend interested in the titles I read out loud? Something must have resonated. Maybe she thought she could gain knowledge to help a loved one. Maybe she saw the the benefit in learning from the best mental health professionals in the world. They say, if you want to learn to cook, go to a chef.
Education is key to combating stigma as well as changes in policies and health care systems and this has been the mission of C4 Recovery Foundation, a non-profit public charity that started staging conferences on addiction 19 years ago on Cape Cod and then nine years later on the West Coast.
We sat with chairman Rick Ohrstrom and CEO and board member Jack O’Donnell to get an idea of the secret sauce behind their success. After all, they are the largest syndicator of continuing education (CE) credits in the field and offer what some say are the deepest and most comprehensive learning experiences for professionals working with addiction.
No wonder other big event organizers try to buy them.
“We are unique. We don’t represent the industry business. We are not the creation of insurance brokers, buyers or providers.”
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