Give effective public testimony
Give effective public testimony
- It is our hope that this step-by-step guide will prepare and empower you to share your recovery story in public at a hearing.
Defining Public Testimony
One of the purposes for the Recovery Advocacy Project is to build a visible and effective constituency in demand of “community and public policy based solutions” in response to America’s long-standing addiction crisis.
Public Hearings can be excellent ways for you, as the grassroots advocate, to have an impact on these community and public policy based solutions.
Here are a few examples of where you can provide Public Testimony:
- Testifying for or against a bill (public policy) having to do with recovery
- Speaking up at a local town hall or zoning board meeting about recovery.
- At a Budget Hearing to a Department that allocates dollars for recovery support (Ex. Health and Human Services).
Speaking at public hearings may sound scary if you are new to it. This is normal.
It is our hope that this step-by-step guide will prepare and empower you to share your recovery story in public at a hearing so that you can come to realize what many recovery Advocates before you have come to realize…
That providing public testimony is one of the most rewarding and impactful things you can do as an advocate.
NOTE* Testifying for or against legislation does not mean you need to be an expert on the bill. You are there to share your story and experiences, and how the law may affect you or other people in recovery. There are most likely public policy experts testifying on the specifics of the bill. Your role is as a recovery advocate with a story to share.
Step by Step Guide to Giving Public Testimony
1. Recovery Language Review
There are a few things that you can do beforehand that will help you shape the most impactful testimony.
We encourage all recovery advocates to review recovery language that will help you focus on solutions and also speak while not using language that adds to any negative stigma that already exists about people in recovery.
- Review the HOW TO: Effectively Speak Out as a Recovery Advocate prior to shaping your message for your public testimony. This HOW TO piece specifically focuses on recovery language and messaging.
- It is important for those that may belong to a 12 step recovery group to review the Advocacy with Anonymity pamphlet. You can speak out for yourself as a person in recovery and others and not break the traditions.
2. Research
Do some research before your testimony. Many public hearings will have guidelines for the public to follow, like time limits or if you can testify with one or more recovery advocates at a time. Many of these rules can be found online (like your states legislature website), or you can contact the organizers of the hearing and ask some questions.
You should be able to find out:
- If you need to sign up to testify beforehand.
- If there is a time limit for testimony. (often times it is between 2 to 6 minutes)
- The names of members of a committee or council that you will be addressing.
- If you need written copies of your testimony (more on this later)
- If groups are allowed to testify together.
- If signs or props are allowed for visuals.
- What to wear. (Business Casual is a good bet)
- If the hearing is being recorded or broadcasted anywhere (You can encourage other advocates to watch!)
- What time to arrive at the hearing.
Here is a quick example of how a State Legislature has taken the time to provide some guidance on their website to the public around testifying. This example is from the state or Oregon, but you may want to Google “ (Your State Name) State Legislature ”to see if you can research on your own.
- Work to sign up early. Sometimes public hearings can be short, but if there are a lot of people signed up, the individuals heard early on usually get the most attention from the committee.
- Some public hearings assign you a timeframe like (afternoon 2-4PM) so it may not be necessary to witness the entire hearing.
- Many advocates choose to bring a visual to have an impact. For example, families of loss have brought pictures of their loved ones. Please be mindful of the rules and ask beforehand if visuals are allowed.
- If you are testifying on a bill, it can be helpful to know who the “sponsor”, or “co-sponsors” of the bill are. It can be useful to reference those elected officials if they are on the committee you are testifying to. It can also be helpful to mention if the bill has “bipartisan” support, which, for example means it could be sponsored by both a Republican and a Democrat.
3. Prepare your Recovery Story for Public Testimony by writing it out.
Writing out your testimony before the hearing does a number of things including:
- Organizing your message.
- Gives you a framework for your spoken testimony.
- If there is a time limit you can have a lot more you can leave with the committee members in your written testimony, while you hit the highlights in your spoken testimony.
- Provides copies to all of the members of the committee you are testifying to.
- The committee members(and staff) can reference your testimony afterwards.
- The best testimonies are the ones that are not read off a piece of paper word for word. Use the written testimony to really just hit the bullet points of what you want to say. You can even use a highlighter to be sure you get your main points across.
- Have your contact information on the written statement in case there are follow up questions or comments.
- Bring supporting data. You can even reference it in your written testimony. Be careful to not make your testimony too “data heavy”. It is the story that the committees you testify to will most likely remember. You can even ask a local organization in your state if they have anything you can submit.
- Many Recovery Advocates have also delivered additional supportive testimony from community members that are unable to attend the public hearing in person. Before you attend your event, work to collect a few other hand written statements and submit them with your written testimony.
4. Practice delivering your Public Testimony.
Try to practice your written testimony out loud a few times. Work to get a sense of the main points you wish to get across. You can also set a timer to see if you stay in the suggested time frame of the testimony.
The more you practice the easier the testimony will be live. Keep working to give your testimony without reading it. It even helps to pretend there is a panel of people listening in front of you.
- The Recovery Advocacy Project is a network of grassroots Recovery Advocates. If you want someone to take a read of your testimony or have a quick phone call to practice with let us know! Each state has a State Lead(s) you can contact, and a Facebook Group. Go to recoveryvoices.com for more specific state information and join your regional Facebook Group.
- While it is good to rehearse, it is important to not sound rehearsed! Be sure not to lose the genuineness of your story while practicing over and over.
- If there is a time limit, rushing will not help. Nothing gets accomplished if you just speed your way through the testimony just to finish. Be sure to take your time and choose the strongest pieces of your testimony. Try speaking slowly when you practice and listen to what is most impactful.
