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First Annual Rallies for Recovery Held at RIDOC in Recognition of Rallies are hosted

by the Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals(BHDDH)

and the Rhode Island Recovery Month Coalition

Cranston, RI, September, 2011  – In recognition of National Recovery Month, the Rhode Island

Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals (BHDDH) and theRhode Island Recovery Month Coalition hosted the first annual Rallies for Recovery at the Rhode Island

Department of Corrections recently. One rally was held at the John J. Moran men’s Medium Security

Facility on Tuesday, September 13, and two were held at the men’s Minimum Security Facility onWednesday, September 14.

Jim Gillen, Director of Anchor Recovery Center, served as host for the rallies and provided anintroduction to the meaning of National Recovery Month. A recovery quilt made by women in recovery

in the community was displayed, inspiring the inmates to volunteer to create their own recovery quilt for

next year’s rallies. An artistic inmate in each building designed a poster of a tree, and each inmate in

recovery was given a leaf on which he could write his name, the date of his recovery, and any sentimentabout the recovery process he wished to share before placing his leaf on the tree. A number of inmates in

each facility shared heartfelt accounts of their recovery.

Music was also included in the program. At Medium Security, an inmate played the bongo drums, and at

Minimum, an inmate sang while being accompanied on the piano by ACI Chaplain the Rev. CarsonByers. One inmate also shared a poem he’d written about what his recovery meant to him.

James Plante, a discharge planner at the RIDOC and employee of the Providence Center, was also

instrumental in organizing the rallies. The Providence Center won the bid to become the RIDOC’s drug

treatment provider for the next three years, and Jim will oversee a team of four discharge planners  – twowith mental health caseloads and two with caseloads of inmates coming out of the drug treatment

program.

According to Assistant Director of Rehabilitative Services Roberta Richman, “It is our intention to

ensure that returning offenders’ recovery outlook will be brighter by providing continuity of care after

they leave prison. They will be enrolled in a weekly treatment program in the community so theirrecovery will be sustained.” 

Guest speakers at the rallies included Craig Stenning, Director of the Department of Behavioral

Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals, and Ashbel T. Wall, Director of the Departmentof Corrections. “Holding these events at the Department of Corrections is a way for us to acknowledgethe efforts of these inmates to turn their lives around, give a voice to those who are in recovery, and to

reinforce the message that

RI De pa r tm e nt o f Be ha v iora l He a l thc a re ,De v e lopm e nta l D is a b i l i t i e s & Hos pi ta ls( B H D D H )

RHODE ISLAND DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

40 HOWARD AVENUE CRANSTON, RI 02920

I FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASETracey Zeckhausen (401) 462-2609

RIDOC Media Relations

Deborah Varga (401) 462-0192

BHDDH Media Relations 

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-more-

 Rallies for Recovery at the RIDOC, p. 2

treatment does work and recovery is possible,” said Craig Stenning, Director of BHDDH.

Corrections Director A.T. Wall said of the rallies, “These are the first events of this kind to be held atthe Rhode Island Department of Corrections, and to our knowledge the first of their kind to be held in

prisons anywhere in the country. Prisons are a natural setting in which to hold recovery rallies given the

high percentage of inmates who have some type of substance abuse issue.” 

National Recovery Month is an initiative of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services

Administration’s (SAMHSA’s) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), within the Department

of Health and Human Services. The goal of this initiative is to increase the understanding of behavioral

health and reinforce the message that prevention works, treatment is effective, and people can and do

recover. A large public rally was held at Roger Williams Memorial Park on September 10, to kick of National Recovery Month in Rhode Island. Last year, BHDDH won the 2010 Recovery Month Annual

Event Award for its public rally in recognition of exceptional efforts to expand the breadth and reach of 

National Recovery Month in 2010. Director Craig Stenning traveled to Washington, D.C. on September

8 to accept the honor.

The two men’s rallies were such a success that two more are being planned for the women’s facilities.

They will be held at the old Gloria McDonald Building on Wilma Schesler Lane on Monday, September26, from 12:30 – 1:45 p.m., and at the new Gloria McDonald Awaiting Trail and Medium Security

Facility on Fleming Road on Friday, September 30, also from 12:30  – 1:45 p.m. The format will be the

same as that followed in the men’s facilities. Any member of the press who wishes to attend either of the

women’s facility rallies must contact Tracey Zeckhausen at (401) 462-2609 in advance to secureclearance.

About the Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals

BHDDH is committed to assuring access to quality services and supports for Rhode Islanders with developmentaldisabilities, mental health and substance abuse issues and chronic, long-term medical and psychiatric conditions. In addition

to planning for the development of new services and prevention activities, the mission of the department includes addressing

the stigma attached to these disabilities.

About the Rhode Island Recovery Month CoalitionThe Rhode Island Recovery Month Coalition includes treatment and recovery service providers, family members, and friends and

advocates for recovery. The coalition strives to improve the quality of life of veterans and other individuals in recovery and

highlight their accomplishments.

About the Department of Corrections

The mission of the Rhode Island Department of Corrections (RIDOC) is to contribute to public safety by maintaining a

balanced correctional system of institutional and community programs that provide a range of control and rehabilitative

options for criminal offenders. Our guiding operational philosophy includes maintaining appropriate safe, secure, andhumane correctional environments while providing for community-based management, supervision, and intervention services

for criminal offenders. The RIDOC’s seven prisons and one jail house approximately 3,300 inmates. The Department also

has oversight of approximately 25,000 men and women on probation and parole in Rhode Island.

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