The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence fights the stigma and the disease of alcoholism and other drug addictions.

For Over 50 Years, The Voice of Americans Fighting Alcoholism

1994 - 2000

"Together with the technological innovations that have greatly enhanced our ability to fulfill our mission, and the progress we have made in improving society's attitudes, our Affiliates are the single most important resource we have in helping communities prevent and treat alcoholism and other drug addictions. In keeping with the vision of Marty Mann, our founder, the Affiliates remain the strength of NCADD."          Max A. Schneider, MD, Chairman, 1997 "The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence adopted a new statement of our mission: NCADD fights the stigma and the disease of alcoholism and other drug addictions. With the adoption of this statement, NCADD returned to the roots as sowed by our founder, Marty Mann."          Gordon L. Steinhauer, Chairman, 2000 As NCADD entered the decade that would carry it into the new millennium, technological innovations greatly enhanced the organization's ability to fulfill its mission of providing help and hope to the afflicted and the affected. With the development of a widely acclaimed website and the emergence of the National Intervention Network, NCADD consistently found new and effective ways to disseminate information and to reach out to those suffering from alcoholism and other drug addictions. NCADD's work in the area of public policy continued, with new partnerships being formed throughout the field with a variety of national agencies and organizations, while on the local front, Affiliates continued to offer a wide array of services. NATIONAL INTERVENTION NETWORK PROJECT SIGNALS NEW ERA OF COLLABORATION In 1994, representatives of the board, staff and Affiliates gathered to discuss a project that would strengthen the relationship between the national organization and the Affiliates. A family intervention network emerged as the clear favorite and a joint committee was assigned to develop the project further. This collaborative process signaled the increasingly significant role Affiliates would play at NCADD now that they had accepted a dues increase and had representation on the national board. In early 1996, the Johnson Institute, a pioneer in the field, funded a grant to help make the network operational. The intervention committee developed an intervention protocol, a fee structure, and a code of ethics. WEBSITE EXTENDS THE REACH OF NCADD In 1996, with a grant from the Christopher D. Smithers Foundation, NCADD was quick to take advantage of the Internet to spread its educational message. The site was instantly designated a "Hot Site" by USA Today. With just a few strokes on their computer keyboards, students writing reports, the media, other professionals and the general public could instantly access user-friendly information about alcohol and alcohol-related problems in America. In 1997, for the first time, more people reached NCADD through the Internet than any other way, with nearly 40,000 computer users accessing the website. In 1999, NCADD's website attracted an average of 10,000 visitors each month. AFFILIATES LEAD THE WAY Throughout the decade, it became clear that the NCADD Affiliates were -- and are -- the single most important resource in helping communities prevent and treat alcoholism and other drug addictions. A number of significant programs were developed by Affiliates across the country: the Des Moines Affiliate offered "Uplift," which provides intervention services to African-American, Bosnian, Caucasian, Hispanic, Laotian, Sudanese, Thai Dam and Vietnamese youth facing academic failure, addiction and delinquency; "Building Foundations for Peace" in Middlesex County, NJ taught anger management and conflict resolution skills to third and sixth graders; the student assistance program at the Morganton, NC Affiliate, counseled more than 800 students and 25 parents, helping to reduce the number of dropouts, drug-related offenses and violence. The Erie County, NY Affiliate focused on the entire family through the "Strengthening Families" program which held weekly dinners for addicted parents and their children; and across the country, the "All in the Family" program offered by the Torrance, CA Affiliate, sought to help parents create safe and nurturing environments for their children. The Tucson Affiliate delivered long-term residential treatment to mentally ill and chemically addicted (MICA) people who have been referred by other agencies in the community; a new "Woman to Woman Domestic Violence Program" implemented by the Long Beach, CA Affiliate provided a safe haven for women and their children to heal and recover; and in Bucks County, PA the stigma-busting efforts of "PRO-ACT" culminated with a powerful "Tree of Hope" ceremony at the county courthouse which housed an 18-foot evergreen filled with ornaments, honoring individuals and remembering lives lost. The "Tree of Hope" program has been in existence since the early 1990s. PUBLIC POLICY In Washington, NCADD made headlines in 1997 when it filed a petition -- supported by 24 other organizations, including Mothers Against Drunk Driving -- demanding that the Federal Communications Commission use its power to require alcoholic beverage counter advertising. A few years later, using its landmark prevention statement as a benchmark, the Public Policy office offered vocal opposition to federal government approval of labels that would have allowed wine producers to make health claims on bottle labels. Another insidious marketing practice was highlighted in the "Shame on Anheuser Busch" campaign. Efforts to achieve parity in insurance coverage for addiction treatment remained at the top of NCADD's legislative agenda. The organization also vigorously supported a Congressional amendment introduced by Representatives Frank Wolf and Lucille Roybal-Allard that would allow the federal Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to include underage drinking prevention messages in its anti-drug youth media. Thanks in large part to her work with the Santa Barbara Affiliate, U.S. Representative Lois Capps also introduced a bill that would offer competitive grants to community groups trying to prevent underage drinking. NCADD will continue to lobby on behalf of the legislation. ALCOHOL AWARENESS MONTH David Satcher, MD, Surgeon General of the United States chaired Alcohol Awareness Month in April 1999. "I am privileged to join you -- parents, teachers, coaches, health professionals and religious leaders -- in helping young people to become fully informed about the dangers and consequences of underage and binge drinking," wrote Dr. Satcher in an open letter to participants. Alcohol Awareness Month chairs in other years included Senator George McGovern, former ONDCP Directors Lee Brown and Barry McCaffrey, and NY Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter. Alcohol Awareness Month activities have included an aggressive effort to market binge drinking prevention materials on