New Report by Recovery Experts Advocates Expanding Research to Help People With Substance Use Disorder

Fors Marsh Group (FMG) announced today the completion of phase one of its multiphase partnership with Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation (GRI) with a new report and set of recommendations that serve as a road map for public and private sector organizations to expand and prioritize research around recovery from substance use disorder (SUD), also known as drug and alcohol dependence.

The joint report, Virtual Summit: Assessing Progress and Setting Priorities in Recovery Research on Substance Use Disorder (download PDF) summarizes the proceedings from the 2020 Virtual Summit: Assessing Progress and Setting Priorities in Recovery Research, hosted by FMG and GRI that brought together over 200 leaders from federal, state, philanthropic, and recovery advocacy organizations to examine challenges and opportunities in the field of addiction recovery. The report also outlines five themes to help guide national priorities in the field of recovery research.

The summit was structured to build on the 2018 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Recovery Research and Evaluation Technical Expert Panel Summary Report, which assessed the current state of recovery support services in addressing SUD in the United States.

The summit report’s recommendations were distilled in consultation with the summit’s co-chairs:

• Andrea Barthwell, former president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and GRI board member
• John Kelly, Director of the Recovery Research Institute, Center for Addiction Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and
• Andrew Finch, Peabody College of Education and Human Development and Vanderbilt University.

The summit yielded five key themes:

1. Define Recovery in SUD and Expand Recovery Research: The field of SUD recovery research has expanded beyond abstinence as a sufficient avenue for measuring recovery. To make further progress in the field, consistent measures must expand to include quality of life, self-efficacy, and social functioning. This definition must also encompass various stages of the recovery process and acknowledge the many paths people take to sustain recovery.
2. Explore Persistent Inequities Through Recovery Research: Inequities in access to recovery support services stem from and contribute to larger socioeconomic and health disparities. These inequities in access to care and outcomes are particularly prevalent in many communities, including those with people of color, lower-income populations, people in rural areas, and LGBTQIA+ people. Therefore, policymakers need evidence-based research that addresses persistent barriers to recovery—particularly SUD-related stigma and discrimination—and racial, gender, socioeconomic, and geographic inequities.
3. Prioritize the Investigation of Adolescent and Emerging Adult SUD Recovery: Policymakers and researchers need a better understanding of recovery and remission among adolescents given that SUD most often begins during this time. In addition, a better understanding of adolescents’ unique needs and experiences with SUD can advance earlier intervention and sustained recovery.
4. Evaluate the Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on SUD Recovery: Alcohol use and fatal overdoses have increased rapidly during the pandemic. An estimated 90,237 Americans died of overdose during the 12 months during the 12 months between September 2019 and September 2020. In addition to potentially driving more substance use, the pandemic has likely resulted in more use of substances in isolation, which reduces calls to emergency services by peers or bystanders. As a result, policymakers and researchers need to identify more innovative approaches for continuing service delivery, mutual aid, and other needed social support for people who may be isolated.
5. Establish SUD Recovery as a Formal Research Domain: Recovery research needs to establish its domain with a multidisciplinary approach, encompassing the neurobiology of addiction and recovery, the developmental and psychosocial dimensions, the role of culture and stigma, and the relative effectiveness of various models for the organization and financing of services.

“The themes outlined in this report include actionable guidance based on input from our nation’s foremost experts in the field of addiction recovery,” said FMG CEO Ben Garthwaite.  “We recognize there are more steps ahead, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to ensuring that this guidance doesn’t end up on a shelf, but rather prioritized into policy to help lift the 23 million Americans living in recovery from SUD.”

Dr. Barthwell said, “We have made progress bringing together the academic, public health, philanthropic, and recovery communities to integrate policy, science, and lived experience of acute SUD. But without more research across population bases and a stronger infrastructure for community-based delivery of support services, we will be at a disadvantage.”

“Adolescents respond differently than adults who seek long-term recovery. We need to learn more about what is unique in the journey of recovery for young people who are still getting their education, developing their social networks, and living in families where there may be family members in active SUD,” said Dr. Andrew Finch.