- Your tone is important. If something is urgent, say it urgently. If something is meaningful to you, be sure that is relayed through your tone.
- Pauses are effective.
What to bring to the public testimony
- Enough written copies for yourself and each one of the committee members. You may also want a few more if you get requests from press, or committee staff members.
- Displays like photos or signs (ask prior to displaying)
- A group of supporters. (Many recovery Advocates have effectively testifies with a main spokesperson and a large number of supporters standing behind them for visuals.)
- Stickers or T shirts of your local organization.
- Business Cards if you have them.
- Written statements from recovery advocates that are unable to attend with you.
- Information about the Recovery Advocacy Project if others are inspired by your testimony.
What to expect at the public testimony
If you are new to giving testimony, your best bet is to arrive early and watch a few people give testimony before you. It allows you to get a feel for the committee and the room. This is also a good networking opportunity. Try to pay attention to what organizations are there and feel free to reach out to them if you hear a testimony that inspires you.
Arriving early also allows you to take note of how the committee responds if people go over time. Sometimes there will be someone letting individuals know if they are close to their allotted time.
Here are some things to expect:
- Sometimes you will get questions from the panel you are testifying to, and sometimes you will not. If you do not know an answer to a question, do not make it up. Let them know you can get back to them about that question and follow up accordingly.
- Not everyone on the committee will be paying attention to every speaker the entire time. While this can be frustrating, some committee members will be more receptive and engaged, depending on the speaker or topic. (Sometimes you can get the attention of the committee with a long pause, or reference a visual you have brought with you.)
- Be respectful to the panel. You are there to build a connection with decision makers on issues that are important to you. Expect support, but the reality is, not all committee members will always see eye to eye. That is ok.
- Take your time, especially when you are relaying how important what you are advocating for is to you.
- Respect the time of the committee. Do your best not to go over the allotted time.
- Humanize people in recovery. This can be done by reviewing the language in the HOW TO Speak out as a Recovery Advocate toolkit piece on the RAP website. You can also humanize the issues by not having testimony that gets too lost in numbers and statistics.
- Work to maintain eye contact as best as you can.
- When you see someone nod in agreement, acknowledge it. It is encouraging, and can also indicate that you are making your point and can move forward in your testimony.
- It is ok to be emotional while delivering testimony. These issues are important to you and it can be powerful to relay that.
- Include the Bill Number if you are testifying for or against legislation, especially in the written testimony for reference.
- Thank the committee you are testifying to for the opportunity.
Effectively speak out as a recovery advocate
Effectively speak out as a recovery advocate
- This HOW TO piece of the Advocacy Toolkit draws from expertise of advocates that have been researching recovery messaging and speaking out on the front lines of the recovery advocacy movement. Much of the language that Recovery Advocates have used in past efforts is a product of focus groups, both from the general public and the recovery community.
Why Speak Out as a Recovery Advocate?
Speaking out about recovery can build relationships within your communities. Whether you are speaking with elected officials, family members, decision makers, law enforcement, or others in recovery, your story can have an impact. The impact of your story can be strengthened by learning and practicing non-stigmatizing language. That language can be found throughout this guide.
The Recovery Advocacy Project respects every individual’s right to disclose one’s own personal experiences with addiction and recovery in their advocacy efforts. Deciding to speak out about recovery is a personal process for many. It is our hope that this guide about recovery language and messaging will help a new generation of potential recovery advocates in that process. Speaking out publically is both a choice and a right.
This guide will also serve as a reminder for many that have been speaking out for years.
This HOW TO piece of the Advocacy Toolkit draws from expertise of advocates that have been researching recovery messaging and speaking out on the front lines of the recovery advocacy movement. Much of the language that Recovery Advocates have used in past efforts is a product of focus groups, both from the general public and the recovery community.
Many advocates have come to realize that transforming a private recovery experience to a public one can be incredibly empowering, and can add to an individual’s recovery capital, which is defined as “internal and external resources that can be drawn upon to initiate and sustain recovery.” (White: Recovery Capital Primer for Addictions Professionals)
Every person in recovery, their family members and allies, have the right to speak out and develop an impactful story that can advance their advocacy and community organizing efforts.
There are many reasons at the center of why people in recovery are coming out of the shadows to speak out including
- The Recovery Community has been defined by others in our own silence.
- There are discriminatory public policies that exist because of social stigma, and because people in recovery have not always been a part of shaping healthy public policies.
- Reduce the negative public perception (stigma) that continues to exist for many still struggling with addiction and those living lives in recovery.
- They are proud of their recovery and want to inspire others.
- Using consistent messaging across the country will strengthen the recovery advocacy movement as a whole.
- Address the stigma applied to family members of those in addiction or in recovery.
- People in recovery have rights.
- Establishing relationships with local decision makers and elected officials.
- The Addiction crisis is urgent.
- Speaking out for those we have lost to addiction.
“By claiming the right to speak publicly and to frame their experience in their own language, recovering people are politicizing (in the best sense of this term) what up until now have been their own private experiences.”
Can I speak out as a Recovery Advocate if I belong to an Anonymous 12-step group?
Yes, you can.
Anonymity is an important tradition to many people in recovery. It is also misunderstood.
Anonymity does not mean that you cannot speak publically about your recovery. You can advocate for the rights of yourself and others without breaking with any of the traditions of a 12 step fellowship as long as you do not mention the 12-step group by name, and you are not speaking as a representative of that 12-step group.
For example, when speaking out, you are not a “member of AA”, you are speaking up as a person in recovery, and as an advocate for recovery.
