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In this episode, Wisconsin Voices for Recovery Director Cindy Burzinski talks with Tom Farley and Amanda Uphoff from Recovery.com. Recovery.com was created in 2017 to help people discover a path to recovery that’s right for them, starting with landing on websites they can trust. They aim to provide unbiased, educational, helpful information about treatment options for addiction and mental health to help families and individuals find the right fit for their current needs.

Tom's bio:

Tom Farley grew up in Madison, WI, and graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in Marketing. He began his career in banking and finance, living and working in the New York City area. From 1999 to 2012, he ran The Chris Farley Foundation, a nationally recognized non-profit dedicated to substance abuse prevention. Like his brother, Tom was successful in opening the “eyes and ears” of youth audiences through the powerful and effective use of humor. In 2008 he wrote The Chris Farley Show, a New York Time bestselling biography of his late brother, the actor and comedian Chris Farley. He has been interviewed on The Today Show, Good Morning America, Larry King Live, Fox News and The View. He has also been featured in People Magazine, USA Today and several national and regional newspapers and publications. Tom is a community leader: he currently serves on the board of the National Rural Alcohol and Drug Abuse Network and has previously served on several non-profit boards and government committees. Tom is currently the Community Outreach Director for Recovery.com as well as a motivational speaker, delivering messages on prevention and recovery.

Amanda's bio:

Amanda Uphoff is in long-term recovery from alcohol use disorder and is passionate about helping others find their path toward recovery. She gets great satisfaction from creating order out of chaos, identifying areas for improved efficiency, and building authentic connection. Amanda is a certified yoga instructor and a lifelong bibliophile (with two degrees in English Literature to prove it). Her proudest accomplishment and biggest joy is watching her son and daughter grow into kind, capable, curious humans as they forge their ways in the world. Amanda is currently the Chief of Staff at Recovery.com.

In this episode, Cindy Burzinski, Director of Wisconsin Voices for Recovery, speaks with Tarah Stangler, Director of Harm Reduction Services at OutReach LGBTQ+ Community Center in Madison, WI. Tarah describes the components, history, vision, and challenges of the OutReach program as well as their approach of liberatory and grassroots harm reduction work, especially within the context of queer and BIPOC communities. Tarah describes the challenges the harm reduction program faces and how they would like to expand this work and concludes with messages for those who haven't bought into harm reduction efforts in their communities or for themselves.

OutReach website: https://www.outreachmadisonlgbt.org/

Tarah’s email: [email protected]

OutReach main number on website 608-255-8582, ask for Tarah

This episode takes a deep dive into the stigma people with, or in recovery from, substance use disorders encounter in the healthcare system. Our panel includes three people in recovery: Ryan Gorman, a counselor and client rights advocate at Community Medical Services; Luke Fuszard, a patient ambassador and a lecturer in the Department of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison; and Hillary Kreutz, a recovery coach. They are joined by Ritu Bhatnagar, an addiction psychologist at University of Wisconsin–Madison and Cindy Burzinski, Director of Wisconsin Voices for Recovery.

In this episode, Wisconsin Voices for Recovery Director Cindy Burzinski hosts a second panel on harm reduction related to substance use. Members of the panel for part 2 include three representatives of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa: Philomena Kebec, Economic Development Coordinator; Lisa Whitebird, Harm Reduction Leadership and Administrative Coordinator; and Eli Corbine, Harm Reduction Coordinator. Also joining the panel is Tahira Malik, the founder and Chief Operations Officer of Samad’s House located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Megan Morshead, Peer Support Specialist at Tellurian and House Manager for Chandra's House of Hope in Madison, WI. You can find more information and resources through the links below:

https://www.badriverharmreduction.org/

https://nextdistro.org/

https://samadshouse.org/

https://www.tellurian.org/chandra

https://211wisconsin.communityos.org/

In this episode, Wisconsin Voices for Recovery Director Cindy Burzinski hosts a panel on harm reduction. Members of the panel for part 1 are Dr. Elizabeth Salibury-Afshar, a board-certified doctor in family medicine, addiction medicine, and preventive medicine/general public health; Ryan Gorman, a substance use disorder counselor for Community Medical Services (CMS), Amanda DeLeon, a community impact manager for CMS; and Chief Brian Chaney, chief of the city of Monona police department.

