Lobbying post #1

Friday, October 8 2010
I'm lobbying for support of holistic drug and alcohol recovery programs in the city of Philadelphia. I read an article in the Inquirer about how Philly has a lot of great programs and I'd like to see that grow and help to make our city a better place. These programs treat addictions as a chronic illness, and support the people in the long-term.

Addictions are unbelievably hard, and you can't get out of them on your own. When I read about these programs, I got so excited because there is a huge number of people in our city living with addictions, and dying of them. These kind of programs really work and our city needs them. The more support the government gives to these organizations, the more successful they can be. I want to see these organizations grow and transform our city into a place where people with addictions know they can get the help they need to get rid of their addictions, and the support systems they need to leave them behind for good.

Thomas McLellan, deputy director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy is a big supporter of holistic recovery. Here’s a Philadelphia Inquirer article about him. Also, there are 6 city council members that, in 2009, passed a resolution for September to be proclaimed in Philadelphia as “National Drug and Alcohol Addiction Recovery Month”. These people may be a good starting point for lobbying because they are aware of the issue and have shown that they believe it to be important.

Now that I have an idea of the issue and some people in government that are involved, I’m ready to take the next step!