PRO-A

02/09/2026

Join us on The CALL on Tuesday, February 10th!

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.

02/05/2026

PRO-A Training Institute is pleased to highlight one of the many training opportunities we offer. Each training can be tailored to meet the specific needs of your organization or combined with additional modules to create a comprehensive learning experience. Training fees are determined based on the number of continuing education hours provided.

Explore our full catalog of trainings at: https://pro-a.org/training/

To schedule a training or request additional information, please contact Patricia Baranowski at patti.b@pro-a.org

02/05/2026

Va**ng vs. Smoking: Va**ng skips the combustion, but not the risks. – Pychology Today 1/15/26

- We know that v**e products contain dozens of chemicals, compared to 6500–7000 present in conventional ci******es (Margham, 2010). We do not know the health effects of inhaling all of the chemicals in e-ci******es.
- We know that e-cigarette use causes respiratory, cardiovascular, and cellular inflammation (Effah et al., 2025; Tsai et al., 2020). We do not know which chemicals are responsible for these effects.
- We know that va**ng ni****ne increases heart rate, blood pressure, and airway resistance (Royal College of Physicians, 2024). We do not know its impact on long-term cardiovascular health or cancer risk compared to those same risks for smokers.
- We know that third-hand exposure from contact with materials that have absorbed cigarette smoke, like clothing or furniture, presents risks to non-users, especially children and pets. We do not know the extent of the risk with e-cigarette residue, how it compares to that of third-hand cigarette smoke, or which chemicals might cause harm (Stracci et al., 2025).

Link:

Va**ng skips combustion but not risk. Is there an upside? Do you know what the "v***r" really is?

02/03/2026

24 hours of chaos as mental health grants are slashed then restored

NPR was unable to confirm who triggered the initial decision to terminate the grants by sending letters that abruptly signaled programs no longer "aligned" with the Trump administration's public health agenda. After sending the letters, officials at the Department of Health and Human Services and SAMHSA went silent, offering no clarification to health care providers or the public about what would happen next or where patients should go for care.

Dr. Yngvild Olsen, an addiction treatment physician who served as the director for the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment inside SAMHSA until July 2025, said the turmoil also raised questions about who in the Trump administration is making key public health decisions. "My understanding is that much of the staff at SAMHSA was caught unaware," Olsen said. "These were decisions made without the input of experts in these programs and experts in this [addiction and mental health] field."

For months, Trump administration officials have been signaling they think many of the country's current public health programs are ineffective and need to be replaced. But public health experts told NPR there has been little or no communication with frontline groups that provide much of the actual in the U.S. Meanwhile, no clear plan from the administration has emerged. Instead, local government agencies and non-profits caring for patients have faced a series of threats, disruptions and funding chaos. "This sparks a lot of uncertainty about who's making public health decisions in this country," said NAMI's Wesolowski.

Link:

For 24 hours, it was unclear which mental health and addiction programs would survive and who would still have jobs when the dust settled.

02/02/2026

Join us on The CALL on Tuesday, February 3rd. PRO-A's Bill Stauffer will be discussing current issues and dialog with the Recovery Community and allies.

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.

01/29/2026

Will We Ever Move Beyond an Acute Crisis Orientation? The Absence of Recovery Research and Emerging Drugs

While xylazine has shown up sporadically in the drug supply for a generation, it emerged more consistently around ten years ago in Philadelphia. It then became prevalent nationally. A decade in, one might reasonably expect an evidence base addressing recovery process following exposure to fentanyl–xylazine combinations. Instead, the literature focuses almost exclusively on acute care interventions. If we fail to focus on getting people into long term recovery, we should be honest about the outcomes we pursue, which are short term amelioration in a turn style process of ever increased chronicity and eroding outcomes that get more expensive at every turn.

Recent publications illustrate this pattern clearly: Management of Xylazine Withdrawal in a Hospitalized Patient (Journal of Addiction Medicine, 2022). Describes a hospitalized patient and makes no mention of counseling or support strategies.
• Xylazine in Overdose Deaths and Forensic Drug Reports (JAMA Network Open, 2024). Examines xylazine in overdose/fatality data yet makes no mention of clinical treatment or long-term recovery/remission.
• “Xylazine in the Opioid Epidemic: A Systematic Review of Case Reports and Clinical Implications” (Cureus, 2023) A review of case reports/clinical implications of acute overdose, with no mention of long term recovery / remission.
• Xylazine-associated Wounds: Clinical Experience From a Low-barrier Wound Care Clinic in Philadelphia (Journal of Addiction Medicine, 2024)clinically describes chronic wound complications in people exposed to xylazine. Important for long-term morbidity but does not track clinical care or remission trajectories.
• Xylazine Toxicity (StatPearls 2023) provides information on toxicity and longer-term complications of repeated exposure but no mention of clinical care or remission / recovery focused strategies.

The same pattern is repeating with medetomidine. First detected in the street drug supply in 2021, it rapidly became common on our streets. The emerging literature focuses on severe withdrawal syndromes, emergency responses, and short-term clinical management in hospital settings. There is nearly zero meaningful exploration of recovery pathways or sustained outcomes in current literature. This narrow focus reinforces a societal narrative that recovery is rare possible but not probable, that the best we can offer is a bandage. That is neither scientifically justified nor ethically acceptable.

Link –

“What remains in diseases after the crisis is apt to produce relapses.” ― Hippocrates Our SUD evidence base tends to be myopic and crisis oriented. It is focused on first aid and short-term stabili…

01/26/2026

Join us on The CALL on Tuesday, January 27th. PRO-A will have Guest Karyn Stevenson talking about Substance Use Treatment Month and what she is seeing in the field of treatment and substance use.

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.

01/25/2026

PRO-A WORKS Project will be doing a 4-part training series with Keystone Contractors Association, available both in person—with lunch provided—or online. The first series of the training is this Wednesday, January 28th! All individuals affiliated with the trades industry or labor unions are invited to participate

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-2026-construction-seminar-series-building-a-stronger-workforce-tickets-1978280812163?aff=oddtdtcreator&fbclid=IwY2xjawPXGyRleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETE2ZWNpY3lQM2lEUXhUNllvc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHhOrDLrKwbC7zF1BVtB4n8xruhXXVdS0cxjGCjFICZCtvQWLXukdTfKvtg_0_aem_bylnBn1-Ir-FP-VVP6m5ww

Construction is a tough industry and this monthly seminar series tackles the real mental health facing our workers.