In January, 2012 Melissa Siebers and her family lost one of their most precious gifts . . . Even through their grief, frustration and anger, they recognized the need for change in our city, and the surrounding areas in Ventura County. More and more young adults are losing their battle with drug addiction. With a warrior’s heart, they put out the call to arms, and sent up modern day smoke signals for support from their community…our community and a message of hope for change. This resulted in a huge show of support at a City Council meeting and from that night, “Not One More” was born. Our city came together in frustration, sorrow, cooperation, hope, and a passion for change. A group of supporters, just regular people, each with their own unique talents and dedication, from very diverse backgrounds, but all having been touched in one way or another by substance abuse, addiction, or sadly, death, now make up the Board of Directors for this non-profit organization. With commitment and integrity, we are working hard to change our part of the world; to make it a safe city for our children, families and neighbors. Our goals are:
• To provide support to the members of our community that are struggling with addiction within their lives;
• To educate the community about drugs and the addictions that are killing us;
• To inspire our young people to stay drug free and be a role model to the people around them;
• To shake loose that stigma that may keep parents from reaching out for help when this dark shadow hangs over their family, to know that they are not alone and do not have to deal with these things alone;
• To place a loving, compassionate arm around our addicts and the people that love them, and help raise them out of the dark and into a place of light, recovery and peace;
• To help fill the gap between what our state, city and schools provide for services and what our community needs;
• And to work in conjunction with other city officials, SVUSD officials and other community-based organizations aimed at preventing, dealing with, and educating our community about the dangers of drugs in our city. Our plans to achieve these goals include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Parent education about the drugs that are in our community, how they are used and how they affect our children.
• To provide a 24/7 web-based resource center with information about drugs, recovery and where they can turn in a time of crisis.
• Help to bridge the gap between the cost of rehab and insurance coverage through scholarships and gifts.
• Help families navigate the insurance, rehab and services maze that currently exists.
• Provide an active grief outreach program. There is strength and comfort in numbers.
• Low or no cost intervention services.
• Push to get age appropriate drug education back into our schools at all levels.
• To actively be involved and participate in the city’s Drug Prevention Task Force, in order to inspire change from within the system provided by our city, but to also work to create a new, more effective system to provide for the needs of our community. We are here to affect change in our community, no matter how difficult that road may be. We are determined, committed and passionate about this mission. We will move forward with steady and thoughtful acts to accomplish these goals. To stand united as a community to say
Not One More overdose,
Not One More lost spirit, and
Not One More grieving heart.