To go more in depth on this topic, there is a great pamphlet you can download called “Advocacy with Anonymity” that many people in recovery have read and shared with others to explain how to advocate, while honoring the traditions.
Why the Language we use to Speak Out matters:
When speaking out, the language we use becomes about the perception of how it is heard by others.
“Words are important. If you want to care for something, you call it a ‘flower’; if you want to kill something, you call it a ‘weed’.”
For most of us in recovery, we have our own language when speaking with others in recovery that is meaningful to us. We have to understand that language used between people in recovery can be misunderstood, or not understood at all, by those not familiar with addiction or the recovery process when spoken in public.
The words we use as we publically speak out for our rights, does not necessarily have to reflect the words we use in our personal recovery process.
When we speak out as a recovery community it is important to do so in a way that is responsible and doesn’t add to the stigma that already exists. Using the wrong words in our efforts to speak out can hurt the recovery advocacy movement, even if that was not the intention.
In his paper titled Rhetoric of Recovery Advocacy, Recovery historian and author William White reminds us
“Words have been used to wound addicted and recovering people–to declare their status as outcasts. Words can also be used to heal addicted and recovering people and invite them into fellowship with each other and the larger society.”
“Words, and the meanings with which they are imbued can achieve accuracy and relevance or they can transmit dangerous stereotypes and half-truths. They can empower or disempower, humanize or objectify, engender compassion or elicit malignant fear and hatred. Words can inspire us or deflate us, comfort us or wound us. They can bring us together or render us enemies. Put simply, our lives are profoundly shaped by the words we apply to ourselves and those that come to us from others.”
The Recovery Advocacy Project encourages you to study the recovery language below and practice it to inspire others, create healthy community relationships, heal, and advocate for public policy.
Labels to abandon while Speaking Out
The way people in recovery identify themselves, or are identified by others, is a great place to begin when talking about how we are perceived as a community.
The reality is that people who use drugs, and people in recovery, are people and should be treated as such. Let’s use language that demands respect, equality, and hope for other. To do this we must look at some common words that do not reflect us, yet are still currently used to describe our community.
The following labels dehumanize people in recovery or persons using drugs. Many of the labels below are slang, and are offensive and demeaning. Let’s work together to eliminate these offensive labels while speaking out.
- Addict*
- Alcoholic*
- Drug Abuser
- Junkie
- Criminal
- Loser
- Wino
- Crackhead/Meth-head/Pot-head/Junk-head
- Tweaker
- Druggie
- Lush
- Helpless
- Doper
- Dope fiend
- Burnout
- Stoner
Note*
To many people in recovery, “Addict” and/or “Alcoholic” hold meaning when we self-identify.
However, when the general public hears the words “addict” or “alcoholic” (even “recovering addict/alcoholic”), it most likely holds a negative connotation and there could also be a pre-judgement made. Also, most people hearing these two labels assume that the person is still using drugs or alcohol, when that often is not the case.
Using person-centered language
Person – centered language humanizes people in recovery or a person still actively using drugs.
Instead of using the label “Addict” or “Alcoholic” practice using Person-Centered Language like:
- Person in Long Term Recovery (from alcohol/drugs)
- Person in Recovery (from alcohol/drugs)
- Person with Substance Use Disorder
- Person in Active Addiction
This also applies to family members and allies impacted by addiction and recovery when speaking out. Here are some examples of how to identify yourself as a family member or ally.
- A family member of a person in recovery/person with substance use disorder.
- A supporter of a person in recovery.
- Mom/Dad of a son/daughter struggling with addiction.
Words/Phrases we need to abandon when speaking out, and preferred terminology
Drug Abuse
Clean
Lapss, Relapse, Slip
Sober
Consumer
Drug Abuse
The word “abuse” holds a negative connotation. It also can be attributed with other forms of abuse (Ex. Physical Abuse, Domestic Abuse, Sexual Abuse). The words “drug abuse” or “drug abuser” also negates the idea of addiction being a health issue, and blames the addiction strictly and solely on the person struggling.
Preferred terminology to “Drug Abuse”: “Person using drugs”, “drug use”, “use”, “misuse”
Clean
Many people in recovery are used to stating that they are clean from drugs. While other people in recovery understand what this means, think of the perception of those who do not understand addiction. Ask yourself what commonly is the opposite of the word “clean”? The answer is “dirty” or “unclean”
Would we want to label people still using drugs as “dirty”?
Preferred Terminology to “Clean”: “Person in Recovery”, “Person in long-term recovery”, “Person in remission”.
Lapss, Relapse, Slip
“Relapse” – While relapse can be a part of someone’s recovery story, the word “relapse” does carry a negative connotation. If relapse is a part of your recovery process it can still be a part of your messaging, but be careful in how you may word it.
Preferred Terminology to “Relapse”: Re-occurrence of use or recurrence of symptoms.
Sober
Many people in recovery refer to themselves as being “sober”. When speaking out publically the term sober can hold a different meaning. Many people not in recovery think of the word sober as temporarily not drinking (Ex”I am the sober driver tonight!”), while many in recovery use the term in a way of speaking about sustained recovery time.
Preferred Terminology to “Sober”: “Person in Recovery”, “Person in long-term Recovery”
Consumer
Many still use the word “Consumer” to describe people in treatment or recovery. When people hear the word “consumer” it sounds as if that individual is taking something, purchasing something, or sucking up the system. In reality, many people in recovery add to their communities, give back to others, and contribute to society.
Preferred Terminology to “Consumer”: “Person”
You can preview and download this helpful image on recovery dialects that you can use as a reminder before you speak out. Feel free to share it on social media outlets as well.
