PRO-A

05/18/2026

Join us on The CALL on Tuesday, May 19th. PRO-A's Nikki Weir will have Guest Rebecca Dominguez from Community Care Behavioral Health Organization share resources that would be helpful for individuals who are supporting others.

To Register for The CALL: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwkc-yqpzkuE9zK4qvzHhf1N8EVXyZ_wGIs?fbclid=IwAR2wdT_5LAH5UqYn7RMwtXrZBCM5N54slnSl3UVCgAYN5w-Q7PYAbrdvCvs #/registration

What is it: PRO-A the statewide recovery community organization holds statewide weekly ZOOM call to support Recovery Community Organizations and members of the recovery community and strengthen recovery focused efforts across Pennsylvania.

All in PA are welcome to participate on THE CALL. Our Goals:

To understand what is happening to you, your organizations and your local community right now.

To support our fragile care recovery care system and support for our communities across Pennsylvania.

To help support each other and seek solutions for caring for ourselves and our community members as we strengthen recovery capital at the individual, family and community levels.

05/15/2026

Nominations Are Now Open for PRO-A's 9th Annual Leadership Event on Thursday, November 12, 2026, at the Country Club of Harrisburg.

Do you know a Champion of Service?

There are two Champion of Service awards chosen each year, one to an Institution/Organization and a second to an individual who has impacted our community working as a peer recovery support.
Awards are in recognition of exceptional service, each provided by the individual or organization in connecting individuals and/or their families with treatment and recovery resources for Drug & Alcohol Service System engagement.

Who Can Be Nominated?
Any Institution/Organization and individual that provide praiseworthy support to an individual or family member in need of treatment and recovery.

For more information on how to Nominate an Institution/Organization or Individual Champion, go to: https://pro-a.org/champion-of-service-award-nominations-2026/ and complete the Award Nomination form and click submit. Or email Nikki at Nikki.w@pro-a.org

05/14/2026

Recovery Flourishing as an Act of Rebellion! Recovery Review – Mark Sanders

My first act of rebellion was to author the book Treating the African American Male Substance Abuser followed by nationwide lecture series to increase empathy and culturally responsive programing for African Americans who had become the new face of the stigma of addiction and mass incarceration. I called my decision to focus trainings on increasing culturally responsiveness with African Americans with substance use disorder an act of rebellion as colleagues called my decision, career death by choosing to focus on the despised and the new face of addiction.

As the stigma of addiction increased in the 1980’s and 90’s residential treatment facilities closed. The African American community which already lacked fewer treatment options was hit particularly hard by these closures. African Americans who were flourishing in personal recovery responded to this crisis through entrepreneurship (opening recovery homes in black communities), forming faith based drug ministries, advocating for eliminating the disparity in sentencing between crack vs. powder co***ne and protesting the selling of co***ne drug paraphernalia in the Black Community. A protest and boycott in Chicago’s Roseland Community led Salem Baptist Church’s Drug Ministry to the largest liquor store in Roseland which sold co***ne pipes to being shut down. The site became the largest African American Christian bookstore in Chicago.

I credit historian William White, MA for inspiring my interest in the history of addictions treatment and recovery. I learned that rebellion has always been a part of the African American recovery story. William White and I co-authored the article The Recovery Legacy of Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X. The recovery pathways of both pioneering leaders were acts of rebellion!

This guest post was written by Mark Sanders, LCSW, CADC and is cross-posted from the Online Museum of African American Addictions, Treatment and Recovery Recovery Advocate, Senior Research Consulta…

05/14/2026

Workplace wellness includes supporting employees impacted by substance use disorder.
Join us on May 20th at 11 AM EST for Webinar 2 of the Workforce Education Series as we explore practical, stigma‑reducing strategies that help build healthier, more inclusive workplaces.
Please register with the QR Code or click here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/Z_0_gYzjSbKpfVqRnlparw

05/12/2026

Ripples of Resiliency – Fifty Years Since Operation Understanding – William Stauffer

Fifty years ago, a small group of people stood up in the midst of uncertainty and risk and told the truth about their lives. They did not do so from a position of strength, but from a place of perseverance, uncertain of what would follow, but unwilling to remain silent. The ripples of that courage carried forward into communities like ours, into lives like ours, and into a future they would never fully see. If history teaches us anything, it is that recovery does not advance in a straight line, nor does it require perfect conditions to move forward. It requires people to have the courage of conviction to stand up anyway. The question before us now is the same as it was in 1976: not whether the moment is ideal, but whether we will have what it takes to create the next ripple. To be that Phoenix that even if weakened, still rises to take the sky.

