I would like to thank you for the opportunity to testify before your subcommittee. Chemical dependency is a public health problem that affects millions of people and imposes enormous financial and social burdens on society. It destroys families, victimizes individuals and communities, and suffocates the educational, criminal justice, and social services systems. It is a disease that can affect anyone regardless of age, cultural background, or profession. The Partnership is dedicated to improving access to professional treatment for all Americans suffering from the disease of addiction.
Addiction is a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is treatable.
Members of the Partnership for Recovery hope to broaden the public's understanding of the disease and create an awareness of the value of professional treatment. We share a common philosophy and more than 100 years of treatment experience based on the 12-Step model with an emphasis on family involvement and individual recovery. As leaders in the field, the Partnership for Recovery believes that we have an obligation to provide information on the 12-Step model, the most effective model of treatment for our patients. The treatment goal is total abstinence from mood-altering substances and improved quality of life. While this model was developed for residential settings, we believe it can be easily adopted in community, correctional, or outpatient settings.