Dr. Kelly added, “Due to the chronic nature of SUD, the risk of recurrence of symptoms remains elevated even after long periods without any symptoms. Therefore, continuing care and support for individuals in recovery remains essential for up to 5 years following active SUD—not just days or months.”

About FMG

FMG is a company that uses business as a force for good, and as a B Corporation, the company governs from a set of values and policies that compound the positive impact for its employees, clients, and partners. Since 2002, FMG has focused on applying science and strategy to create positive behavior change in people and program and policy improvements in large organizations and government. The company is committed to working with the public and private sectors to build a body of research in SUD that will result in a range of science-based services that are accessible and will increase the number of people who can sustain their recovery.

About GRI

GRI focuses on building a philanthropic pool that supports organizations and provides services to people in early recovery from SUD. By partnering with public, private, and pop culture leaders, GRI works to erase the stigma of SUD and to share best practices that are scientifically proven to help keep people from relapsing. For more information, visit the Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation.

[1] Ahmad, F., Rossen, L., & Stutton, P. (2021, June 16). Products – Vital Statistics Rapid Release – Provisional Drug Overdose Data. National Center for Health Statistics; The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/drug-overdose-data.htm

https://kgon.radio.com/media/audio-channel/remy-with-nikki-sixxmp3

Nikki Sixx (Musician and Songwriter)

Nikki Sixx has pulled together an all-star group of artists for a new version of the 2016 SIXX: A.M. song “Maybe It’s Time” in support of National Recovery Month. The Mötley Crüe bassist has roped in Slipknot‘s Corey Taylor, Def Leppard vocalist Joe Elliott, Brantley Gilbert, Five Finger Death Punch singer Ivan Moody, Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, AWOLNATION and Bad Wolves‘ Tommy Vext for a song that will be part of a music industry-wide effort to draw attention to the opioid criss while raising funds for the recovery community.4

Read the original article HERE.

The song’s release on Friday (Aug. 21) is timed to advance September’s National Recovery Month, which kicks off on Aug. 31 with International Overdose Awareness Day and runs through Sept. 30’s International Recovery Day. Sixx hatched the idea to re-record the track from SIXX: A.M.’s Vol. 2, Prayers for the Blessed album and to earmark all artist royalties to the Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation to support those in early recovery, with Better Noise Music making a matching contribution.

“I am proud to bring together these artists to help raise funds for the Global Recovery Initiative Foundation,” said Sixx in a statement. “The opioid epidemic did not go away when the pandemic came along. Just the opposite… those in early recovery became even more at risk than before so it’s more important now than ever to raise awareness and support them. I really believe that united we can make a difference and save lives.”

Listen to the song:

The industry initiative includes support from Live Nation, Ticketmaster, iHeart, Pandora, SiriusXM, Entercom and many others, with the song also slated to appear on the soundtrack for the upcoming Better Noise Films release about teen addiction, SNO BABIES, which will be out on VOD on Sept. 29; Better Noise Films’ share of the profits will also be donated to GRI.”So, Nikki rang me to see if I’d lend a vocal to ‘Maybe It’s Time.’ After hearing the track for the first time in a while, I was reminded how good it is so I was in! It felt right, all around giving back to the much-needed Global Recovery Initiative,” said Elliott in a statement, with Vext adding, “Alcoholism and drug addiction are family diseases. They’re the only diseases that everyone is mad at and hurt if you have it. People don’t get upset at you if you get cancer. It’s because with addiction, it affects everyone whose life touches the sufferer.”Slipknot’s Taylor called addiction a “real issue” that is “affecting young people more and more every year, so it’s very, very important for all of us to pitch in and do our part, especially some of us who have lived through it…those of us who have survived… it’s the least I can do.”The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a dramatic increase in opioid-related overdoses and deaths according to the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program, which said drug overdoses increased by 42% in May as those struggling with substance use disorders have lost their support systems and become isolated from treatment options.