Link:

“What if instead of heroically bursting from the fire, a weakened and traumatized bird rises awkwardly, just barely, careening through a wall of sky on fire, entirely uncertain of what fate awaits …

05/12/2026

SAVE THE DATE & Plan to Attend:

UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF FEDERAL MEDICAID CHANGES (H.R. 1) ON ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE FOR PENNSYLVANIANS

JUNE 4, 2026; 1:30-4:00 pm (Doors open at 1:00 PM)
CROSSROADS CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES COMMUNITY ROOM
350 North Harrisburg Street, Oberlin PA 17113

• JOIN US for this in-person session with Medicaid experts, elected officials, community members, healthcare advocates and individuals receiving Medicaid benefits to discuss the upcoming changes to Medicaid for adults in January 2027.
• This session will include an overview of H.R 1; focusing on the changes to Medicaid, followed by a panel discussion on the impacts as well as approaches to maintain eligibility.
• Individuals and agencies/organizations that serve people seeking help through Medicaid and people who are currently enrolled in Medicaid are invited and encouraged to attend.

Please RSVP to dasdbeck@hotmail.com by June 1st
Sponsored by Health Care Advocates:
Joan Erney (Former Deputy Secretary/OMHSAS) and Deb Beck (DASPOP)

05/11/2026

Join us on The CALL on Tuesday, May 12th. PRO-A's Christina Grouzis will have Guest Sierra Mamay from Recovery Center of America sharing about Family Roles.

To Register for The CALL: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwkc-yqpzkuE9zK4qvzHhf1N8EVXyZ_wGIs?fbclid=IwAR2wdT_5LAH5UqYn7RMwtXrZBCM5N54slnSl3UVCgAYN5w-Q7PYAbrdvCvs #/registration

What is it: PRO-A the statewide recovery community organization holds statewide weekly ZOOM call to support Recovery Community Organizations and members of the recovery community and strengthen recovery focused efforts across Pennsylvania.

All in PA are welcome to participate on THE CALL. Our Goals:

To understand what is happening to you, your organizations and your local community right now.

To support our fragile care recovery care system and support for our communities across Pennsylvania.

To help support each other and seek solutions for caring for ourselves and our community members as we strengthen recovery capital at the individual, family and community levels.

05/09/2026

Help support our mission - Recovery in a High Potency World

We are hoping that you will consider supporting our 9th Annual Leadership event it is vital to our mission and our efforts to serve the statewide recovery community. For more information on Sponsorship opportunities click https://pro-a.org/sponsorship-opportunity/

The theme of this year’s dinner is Recovery in a High Potency World. As drugs have evolved, recovery processes coproduced with the recovery community must evolve even faster. In a high-potency drug environment, prevention, community education, and long-term recovery strategies must extend far beyond overdose reversal and acute medical care. We are navigating a fundamental shift in the addiction and recovery landscape. A shift defined by novel, high-potency substances and complex drug combinations. As pharmacological intensity increases, the recovery support structures that sustain long-term recovery become even more essential. In this rapidly changing environment, experiential knowledge and the ability to adapt interventions in real time are critical to help people into long term recovery.

We will have a half day training with approved NAADAC training credits, followed by a dinner with food, fellowship and awards for our state Champions of Service!

The PRO-A 9th Annual Leadership Event

When: Thursday, November 12, 2026
Where: The Country Club of Harrisburg –
401 Fishing Creek Valley Rd,
Harrisburg, PA 17112

Training and evening leadership events bring together the statewide recovery community and our allied groups.

For more information on Sponsorship opportunities click https://pro-a.org/sponsorship-opportunity/

To purchase tickets, click https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/pennsylvania-recovery-organizations-alliance/9th-annual-leadership-event-recovery-in-a-high-potency-world