Words and Phrases to Elevate while Speaking Out
- Recovery
- Long-Term Recovery
- Sustained Recovery
- Recovery Supports
- Medication Assisted Recovery
- Recovery Community
- Communities of Recovery
- Recovery Community Centers
- Recovery Oriented Systems of Care
- Recovery Coaching
- Collegiate Recovery Communities
- Recovery High Schools
- Community Solutions around Recovery
- Peer Recovery Support
- Recovery Support Services
- Mutual Support
- Living Proof
- Family Supports
- Lived Experience
- Recovery is a reality
- Recovery Month
- Advocacy
- Recovery Advocate
- Community
- Supporters/Allies of Recovery
Pointers in developing your core recovery story and message
A recovery story is not the same as an addiction story. Addiction stories tend to focus on the struggle of active addiction, sometimes spending too much time on the problem. While that is an important story to tell to raise awareness, it is also the story that generally is already being told in the media and written in articles across the country.
A recovery story tends to focus on solutions as they inspire hope and a vision for what is needed for recovery to thrive in an individual, community, or state.
Much of the advocacy that people in recovery do when speaking out may offer a snapshot of what addiction was like, but then turn to a recovery story to offer ideas for community or legislative solutions.
Here is a framework to use to shape a powerful recovery story/message.
- Introduce yourself
Introduce yourself and identify in a person centered manner such as Recovery Advocate, Person in Recovery, Person in Long Term Recovery, Family Member in Recovery/of someone in Recovery, Supporter of Recovery, or person with substance use disorder.
- Share how recovery has benefited you, your family, or community
Paint a picture of what life is like as a result of recovery. Share some hope to inspire people here. Many advocates share about going back to school, repairing relationships, being a father/mother, having employment, advocating, helping others. Remember, you are not speaking out to brag about the good things in your life as a result of recovery, but speaking out to inspire others.
“My life today as a person in recovery is…”
“As a result of recovery, today my life is…”
“Some of the things I have back in my life today are…”
- Tell them why you are advocating and speaking out
“I am speaking out today because…”
“What could really help this community/state is…”
“Recovery resources are needed because…”
“I am advocating for a peer Recovery Community Center in town because…”
“Some solutions around the addiction crisis that I am advocating for is…”
“Recovery support will benefit the entire community/state because…”
“The problem we are seeing in our communities is _____, and that is why recovery support is needed…”
Additional Guidance in Developing your story and message to speak out
- Practice, practice, and practice some more.
It will help to keep a notebook to write out your story and core messages. You will find that your story and message will evolve over time and experience with speaking out. You can also ask another advocate in the area to take a look at your messaging, or listen to your story, and ask for feedback.
Pay attention to any feedback you get from audiences after you speak out. Make a note of it in your notebook for next time.
- Be genuine while speaking out
Even if you have shared the same story or message 100 times in public, work to always keep the realness of your story. Remember that every time you speak out there are people in the audience that have not heard you before and may need to hear that message. If there is a piece of your story or message that is emotional, let it be emotional and real, even if you have shared it many times.
- Be mindful of your Tone:
Speaking out is not always just about the words you use. If you are demanding action, your tone should to reflect that. If you are fed up, your tone should reflect that. If you are working to inspire others with your story, your tone should reflect that.
Tip* If you want to express a confident or impactful tone, it helps to say the sentence as if it had an exclamation point after it.
For example “There have been 3 drug overdoses in the past few months on campus. We need Recovery Support Services and access to Narcan on campus, now((!!!)) so we can save lives and get young people on a pathway to recovery.”
- Pace yourself when delivering your message:
Take your time in getting the most important parts of your message across. Know the most impactful portions of your story and build to it. Use pauses to maximize your most important points.
- Be a chameleon:
Know your audience. The core of your story can remain the same but you may want to adjust your message depending on who you are talking to. For example, you may tweak your message depending on if you are speaking to an auditorium full of high school students, or a room full of law enforcement officers.
- Avoid using Jargon:
Almost every community has jargon. This includes the recovery community. Jargon is defined as “special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand.”
Jargon includes the use of acronyms for organizations you may belong to or reference while speaking out.
Some examples of recovery jargon would be “Keep it simple.” “One day at a time.” or an acronym like “SAMHSA”
Although you, or others in recovery may know what these terms mean, it is possible your audience does not.
- Practice some more!
Language for those Actively Using Drugs
In this guide we have focused a lot on people in recovery, family members, and allies speaking out. An important voice in the recovery advocacy movement is of people who are currently using drugs, who want to speak out about what is needed in their community.
*The Recovery Advocacy Project would like to thank PA-Harm Reduction Coalition for developing this core message for people who use drugs that wish to speak out.
Core Message for People Who Use Drugs:
- Harm reduction policies enable me to stay safe and continue to care for the people around me.
- When I access harm reduction services, I feel [safe/supported/cared for].
- Expanding access to these services could help more people who use drugs and help us address the opioid epidemic effectively and compassionately.
- I’m speaking out so that everyone can have access to what they need and deserve
Language for those Actively Using Drugs
Always.
Be consistent with your language and messaging whether you are commenting social media sites, news articles, dialoging with family and friends, or speaking with elected officials or decision makers in your community. It all adds up.
Here is a reminder of where it is appropriate to use different words and phrases.
Other Recovery Messaging Resources
Organize a recovery town hall with decision makers
Organize a recovery town hall with decision makers
- This step-by-step HOW TO will help you in your effort to organize a Town Hall to survey local issues, understand public opinion, enlist advocates, and build relationships.
Defining a Town Hall Meeting
Recovery Town Hall Meetings are forums that allow advocates to have their voices heard on the issues and solutions most impacting their community. The purpose of the forum is to convene local decision makers in a way that allows them to listen to topic experts, people with lived experience, and advocates in order to better understand the needs of the community.