Better Noise Entertainment CEO Allen Kovac tells Billboard that ever since he helped Sixx enter rehab more than 15 years ago they have made it their mission to talk about the dangers of addiction and search for concrete ways to help those in its grip. “What we’re trying to do is take this beyond just awareness,” said Kovac of why he’s including the song in the end titles of Sno Babies and encouraging his peers in music, film, TV and radio to get involved to raise the kind of  money that will allow GRI to put people in the field to do direct outreach to those suffering from addiction.”The biggest challenge if you’re a Prince or Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Tom Petty or Michael Jackson is you need to talk to someone, and that’s the hardest ting because of the stigma that people don’t know who to call,” Kovac says of the difficulty in getting those who need it help; both Kovac and Sixx are on the board of GRI. “All these organizations are giving us this time and exposure because they care about our industry, which is losing so many artists… and the industry needs to not just talk about it, but have a call to action.” Because when someone like Juice WRLD dies from drug-related causes at a young age, Kovac says, Live Nation loses their global touring revenue, but radio and streaming services also lose out on potential new music from great artists, film companies lose stars of today and tomorrow and we all lose out to a killer that took more lives in 2017 than the entire Vietnam War.”There is a cure, but it’s destigmatizing and being able to get awareness out there and have an outcome [that matters],” Kovac says. “You can create all the foundations in the world, but unless you get an outcome you haven’t done much. And our outcome is to get people out there in the fields.

Check out the “Maybe It’s Time” video and Sno Babies trailer below.

Better Noise Music Festival To Stream Worldwide

By Nora Hones On Jul 14, 2020

Better Noise Music, the independent music label, announces the Better Noise Music Festival on July 16. The festival will benefit Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation which provides support services for people in early recovery from substance use disorders. The festival will feature live performances, unseen footage and more.

The Better Noise Music Festival has an impressive line-up of new and classic performances, artist messages and sneak peeks at two Better Noise Films projects slated for the fall. The films are Sno Babies and The Retaliators. The line-up includes big names like Motley Crue, Five Finger Death Punch, and the Dirty Heads.

The full line-up includes: Motley Crue, Five Finger Death Punch, Papa Roach, Awolnation, Cory Marks, Dirty Heads, The Hu, Bad Wolves, Escape The Fate, From Ashes To New, Fire From The Gods, Bleeker, Tuk Smith, Islander, All Good Things, Hyro The Hero, Eva Under Fire, Nevrlands. Little Stranger, Tempt, The Bottom Line, and Thousand Thoughts.

The festival will air worldwide on July 16 at the following times: 3PM PST, 5PM CST, 6PM EST, 11PM BST, and 12AM CET. The festival will air at 8AM ACT on July 17. The event is in partnership with LiveXLive. All live streamed performances will be simulcast by LiveXLive on YouTube, Facebook, Twitch and Twitter. Proceeds will benefit the Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation (GRI) to provide support services for those in early recovery from a substance use disorder.

For more information on the festival please visit Better Noise Music’s website and LiveXLive’s website.

Nikki Sixx

New board members bring strong mix of experience and position that will help GRI expand philanthropy for people in early recovery from substance use disorder (SUD)

SILVER SPRING, MD—March 11, 2020—The Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation (GRI) announced today the addition of four new members to its board of directors: international rock icon Nikki Sixx; entertainment industry legend Allen Kovac; Fors Marsh Group’s (FMG) Director of Special Initiatives Matt Escoubas, and iHeartMedia VP Alexandra Cameron.

Pam Cytron, CEO of Pando Systems and board chairman of the GRI said, “We are thrilled to add these new board members who will bring their wisdom, expertise, and networks to expand philanthropy for people in early recovery from substance use disorder (SUD)—a nationwide problem that affects every sector of American life—from individuals and their families to the country’s employers and communities.”

About the New Board Members:

Nikki Sixx is a founding member and the bassist of the band Mötley Crüe (over 100 million albums sold worldwide) as well as the author of three New York Times bestselling books, including his memoir The Heroin Diaries, which will debut as a musical in 2020. He is 18 years sober and has been a dedicated recovery advocate, philanthropist, and public speaker. He is a frequent media contributor to CNN, Fast Company, MSNBC, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and Rolling Stone. He has also spoken to members of Congress for National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month.

Allen Kovac, a 40-year veteran of the entertainment industry, founded Better Noise Music (AKA, Eleven Seven Music Group), Tenth Street Entertainment, and TDA Productions. He has developed and promoted a wide range of artists, including Tom Petty, Talking Heads, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Duran Duran, The Cranberries, Mötley Crüe, and Meatloaf.