college campuses all over the country in partnership with our Minnesota Affiliate. NCADD also co-sponsored the first ever National Alcohol Screening Day (NASD), patterned on a popular depression program, and many Affiliates and college campuses registered as screening sites. NCADD support helped convince the organizers to repeat the event annually. COMMITTEE ON TREATMENT BENEFITS DEVELOPS STRATEGY BASED ON OBJECTIVE MEASUREMENTS At the same time that NCADD was mounting a full-scale effort to educate Americans about early intervention, it also continued to pursue another critical area through its Committee on Treatment Benefits. The Committee, which first met in 1995, called together leaders from previously disparate entities that play significant roles in addictions treatment, including patients, treatment providers, insurance companies, managed care companies and large corporate purchasers of health insurance. In 1996, it developed a strategy to measure objectively what treatment services are most cost efficient and clinically effective for the given needs of patients with addictive diseases. As 1997 drew to a close, the Committee on Treatment Benefits finalized a concept paper that examined the enormous and varied complications of overhauling the current, haphazard approach to addictions treatment. It offered a manifesto for a revolution in service delivery and declared that "without this new vision and direction . . . the sick and suffering alcoholic and addict will be the ultimate victims of inadequate, inefficient and ineffective care." PEOPLE In 1996, Senator George McGovern, the 1972 Democratic presidential nominee, joined the NCADD Board of Directors and became a national spokesperson for the organization, as did Darryl Strawberry, one of the sports world's most famous figures, in 1999. Unfortunately Mr. Strawberry, who also had been undergoing chemotherapy for colon cancer, suffered a relapse during the pressures of spring training. Even this tragic development offered NCADD an opportunity to drive home the message that addiction is a chronic illness in which relapse can and does occur, particularly in stressful situations. Paul Wood, president of NCADD for many years resigned in 1999 to return to the Salvation Army, where he had spent much of his career, and Stacia Murphy, executive director of the New York City Affiliate, was appointed to the position in August. Ms. Murphy is the first Affiliate executive director ever to lead NCADD as well as the first woman to do so since Marty Mann founded the organization more than 50 years ago. MEDIA Early in the 1990s, cable television proved to be fertile ground for the teen alcohol prevention campaign that NCADD developed in 1994. This medium donated more than $10 million worth of time to show "Blind Date" and "Rough Night," two gender-specific spots created particularly for the MTV generation. Additionally, with funding from the Christopher D. Smithers Foundation, NCADD launched "Brink's Place," an hour-long cable television show. During the middle 1990s, a woman, dissatisfied by her experience in Alcoholics Anonymous and convinced that she didn't suffer from a disease, had formed a support group for "problem drinkers" and written a book about it. The media hadn't paid much attention to Moderation Management until March 1995, when both a tabloid television show and a national news magazine ran stories on it, stories that eventually generated more media coverage for NCADD than it had seen in years. Also that year was the broadcast of "Close to Home: Moyers on Addiction," a five-part series on PBS-TV. NCADD assisted PBS by adopting its slogan -- "Take A Step" -- and using its extensive outreach materials in an NCADD campaign. This was supported by hundreds of grassroots organizations, including schools, hospitals and churches, in addition to NCADD Affiliates. PROGRAMS In August 1995, the American Contract Bridge League Charity Foundation designated NCADD its "Charity of the Year" for 1996-1997. The honor carried with it a large grant which NCADD earmarked to produce a brochure and video titled, "What Should I Tell My Child About Drinking?", a prevention program created specifically to help parents discuss drinking with their children. Meryl Streep, two-time winner of the Academy Award and mother of four children, agreed to host the video, which reached an enormous audience. "What Should I Tell My Child About Drinking?" premiered in October to an enthusiastic reception during NCADD's Conference of Affiliates in Houston, where it also was announced that Ms. Streep would receive the NCADD Humanitarian Award for her voluntary work. NCADD estimates that more than 100,000 parents have received guidance through a combination of the brochure, the video, and a comprehensive viewer's guide. As the need to confront binge drinking on college campuses became more urgent with frequent reports of alcohol-related student deaths in the media, NCADD turned to its state Affiliate in Nebraska, which already had developed a curriculum to target this audience. The result: "Drinking Too Much Too Fast Can Kill You," an educational program that combined Affiliate know-how with national marketing. The program stimulated a grant from the Christopher D. Smithers Foundation to purchase a full-page ad in the national edition of the New York Times urging readers to adopt a college or high school so that the student body could receive brochures and posters to inform them about the dangers of alcohol poisoning. In an effort to build a stronger grassroots constituency to advocate on behalf alcoholics and other drug addicts, NCADD initiated ROAR (Registry of Addiction Recovery), a new volunteer campaign to fight stigma. People with at least two years of recovery were encouraged to step forward as inspirational role models without compromising their anonymity traditions. By providing the media with the names of dozens of ROAR members for interview purposes, NCADD helped put a human face on recovery. There are currently over 700 ROAR volunteers. CONCLUSION If Marty Mann were alive today, there's little doubt she would be pleased by the extent to which different aspects of NCADD's mission have been recognized as critical to the well-being of American society overall. When she founded NCADD more than 55 years ago, she had few allies in persuading the public that alcoholism is a preventable and treatable disease. The organization's activities during this decade prove that it has many allies. But in one critical respect, NCADD remains unique: the unwavering support of its dedicated volunteers and donors throughout the country, at both the Affiliate and national levels, means that alcoholics, other addicted persons and their families, will continue to have an organization exclusively addressing their needs well into the new century.

National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc.

244 East 58th Street, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10022 phone: 212/269-7797   fax: 212/269-7510 email: national@ncadd.org   http://www.ncadd.org HOPE LINE: 800/NCA-CALL (24-hour Affiliate referral)