Organizing Recovery Town Hall Meetings can translate to local policies, practices, and collaborations that help those directly impacted by addiction or those living lives in recovery.
Defining Decision Makers
Each community is unique, but the one thing that every community has is people who are responsible for making decisions for residents.
When we think about local Decision Makers in communities around our issues, the list could look something like this
- Elected Officials (Mayor, Town Council, State Representatives, School Board)
- Elected Official’s Staff
- Chief of Police (and other Law Enforcement)
- Faith Leaders
- Zoning Boards
- Health Workers
- Educators and School Boards
- County Drug and Alcohol Administrators
- Department of Health
- Prosecutors
- Department of Corrections leadership
- Drug Court Teams
Why organize a Recovery Town Hall Meeting with your decision makers?
- Organizing this type of event can build relationships in the community that otherwise would not have existed.
- Many Decision Makers need feedback and ideas from the community to be able to do their jobs in the most effective way.
- Creates a space for advocates to have their ideas and solutions listened to.
- Keeps addiction issues and solutions front and center.
- Shows an organized recovery constituency.
- Provides an opportunity to get media attention around the issues you and other local advocates care for most.
- Educates and raises awareness with the general public.
- Shows a visible constituency that is organized around recovery.
- As you organize the Recovery Town Hall, you can identify your organizing team as alcohol resource around addiction and recovery.
Recovery Advocates and Organizations from all over the country have benefited from organizing different versions of these local Recovery Town Hall Meetings. Here is a step by step guide and some best practices so you can work towards organizing your own Recovery Town Hall Meeting.
Step by Step Guide to Organizing a Recovery Town Hall Meeting
1. Put together an Organizing Committee that will help you plan your Recovery Town Hall Meeting.
Organizing a Recovery Town Hall Meeting will be much easier with a team of other advocates that care about the same issues you do and want to highlight solutions at an event.
You may already have some organizing committee members in mind if you have a local advocacy team (HOW TO Host a monthly recovery advocacy team meeting) or if you have worked to build your recovery advocacy base (HOW TO Build your Advocacy base and sustain it)
A good size committee for this project would be 6 -10 individuals.
- Assemble a committee that is diverse. You may want to have a mix of recovery advocates, family members, addiction experts, people with lived experience on the potential topic (Step 2) your committee chooses, and other local leaders on the issue of addiction.
- Ensure your committee best reflects the makeup of your community.
- You may be in the early stages of your community organizing. If you have less than the 6 to 10 people recommended for your committee that is ok. A smaller group could be easier to manage.
- Develop a schedule to communicate with your committee. The best planning meetings are when you can meet in person, however, you may want to also set up a conference call line www.freeconferencecall.com for check-in meetings with your team.
- Once your committee is together, be sure to ask what people’s strengths are at your first planning meeting and their area of interest. This will help assign tasks as the organizing moves forward. The committee may even decide to split into sub-committees to play to individual strengths. For example, the committee could form a Promotion & Outreach Team, Media & Social Media Team, Event Logistics Team etc.
2. Pick a topic for your Recovery Town Hall Meeting
Step 1 and Step 2 could be interchangeable. You may have already identified an issue to focus on and assembled your committee based on that issue. If that is not the case, the first task for your organizing committee is to choose a topic that will draw interest to your Recovery Town Hall Meeting.
Choosing a topic will also direct the type of community event you are convening. For example, the topic of “Understanding Addiction and Recovery” could be an educational forum, while a topic like “Solutions to the local Addiction Epidemic” sounds both educational and a call to action.
When choosing a topic, the committee should consider the type of Town Hall meeting you want to organize and ask if your topic has the following criteria:
- Does our topic reflect the reality of what is happening in our community?
- Does our topic have draw to a wider audience?
- Will our topic inspire advocates to attend and volunteers to speak?
- Is this topic one that our Decision Makers need to be educated on and take action on?
- Is the topic vague enough that it can address multiple issues in the community?
- Is the topic direct enough that the community will understand what the event is?
- Is there an urgency expressed in the topic that will encourage the public or media to attend?
- Do we need to bring in an expert to dive deeper into our topic?
Some example topics for your Recovery Town Hall Meeting may include:
- Addressing the Addiction Epidemic
- Addiction Recovery Support Services
- Naloxone (Narcan) Saves Lives
- Many Pathways to Recovery
- Addiction as a Public Health Issue
- Understanding Harm Reduction
- Recovery from Addiction is a Reality
- Reducing Stigma around Addiction and Recovery
- Families for Addiction Recovery
- Medication Assisted Recovery
- Addiction Recovery and Reentry Services
- Science of Addiction and Recovery
- Recovery and Young People
- We are in Recovery, and We Vote
- Be sure that everyone on the committee has a chance to be heard at the initial planning meeting. This may also provide ideas for future event topics.
- There are advantages to choosing a topic that is vague. It may be possible to have speakers address multiple issues in the community under a broad theme. For example, the topic could be “Access to Recovery Support Services” which would allow for many different speakers. You could end up addressing a number of different community issues under that topic including Medication Assisted Recovery, recovery coaching, lack of community resources, recovery housing, or access to care.
- There are also advantages to having topics that are direct. For example, choosing a topic like “Access to Naloxone for All” would let people know exactly what type of event your committee is planning and you could highlight many speakers with different backgrounds around the same topic to get your point across to Decision Makers.
- Pick a topic that could potentially draw in some special guests. For example, you may want to choose a topic you know there is a local elected official that champions that particular issue.