In 2006, Allen founded Better Noise Music to give artists an integrated worldwide marketing platform and direct distribution with iTunes, Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, and Deezer. Better Noise has been named the #1 Active Rock label by Mediabase two years in a row (2018 and 2019).

In 2019, Allen was honored by Sir Richard Branson with the Innovator Award at the Association of Independent Music (AIM) Awards. 

Allen has produced a number of programs that focus on SUD. He co-produced the highly successful Netflix biopic, The Dirt, based on the best-selling autobiography of the band Mötley Crüe. He also produced Sno Babies, a gripping story about a 16-year-old heroin-addicted honor student that shows how one can begin recovery; the movie is scheduled for release in 2020. In addition, he is the producer of The Heroin Diaries, a theater show based on the bestselling memoir of the same name by Nikki Sixx, which will run in 20 cities across the United States beginning in fall 2020. 

Matt Escoubas is Director of Special Initiatives at Fors Marsh Group (FMG) where he oversees the company’s social purpose division tasked with addressing social challenges through in-kind, employee-led project teams. Throughout Matt’s career he has championed causes that strive to improve lives through evidence-based research. He brings more than 25 years of experience to his current role having led a wide array of public health and social change campaigns on behalf of federal and private sector clients. His work spans a range of topics, including opioid use disorder, addiction recovery, heart disease and stroke prevention, tobacco prevention, and pediatric palliative care. His efforts have received multiple industry awards, including a PR News Platinum Award, Bronze Anvil Award, two National Health Information Awards, and three Thoth Awards.

Alexandra Cameron is Vice President Strategic Partnerships & Government Initiatives for iHeartMedia.  She also leads iHeartMedia’s significant commitment toward combatting the opioid epidemic, including its role as cofounder of The National Opioid Action Coalition (NOAC). iHeart’s active role in responding to the crisis has included thought leadership events and multiple audio and digital campaigns to heighten awareness and break stigma around substance use disorder, including a National Recovery Month effort which enlisted artist support from Macklemore, Camila Cabello, Dan + Shay and others. iHeartMedia and NOAC have adopted GRI as a charitable partner for SUD issues. Alexandra is also on the Advertising Week Advisory Council and is the former CEO of Keek, a startup social video network, growing it to 75 million users. She has served as Chair and Board Director for numerous industry trade organizations and spent over 5 years as Market Manager for 3 iconic NY radio brands.

About Better Noise Music

BETTER NOISE MUSIC is the premiere independent music label under BETTER NOISE ENTERTAINMENT, a content creation and marketing company that produces music, books, films, documentaries, TV shows, theatrical productions and tours.  Better Noise Music (formerly Eleven Seven Music), founded in 2006 by music industry veteran and independent pioneer Allen Kovac, focuses on artist development and has grown into a music industry independent powerhouse, with a roster including Five Finger Death Punch, AWOLNATION, Mötley Crüe, Atlas Genius, Papa Roach, Bad Wolves, Nothing More and The Hu. Partnering with FUGA, AMPED and Membran, the company operates a global marketing and distribution platform with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Nashville, London, Berlin, Toronto and Sydney.  https://betternoise.com/

About FMG

Fors Marsh Group (FMG) applies science and strategy to create positive behavior change in people and program and policy improvements in large organizations and government. This work is conducted within seven core U.S. markets: health, defense, technology, finance, homeland security, policy, and consumer. As a certified B Corporation, FMG’s business practices create positive impact beyond our client portfolio, extending into the community through pro bono service to nonprofits aligned with FMG’s corporate values.

About GRI

The Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation (GRI) is the first and only national community foundation dedicated to building philanthropy for organizations that deliver recovery support services to people with SUD.

GRI funds the expansion of organizations that have demonstrated success in:

• Deploying public, private, and pop culture resources to strengthen the field of recovery; 
• Engaging philanthropy leaders to invest in nonprofit, recovery-focused programs and making grants in local communities throughout the United States; and
• Reducing the stigma around SUD and recovery.

For more information, visit:  https://globalrecoveryinitiatives.org/

Contact: Caitlin Carroll

[email protected]

310.824.3997 

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