In this episode, Wisconsin Voices for Recovery Director Cindy Burzinski talks with Julie Smith, founder of Onyx, peer-supportive housing for people in early recovery in Western Wisconsin. The goals of Onyx are to provide safe, sober housing and connect people with resources in the community, including outpatient treatment, Alano clubs, food shelves, churches, therapy, and good medical care. Residents are counseled to complete a minimum 4-month stay because everyone's recovery path is unique and takes time. In the podcast, Julie discusses some of the Onyx expectations, including maintaining 100% sobriety, as well as the challenges residents and Onyx face, including ongoing stigma and the shortage of sober and transition housing in Wisconsin. Nevertheless, she emphasizes the importance of approaching recovery with compassion and considering each member a part of the Onyx family.  Onyx is continuing to build and expand across the Western Region of Wisconsin while maintaining the integrity of safe, supportive recovery residences. You can find the Onyx website at www.letsrecovertogether.org.

In this episode, Wisconsin Voices for Recovery Director Cindy Burzinski is joined by Brian Bainbridge, Chief Executive Officer of the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council (GLITC) and Jacob Riemer, Public Health Specialist; and Christina Denslinger, Program Director of the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Epidemiology Center (GLITEC).

GLITC was formed over 60 years ago to create a collective voice for the 11 federally recognized tribes in Wisconsin and the upper peninsula of Michigan. Its mission is “to enhance the quality of life for all Native people.” Among the host of departments in GLITC is the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Epidemiology Center (GLITEC), one of the 12 tribal epidemiology centers in the United States. GLITEC strives to improve the health of American Indian/Alaska Native people by developing solutions for disease prevention and control and strengthening public health capacity through funding and technical assistance for tribes working on health projects.

Bryan, Jacob, and Christina highlight several GLITC and GLITEC projects related to substance use, including the annual Great Lakes Area Opioid Conference and the building of an adolescent recovery and wellness center grounded in Native values for culture and nature.

Byron is Regional Partnerships Manager for the Phoenix. The Phoenix is a national non-profit that brings people in recovery from substance use disorder together through physical and social activities. He is also owner of the Rebound Recovery House, a ten-bed sober living home in Milwaukee. Prior to his work with the Phoenix, Byron worked in affordable housing for 8 years in Milwaukee. His duties included locating and housing homeless veterans. In 2008 he started Rebound Basketball, a sober men’s basketball program, which later led to his current position with the Phoenix. He also had a ten-year career at JP Morgan Chase. Byron has served on the board of Milwaukee Alano Club and Historic Milwaukee. He loves travel, food, his dog, and participation in local recreational team sports.

On this episode, Wisconsin Voices for Recovery director Cindy Burzinski talks with Heather Rose from Badger Recovery. Badger Recovery is a program for University of Wisconsin students in or considering recovery from substance use. Badger Recovery helps create a community where students can access resources and support through a variety of meetings, events, and services. Their mission is to provide a welcoming and inclusive collegiate recovery community that offers resources, connection opportunities, and support for students, and they envision cultivating a campus environment where students in recovery can thrive.

You can learn more about Badger Recovery through their website at https://www.uhs.wisc.edu/prevention/substance-misuse-prevention/badger-recovery/ or Instagram at badgerrecovery. The can be contacted via email at [email protected].

In this podcast, we speak with Kathleen Maher, Outreach Specialist and Dr. David Leinweber, Assistant Professor, both from the PROTEA group, which focuses on working with clinical providers to better prepare them to treat patients with substance use disorders, whether through harm reduction strategies or to help people seeking recovery.

The PROTEA group is part of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Its mission is to "improve systems of prevention and treatment for substance-related issues and, thereby, improve health and well-being in patients and communities."

For more information, please check out the PROTEA website: https://www.fammed.wisc.edu/protea/