- Be sure to research your Decision Makers as much as you can to understand where they stand on the issues.
3. Plan the Recovery Town Hall location and date of event details
Location: Location is key to putting on a successful event. With your committee, identify potential community buildings in the area that could host the amount of people you would expect to attend the event. Members of the committee may have existing relationships with people that work at facilities that could host the Recovery Town Hall.
Some potential ideas for facilities could include:
- Recreation Centers
- Community Centers
- Recovery Community Centers
- Library Event Rooms
- University Classrooms or Student Centers
- High School Auditoriums
- Church Auditoriums
Date/Time of Event: Based on the many events that have been organized all over the country by recovery advocates and organizations, it is recommended that your committee takes 3-4 months to plan an impactful event.
It may be easier to schedule the event after people generally are out of work, like 6-8PM on a Wednesday. You may want to offer food or snacks, if possible.
Be sure to schedule the event with enough time in advance to promote the event, gain media attention, and secure the invitees and selected advocate speakers.
- It is important to look at spaces that potentially have public transportation in your area.
- If your committee plans to host an event that, for example, runs 6-8PM, be sure to ask if the space can be reserved from 5PM- 9PM for the room set up before the event, and also leaving some time if the event goes over 2 hours.
- While looking for potential spaces, it is best to find a room that could hold 30-120 people, depending on the goals of the organizing committee.
- Work to secure a date that you know your special guests can commit to. For example, you could have a State Representative that can agree to attend if it is held on a specific date.
- You may want to pick a space that already has audio hookup. (Microphone and Speakers)
- Pick a space that is well known in your area.
- Assign someone from the organizing committee to be the point of contact for the event with the facility your team chooses.
- Be sure to have a main contact at the facility you reserve for your event. This will be the point person as your committee continues to plan the Recovery Town Hall Meeting, and may be useful if something should change in the organizing process.
4. Pick a format for your Recovery Town Hall Meeting
There are a number of different formats to Town Hall Meetings that can accomplish what the committee is working to do. When deciding on a format, it is important to not only think about the end result and purpose of the Recovery Town Hall meeting, but also consider the message and who will be most impactful in delivering that message to the attendees and even potential media.
Here are three formats that will shape how your committee proceeds in organizing the Recovery Town Hall event. Your committee may find that they could use a format that combines two or all of these styles.
- Speaker Forum
- Educational/Awareness Forum
- Decision Maker Forum
A Speaker Forum is a Recovery Town Hall that highlights a number of pre-selected speakers and stories around the same topic. This format would be ideal if you want to highlight the stories of those with lived experience that are directly impacted.
For example, your committee may want to plan a Recovery Town Hall with the topic of “Many Pathways to Recovery” in which the event has 6 individuals speaking about their own pathway to recovery. Or the committee may want to plan an event around Recovery Support Services in which six different speakers highlight a Recovery Support that has helped them.
Benefits of potentially using this format:
- Allows for speakers to be selected (and trained) based on the message of the Recovery Town Hall. This allows for a pre-planned and consistent message to Decision Makers.
- Strong impact through storytelling.
- Humanizes the issues. Makes recovery and solutions a reality for the community.
- Often has an impact on the Decision Makers in attendance.
Things you will need for a successful Recovery Town Hall using the Speaker Forum format
- 5-6 speakers with lived experience on the topic. (It will help to have speakers that are familiar with Recovery Messaging) The planning committee can encourage potential speakers to review HOW TO: Use Recovery Messaging to organize and reduce stigma in your community.
- A panel of community Decision Makers at the front of the room to listen to the 5-6 speakers that are pre-selected by the committee to share their stories around the chosen topic.
- Audio (Microphone and Speakers) depending on the facility.
- A facilitator for the Recovery Town Hall (more on this in Step 10 )
- An audience to listen to the discussion.
An Educational/Awareness Forum is a Recovery Town Hall that is primarily meant to feature an expert on a particular topic. This format would be ideal if the goal of your Recovery Town Hall is tackle an issue that requires a specialist to explain.
For example, your committee may want to plan a Town Hall with the topic of “The Science of Addiction and Recovery” where there is a presentation by an Addiction expert, followed by a short conversation with the community Decision Makers.
This format also works to highlight Motivational Speakers.
Benefits of potentially using this format:
- Allows your topic’s message to be delivered by an expert.
- Has potential to draw a wider audience.
- Can lead to informative Question and Answer sessions.
- Choosing an expert may add instant credibility to your event.
Things you will need for a successful Recovery Town Hall using the Educational/Awareness Forum format
- An expert on the chosen topic. Ideally, the expert will be a draw for a large audience and should be from the local community, if possible.
- Audio/Visual set up. Your expert on the topic may request use for a Powerpoint presentation. (This could potentially open up a beneficial partnership with local schools or Universities)
A Decision Maker Forum is a Recovery Town Hall format that focuses a majority of the discussion between the decision makers on the selected topic, and then often leaves room for questions from audience members.
This type of format usually features some sort of panel in the front of the room, and a facilitator to guide the conversation of the panel of Decision Makers, and Question and Answer Session after the panel discussion.
This format would be ideal if the committee wanted to highlight some successful programs and solutions that may already be happening in the community. For example, your committee may want to plan a Recovery Town Hall with the topic of “Addressing the Addiction Crisis: A community response” and feature an Elected Official, a Law Enforcement Officer, a Health Care worker, a Program Director for Peer Recovery Support, and an Educator.
Benefits of potentially using this format:
- Allows the Organizing Committee to build relationships with Community Leaders prior to the Recovery Town Hall event. The confirmed Decision Makers on the panel may even agree to do a press release for the event to highlight their involvement.
