State Representative Katie Dempsey (R-Rome) was recently named a 2019 Champion of Recovery and friend of the Georgia Recovery Community by the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse (GCSA). Rep. Dempsey received this award at an event to launch The Georgia Recovers Project, where she also served as a speaker for the event.    

“I am honored to be named a 2019 Champion of Recovery by the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse,” said Rep. Dempsey. “As Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Human Resources, I am thoroughly engaged in the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities’ annual budget and have a vested interest in the support services that the agency provides for our citizens.  I also serve on the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities’ Behavioral Health Coordinating Council where I get to see firsthand the great work that is being done across our state to help those in the recovery community. I strongly believe in the power of recovery.”

The Georgia Recovers Project is funded by the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities via the Trump Administration federal initiative to Stop Opioid Abuse. The project initiates a statewide recovery marketing campaign featuring 18 people in long-term recovery who will appear on billboards and share positive messages of hope through video stories and information about where to find further recovery supports. This project is the first time a state government has put a strong and sustained focus on recovery in relationship to the addiction crisis. One of the objectives of the project is to reduce stigma associated with substance use disorder.

One of the 18 individuals selected for the Georgia Recovers Project is Claudia Hamilton of Rome. Claudia founded LivingProof Recovery, a Recovery Community Organization and non-profit to support long term recovery from substance abuse in the community by providing advocacy, training, peer support and spiritual guidance.

The Georgia Council on Substance Abuse serves as the voice for the more than 800,000 people who are in recovery in Georgia. The council partners with The Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, The Georgia Department of Community Health, The Georgia Department of Community Supervision and The Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. The policy agenda of GCSA is directed by the expressed needs of people in recovery across the state of Georgia. GCSA’s policy goals are aimed at improving the quality of life for people in recovery and seeking recovery by improving the quality of recovery resources and expanding access to those resources.