Quote of the Week


"If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way" ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.



Celebrate with us at this week's Wilkinsburg PSST Meeting!!
Posted by:Jenn--Sunday, September 28, 2014

Come celebrate with us! As part of our regular Wilkinsburg PSST meeting on Saturday, October 4th, we will also be announcing the Parent(s) of The Year for Allegheny County. 
  
Each year this award usually goes to the PSST parent(s) who have used the parenting skills of PSST and who also have given back to the PSST group in a substantial way.
   
The official award will be presented on Thursday, October 9th at the annual county awards ceremony, which begins at 6 PM (and lasts about 2 hours).  The event is held at the Family Court House, 550 Fifth Ave., Pittsburgh, PA (the Old Allegheny County Jail) on the second floor.  Please consider coming to the county awards ceremony to support our PSST parent(s) receiving this award!


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National Recovery Month
Posted by:Jenn--Tuesday, September 23, 2014

In its 25th year, Recovery Month promotes the societal benefits of prevention, treatment, and recovery for mental and substance use disorders. This year’s theme, “Join the Voices for Recovery: Speak Up, Reach Out,” encourages people to openly speak up about mental and substance use disorders and the reality of recovery, and promotes ways individuals can use to recognize behavioral health issues and reach out for help. Recovery Month spreads the positive message that behavioral health is essential to overall health, that prevention works, treatment is effective and people can and do recover.

I could not imagine a life without alcohol. It was my everything – until it ripped me apart. ~ Ellie

I am so thankful for each day I am sober and I would never take back anything. I am the person I am today because of my experiences. I am not ashamed to say I am in recovery…for life. ~ Meghan

Helping people find sobriety and community has filled a hole in me that I was trying to fill with alcohol. My life is anything but boring and best of all, it’s fun. ~ Amanda

Today my life isn’t about hiding and getting what I want, it is about helping people, sharing my passion for recovery and hope! ~ Elizabeth

Recovery has given me the chance to become who I was always meant to be, and to help others do the same. ~ Beth

One Day at a Time is used in all 12-step programs and even though it may be an old and dusty bumper sticker slogan, I noticed this really works for me especially when I choose to stay in the moment. ~ Pilar

For more information about National Recovery Month, click here.

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National Drug Take-Back Day: Sept 27, 2014, 10am-2pm
Posted by:Jenn--Wednesday, September 17, 2014

On Saturday, Sept 27, 2014 from 10am-2pm, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will hold its 9th national “Drug Take-Back Day” to enable patients, caregivers and pet owners to properly dispose of unwanted prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications at no cost.

Since launching the nationwide Drug Take-Back Day effort in 2010, the DEA has collected more than 3.4 million pounds (1,733 tons) of prescription medications. 
 
Help to protect our young people (and others) from overdoses and/or accidental ingestion of prescription medications.  Help to keep our water supply safe – don’t flush unwanted medications down the sink or toilet!  

For a searchable list of collection sites nationwide, click here.


The following additional information about the importance of proper disposal of unwanted prescription medications is taken from the Pennsylvania Resources Council websiteThe mission of the PRC is to lead and promote individual and collective actions to preserve Pennsylvania’s environmental resources for each generation.



There are numerous reasons why prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals become unwanted or unneeded. Many people stop taking drugs due to side-effects, their lack of effectiveness, or quicker recovery periods than anticipated. And medications often reach their expiration dates before they are completely used. But people are also being prescribed and buying more drugs, per-person, than ever before in this country.

On a national level, estimates point to upwards of 200 million pounds of pharmaceutical waste being generated each year. Over the past few years, pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors have been detected in growing amounts in surface and drinking water sources around the country. This issue has been increasingly covered in scientific literature and the mainstream media. A series of Associated Press stories brought the issue to the national spotlight in 2008.


In addition, prescription medications have become the drug of choice for teens and other age groups. Each year, tens of thousands of our children and adults die or become critically ill from overdoses and/or accidental ingestion of prescription medications. Citizens, scientists, political leaders, law enforcement, and health care professionals are expressing concern about the proper disposal of pharmaceuticals; the old, widely-touted advice to flush these materials is no longer acceptable. But few practical and readily-available solutions currently exist for the safe disposal of unwanted pharmaceuticals. As early as 2006, however, some waste management boards and sanitary and wastewater authorities began offering pharmaceutical collection events in states around the country including Maine, Washington, Minnesota, and California among others.

President Obama signed the "Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010" into law on October 12, 2010. The law removes a key barrier to creating statewide programs that allow residents to safely return and dispose of leftover medications. The legislation is intended to support the creation of medication take-back options that reduce prescription drug abuse and reduce the amount of pharmaceuticals getting into the environment. Once the new law is implemented, providers of medication take-back programs will have more options for where and how they set up programs that accept controlled substances, such as OxyContin, Vicodin, and Ritalin.


Currently, only law enforcement can accept narcotics and other controlled substances from residents. The intent of this federal law is to authorize other convenient community return locations – like pharmacies – for secure disposal of controlled substances. Currently pharmacy take-back programs (the legality of these vary from state–to-state) around the country can only accept the return of over-the-counter medications and prescription medications that are not controlled substances. However, controlled substances make up about 11% of prescription drugs sold.

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Support Groups
Posted by:Jenn--Saturday, September 13, 2014

Why do I need a support group? 

There is no need to stay isolated and alone with our fears. In fact, it is proven that when we reach out to others and share our experiences, we get stronger. When we are stronger, the addicts in our lives have a better chance of recovery. 

When one person in the family is addicted to drugs and alcohol, we all get sick. And while we cannot control the choices our children make, we can control the choices we make. But how would we know what the choices are, what works and what doesn’t work, if we don’t participate in a forum where we can learn about what has worked for others? ~ Lauren Springer 

For the rest of Lauren’s article, click here

We are able to feel both supported and challenged in a group experience. As the group bonds and trust develops, people feel safer to speak honestly with each other. In groups we can both get and give. Both feel good. The experience of past loss, damage or trauma (whether from our family or from other relationships), may have profoundly affected our self- concept. A group can become a "family" that responds to us very differently, and can give us a corrective experience that impacts us emotionally, mentally, spiritually and physically. We can also learn that conflict is part of being in relationship, and can be tolerated and worked through. We can't rationalize our negative feelings away, but I believe we can slowly heal as we learn to take in the love and acceptance that emerges in a group. ~ Wendy Fennell 

For the rest of Wendy’s article, click here.

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Credits

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