- The general public may be more apt to come to an event that features known community leaders.
- The Organizing Committee could always work with a few audience members ahead of time to initiate the Question and Answer portion of this style of Recovery Town Hall.
Things you will need for a successful Recovery Town Hall using the Decision Maker Forum format
- Diverse Panel of Decision Makers
- Audio Support (Microphone and Speakers)
- A skilled facilitator for the event
5. Create a promotional tool for the event.
One of the most effective promotional tools will be a flyer for the Recovery Town Hall but your promotion shouldn’t stop there. If you’re a Recovery Advocacy Project Leader you have access to creating online event registration pages using Action Network. This should be the standard practice for all community events to capture people who’ve registered so you can send reminders and thank you emails for the event. All RAP Leaders have access to RAP assets for your flyer design in the files section of your Action Network group (like logos, banner images, photos, etc.), plus, the RAP Organizing team is always available to help answer any questions you have.
This step will make other organizing steps a lot easier. Keep in mind, this promotional tool can change as your committee organizes (For example: In the event you confirm Decision Makers or additional partners, you may need to add logos for non-profit or local businesses to the promotional flyer and online event page) The tools could begin with a simple “Save the Date” to a version with more details, logos, and confirmed Decision Makers.
The promotional tools can serve many purposes for your Recovery Town Hall including:
- Promote the Recovery Town Hall in local business or community spaces (Coffee Shops, Main Street Businesses, College Campuses etc)
- Promote on social media
- Invite people through email
- Build the Audience
- Create excitement and word of mouth on the Recovery Town Hall.
- Gain additional community partnerships (Step 6)
- Attract local Decision Makers. (Step 7)
The promotional tool should include the following:
- Topic of Recovery Town Hall (and any special guests) should be displayed in bold.
- Recovery Town Hall Details: Location including Address, Day/Date, Time event begins.
- Include if food/refreshments will be included at the event.
- Include any logos of local businesses or non-profits that you are partnering with.
- Have a contact email to answer questions about the Recovery Town Hall.
- Short description of the event including target audience
- You may have someone on your committee that is good with graphic design or event promotion already. Chances are, someone on the committee will know someone that is good with promotional tasks. Invite that person to join the committee or see if they will assist.
- Your promotional tool may go through a few versions in the event your committee confirms Decision Makers/finds more community partners for the Recovery Town Hall.
- Include images on your promotional tool to catch people’s attention.
- Use brighter colors on the Flyer to catch people’s eye.
- Let people know if there will be resource tables at the event.
- Resources
- CANVA is an web-based design software full of templates for you to use. You can easily create flyers and posters for free, although some features require a paid account. (If you have a nonprofit you can register to use the PRO version for free!)
- Pikto Chart is a free online design website that will allow you to create flyers and infographics with ease. Some features are paid.
- Adobe Spark gives you access to a library of templates and design inspiration. You can quickly create a professional-looking flyer with this online resource.
Sample Description on Flyer
“Addiction affects many families in our community. This Recovery Town Hall Meeting will bring together people in recovery from addiction, their loved ones and allies, with our local elected officials and decision makers to work towards community solutions to the addiction crisis. All are welcome to attend.”
6. Outreach to partner with other community groups
Many recovery advocates and organizations across the country have partnered with their local business and non-profits to show strength as a community, as well as increase the word of mouth and audience of the Recovery Town Hall.
Organizing a Recovery Town Hall can accomplish more than educating decision makers or the public, raising awareness, or creating a call to action around an issue. It is important for your committee to look at this project as a way to potentially create new partnerships, allies, and connections. You and your committee will find allies just waiting to support your goals.
Many local business owners or non-profits will partner with your committee if asked. Use the Promotional Tool from Step 3 to approach these potential partners.
- In one of the committee meetings, come up with a list of local businesses and non-profits to approach. Some of the people on the committee may have existing connections with business owners of staff at the non-profit organizations. Leverage existing relationships as you organize the event.
- Come up with specific asks for the business owners or non-profits including food/coffee donations, putting up a Flyer in the business, or helping to promote the event. This is an opportunity for each business to give back to the community and be a part of something.
- Talk to your committee about having resource tables at the event. You can provide a local business owner or non-profit with a resource table at the event and ask them to agree to promote the event in return.
7. Create the Recovery Town Hall invitation for Decision Makers
Once you have established the date, time, location and topic of the Recovery Town Hall it is time to put together your list of Decision Makers to invite.
Your committee should use the list below to come up with the names and contact information to invite your community Decision Makers. Many of your invitees can be invited by email or phone, but some of your committee members may know them personally, so they should deliver the invite or make the ask.
- Elected Officials (Mayor, Town Council, State Representatives, School Board)
- Elected Official’s Staff
- Chief of Police (and other Law Enforcement)
- Faith Leaders
- Zoning Boards
- Health Workers
- Educators and School Boards
- County Drug and Alcohol Administrators
- Department of Health
- Prosecutors
- Department of Corrections leadership
- Drug Court Teams
- Be specific in what you are inviting the decision maker to do. (Ex. Be on a panel, Welcome the Community, Be a speaker, Honored Guest.)
- If you do not get the preferred invitee on your list, you can always ask the invitee that declined to send someone from their staff like an elected official’s staff member, or another Law Enforcement Officer. Many elected officials or law enforcement will have someone designated as a community or constituent liaison.
- Be persistent. Be sure to send an invitation and periodically follow up to relay how important this Recovery Town Hall is for the community via a telephone call.
- Invite 20 people to get between 5-10 YES’s.
- Don’t let invitation declines stall your efforts in assembling a good attendance form other Decision Makers. Expect some NO replies.
