Fors Marsh Group (FMG) and Global Recovery Initiatives (GRI) Foundation are partnering to co-host the annual Amethyst event. This benefit, to be held on November 20 at 11:30 a.m. EST, is a virtual event celebrating national recovery high school students and the Association of Recovery Schools (ARS). The event will support ARS’s efforts to obtain the technology needed for distance learning and recovery high school infrastructure.
The fast-paced hour-long virtual event will delve into the role recovery high schools play in helping young people sustain their recovery and complete their high school education. The event will feature Dr. Andrew Finch, Ph.D., a leading expert of recovery schools at Vanderbilt University and one of the founders of ARS. He will be joined by two recovery high school alumni who will share their success stories.
“Substance use disorder (SUD) affects millions of people, and teenagers are no exception,” said Matt Escoubas, FMG’s Director of Social Impact, “The Amethyst event will help raise awareness of an incredible resource available to youth in recovery.”
Recovery high schools are an alternative to traditional high schools, designed specifically for students in recovery from SUD and co-occurring disorders. Today, there are dozens of recovery high schools in the United States, and more in the development phase.
“Like schools across the country, recovery high schools have been affected by the pandemic and the transition to distance learning—but our community has special challenges,” said Michael Durchslag, Vice President of ARS and Director of P.E.A.S.E. Academy, “Students with SUD are usually encouraged not to isolate and rely on their support networks—but social distancing and remote learning make this significantly more difficult.”
Increasing awareness of recovery high schools is another example of the many efforts FMG and GRI are leading to reduce stigma and strengthen the infrastructure for recovery services in the United States.
To learn more about recovery high schools and how to help, click here
About FMG
FMG is a company that uses business as a force for good. Since 2002, it has focused on applying 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 B Corporation, FMG governs from a unique set of values and policies that compound the positive impact achieved for its employees, clients, and partners.
About GRI
GRI’s focus is to build a philanthropic pool that supports organizations providing services to people in early recovery from substance use disorder (SUD). By partnering with public, private, and pop culture leaders, GRI works to erase the stigma of SUD and share best practices that are scientifically proven to help keep people from relapsing.