The Shield

Join us as Dr. Rebekah Savage discusses treating adolescents with  substance use disorders, and how she became interested in treating substance use disorders. 

Dr. Rebekah Savage is a board-certified pediatrician who specializes in treating adolescents with substance use disorders and eating disorders. She also works with adolescents who are currently incarcerated. 

Dr. Savage walks us through how a family member’s experience with a substance use disorder and mental health challenges impacted her,  and sparked her interest in treating substance use disorders.  She also discusses the importance of pediatricians assessing for substance use disorders or potentially problematic substance use in adolescent patients. She provides some helpful tips for pediatricians and parents when it comes to discussing and asking about substance use with adolescents. 

Link to Adolescent Clinic: https://www.childrensal.org/services/adolescent-health-center/clinics 

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Join us as Randy Hall, the President of Recovery Dharma Global, discusses how Buddhist practices and principles helped him reconnect with himself and others after more than two decades of suffering from the isolation of addiction. 

Randy talks about how his substance use disorder developed while he was a high-achieving student and high-functioning professional. He discusses how he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome and how that medical crisis altered his life in a surprisingly positive way. Randy also reveals how his recovery journey led him to become the President of Recovery Dharma Global, a peer-led community of over 500 recovery meetings that use Buddhist-inspired practices to recover from addictions of all kinds. Finally, Randy relates how a holistic approach to recovery has helped him connect with himself and others and cultivate a beautiful life free from addiction.

Connect with Randy Hall by emailing him at [email protected]

To learn more about Recovery Dharma visit https://recoverydharma.org/

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Join us as Kyle Berman shares with us his idea for a device that would notify someone of a suspected overdose, and how his experience of losing many friends to overdoses has impacted his passion to save lives. 

Kyle Berman, a person in long-term recovery, tells us about the development of an idea that was inspired after the death of one of his friends. Kyle talks about how losing his younger sister to an overdose and a total of 13 friends to overdoses in 2022 encouraged him create a device that would track vital signs to determine if someone is  having an overdose and notify a contact to check on the person. Kyle also discusses moments in his childhood and adolescent years that were pivotal and impacted his substance use and led him to recovery.  

Kyle discusses the importance of having life-saving Narcan available.  If you or someone you may know needs Narcan, then go to the Jefferson County Department of Health's website to complete the Narcan training and request a Narcan kit. Narcan kits can be mailed throughout the State of Alabama. 
 

For additional information on Revive or to get in contact with Kyle, please contact [email protected]

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For more content, make sure to check us out on Instagram and YouTube!

https://www.instagram.com/addictionpreventioncoalition/

https://www.youtube.com/@AddictionCoalition

Join us for a conversation with Dr. Stephen Taylor. Dr. Taylor shares with us his experience growing up in Brooklyn, New York, and how growing up there impacted his decision to become a doctor. 

Dr. Taylor is the Medical Director of the Player Assistance and Anti-Drug Program for the National Basketball Association and the National Basketball Players Association. He is also the Chief Medical Officer for Pathway Healthcare’s Division of Behavioral Health. Dr. Taylor is a graduate of the Howard University College of Medicine, and he holds an MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Taylor went on to complete a “triple-board” residency at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in pediatrics, general psychiatry and child/adolescent psychiatry.  He also completed a fellowship in alcoholism and drug abuse treatment at New York University School of Medicine/Bellevue Hospital Center. Dr. Taylor serves on several boards, including, the Board of Directors for the American Society of Addiction Medicine and the Drug Testing Advisory Board for SAMHSA. He also serves on the board for the Addiction Prevention Coalition. 

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Join us as Wade Meadows walks us through his journey of addiction and recovery, and how his experience led him to his current career. 

Wade Meadows has worked in the field of addiction treatment since 2016. He currently works as a Business Development Representative for Florida Springs Wellness and Recovery Center. Wade discusses how several internal fears developed at a young age and impacted multiple aspects of his life. Wade discusses growing up in a rural community, how his addiction to opioids developed, and how he overcame his fears to be able to serve others in the field of addiction treatment.  

Florida Springs Wellness and Recovery Center is a drug and alcohol treatment center located in Panama City, Florida. Florida Springs offers services including, detox, residential treatment, and outpatient treatment, to clients in the Florida panhandle and surrounding areas. Link for Florida Springs: https://www.flasprings.com/

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Join us as Abi Famurewa, the epidemiologist for the Addiction Prevention Coalition, discusses growing up in Nigeria, how substance use impacted her family, and how she found her way to APC. 

Abi primarily works on a five year SAMHSA grant, SPF-PFS, which focuses on providing education and prevention services in the City of Birmingham. Abi is originally from Nigeria, but moved to the United States to attend Texas A&M to obtain her Master’s in Public Health with a special interest in infectious diseases. During her time at Texas A&M, her family was impacted by her sister’s opioid use.  This came as a surprise to her whole family. Abi acted as the educator for her family to provide them with education and support to help her sister through treatment and recovery.  This experience sparked Abi’s interest in substance use, and started her journey as an advocate for those with substance use disorders and mental health challenges. 

Abi is also a Youth Mental Health First Aid instructor. Visit apcbham.org to learn more about Mental Health First Aid and request a training. 

#addiction #nigeria #epidemiology

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Join us as Drew Callner takes us through his years of active addiction, moving to Alabama, and finally finding a community where he no longer felt like an outsider. 

Drew Callner is an award-winning filmmaker, who moved to Alabama from his hometown, Seattle, Washington. Drew discusses what his early substance use looked like as a teenager. Then, Drew walks us through the progression of his substance use disorder, and how he found the connection he had been missing through recovery support groups, like AA and HA. 

Drew Callner is the owner of Callner Creates, a full-scale video production business in Birmingham, Alabama. Drew is known for directing Recovering Hope (2017), a documentary that tells the story of six different people and how the opioid epidemic and heroin addiction have impacted their life. 

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Ms. Eve Gunn is a Mental Health Coordinator with Tarrant City Schools. Ms. Gunn discusses how the social, health, and racial disparities impact her high school students. 

Ms. Gunn, who never intended to become a social worker and work in a school setting, shares with us about how she found her way into this career path. She discusses her advocacy for her students, and the passion she has for helping them reach their full potential.  

Tarrant City Schools is a school district located in Tarrant, Alabama, which is just outside of downtown Birmingham. The Addiction Prevention Coalition works closely with the teachers and administrators of Tarrant City Schools to provide Mental Health First Aid, general substance use prevention education, and facilitate an INFOCUS group. 

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Join us as UAB’s Dr. Burel Goodin discusses how his experience watching football players recover from injuries sparked his interest in pain, and how he started researching the many factor that impact someone’s experience with pain and recovery. Dr. Goodin discusses his research as it relates to how health disparities and health inequities impact how people feel and manage pain. 

Dr. Goodin also talks about UAB’s Center for Addiction and Pain Prevention and Intervention, an organization that is composed by scientists, physicians, and people in the community that are interested in discovering effective treatments and alleviating the suffering caused by addiction and pain. 

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