- Use confirmed YES’s to build on the Recovery Town Hall and get other Decision Makers to come along. For example, “Representative Hernandez will be in attendance for this event, and we would like to get other elected officials like yourself to attend.”
8. Explore other ways to promote your event and build your audience.
The most effective way to build your audience and mobilize people to your event is through strong outreach to local recovery non-profits, treatment centers, mental health groups, recovery and family groups, recovery houses, prevention and harm reduction groups, and working to get commitments of how many people each group can deliver to the Recovery Town Hall.
In addition to word of mouth and using the promotional flyer, there are many tools available online your committee may opt to use to reach more audiences and increase attendance to the Recovery Town Hall.
Here are a few tools Recovery Advocates and Recovery Organizations have found helpful.
Action Network Events
If you are a Recovery Advocacy Project State or Regional Leader, you have access to a suite of advocacy and community organizing tools at no cost through your Action Network account. This pallet of tools gives you everything you need to plan and promote a successful Town Hall. The standard for all Recovery Advocacy Project Leaders should be to create an event action in Action Network and share this event page online and through email once it’s created.
If you’re not a Recovery Advocacy Project Leader, you can easily contact your state lead and collaborate on your Town Hall event. Utilizing your State Leader will greatly benefit the attendance and success of your event.
Eventbrite
Eventbrite is a free tool that allows people to RSVP to an event.
Having an Eventbrite link associated with the promotional tool for the Recovery Town Hall has many advantages that includes
- Managing RSVPs to the event.
- You can upload the promotional tool (flyer) your team has created.
- The event also becomes locally searchable on the Eventbrite website.
- Allows the organizer to be notified when an attendee RSVPs.
- Automatic email reminder for anyone who RSVPs a day before the event.
- If capacity is limited at the event, Eventbrite allows the organizer to cap how many RSVPs are allowed.
- Gives your committee a rough idea of how many people to expect. Keep in mind there will be some people that did not RSVP on Eventbrite that will attend, and there will also be people that RSVP on Eventbrite that do not end up attending the event.
- You can easily link your Eventbrite event to Facebook Events and manage all attendees in a single place while promoting through Facebook and online. Doing this allows people on Facebook to easily register without leaving Facebook.
Create a Facebook Event Page
Click here for a step by step guide with pictures on how to set up a Facebook Event.
Creating a Facebook Event Page has many advantages including
- Uploading the Promotional Tool (Flyer) your team created for the event
- Creates buzz on social media.
- Allows those you invite to RSVP YES, NO, or MAYBE to attending the event
- Will remind the MAYBE and YES invitees prior to the event.
- When someone RSVPs yes if will show that individuals FaceBook friends that they are attending.
- You can invite selected or entire friend lists to the Recovery Town Hall, or create a larger list by allowing invites to ‘friends of friends’
- Allows organizers to answer any questions about the event.
- Allows organizers to highlight any special guests or confirmed speakers at the event.
- Builds a network and interest for future events you may organize.
The entire Organizing Committee should all work to invite locals on their Facebook Friends list. You can also add multiple hosts to your Facebook Events and ask other organizations to list your event on their organization’s Facebook page so it will display under their upcoming events too.
Use Recovery Advocacy Project’s Social Media Toolkit
The Recovery Advocacy Project has developed a Social Media Toolkit that could help raise the profile of your event across many social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Blogs and others.
The Social Media Toolkit has suggestions for hashtags and graphics that could assist you in reaching a larger audience while promoting your Recovery Town Hall.
The Recovery Advocacy Project’s Social Media Toolkit can be found here.
9. Outreach to Traditional Media
Building relationships with local media can take time. Getting local media to cover your event reaches an audience outside the event itself.
Here are a few steps to take that will increase the potential of media turnout.
Create a list of local media outlets – (Be sure to update this list as much as possible moving forward, as outlets change. List should include:
- Local TV
- Radio ( www.radio-locator.com is searchable by area and genre like news, public radio, talk etc)
- Local News Websites
- Blogs (Health, Current Events, Criminal Justice)
- Newspapers (County/city/town) www.usnpl.com is searchable by location.
1. Identify appropriate contact for each media outlet.
Journalists are often assigned an area of expertise. You should be able to find the right media contact by searching for past articles on addiction, health, or community events.
2. Pitch a human interest story
Contact your list of journalists with event information with a human interest story. Personalize each greeting to attempt to build a relationship with that media contact.
A good human interest story could potentially be one of your speakers for the event, a local advocacy effort, or a response to something the journalist covered in a past media piece.
Your correspondence should cover why they should cover the Recovery Town Hall, the human interest story, and a contact for more information. You, or someone on your committee should be a designated contact for media.
Be sure to have a media sign in sheet at the Recovery Town Hall.
Your Organizing Team may option to offer a trusted media contact the Facilitator role.
Here are a few articles to read that have additional pointers on getting local media.
https://fitsmallbusiness.com/how-to-get-local-press-coverage/
10. Choose a Recovery Town Hall facilitator for the event
The format of the Recovery Town Hall most likely will require someone that can facilitate the event.
The role of the Facilitator is to welcome the Town Hall participants, keep the program moving and focused, introduce guests and speakers, and make sure the event is running on time.
Ideally, the Facilitator should:
- Be considered a Leader in their respective community.
- Believe in the work the committee is doing.
- Have a personal connection to the topic.
- Be a recognizable face and/or voice of the community
- Be able to lead discussions and transition from one part of the event schedule to the next
Suggestions for Facilitator:
- Local News Anchor
- Chamber of Commerce President
- Well-known local Recovery Advocate
- Organizing Committee Member