Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation - Voice August 2014 · down. When my secrets came out into the open, I hit an emotional, psychological and spiritual rock-bottom. My perfect family

1VOICE AUTUMN 2014 hazeldenbettyford.org

Love HealsFacility Dogs Aid Recovery

VOICEAutumn 2014

http://hazeldenbettyford.org

2 VOICE AUTUMN 2014 hazeldenbettyford.org

CONTENTS4Feature: Pondering and Wandering on the Healing Way Trail

6Alumni Profile: Bill Lammers

9Campus Update: Fellowship Club

10On the Cover: Willow Brings Unconditional Love to Plymouth Facility

13Events andBetty Ford Women’s Recovery Center

14In the Media: “The Anonymous People”

ON THE COVER

HOw yOu CaN sTay CONNECTEdJoin the alumni Network Hazelden Alumni are eligible to become members of Hazelden’s Alumni Network—a closed community available only to alumni of Hazelden’s programs:• Take part in online meetings.• Find treatment peers.• Participate in discussions.• Listen to Hazelden Lectures on podcast.To login please visit:hazelden.org/web/public/alumni_fellowship.page

Join the social CommunityInteract with thousands of others who are maintaining or seeking lives free from addiction. Access chats, online meetings, and discussion boards that address your specific areas of interest any day, any time, from anywhere. You control your anonymity settings. Members of Hazelden’s Social Community can:• Ask for help from members with decades of experience in recovery.• Offer help to people struggling to find recovery.• Listen to podcasts.• Attend online chat meetings.• Make new friends; rekindle old friendships.All members control their own privacy settings in order to share their information with as many—or as few—members as they choose.Membership is free.hazelden.org/web/go/social

PROduCTION CREdITsEditors: Aja Tashjian and Mollie ThompsonCopywriting: Maggie CohnDesign: Tammy Rose


www.hazelden.org/web/public/alumni_fellowship.page

http://hazelden.org/web/go/social


Dear Friends and Alumni,

Fellowship. It is essential to healing, becoming a sober person and living a life of recovery.

Alcoholics and addicts tend to isolate themselves physically, emotionally and spiritually. They become islands, totally consumed with the cycle of craving, acquiring and using alcohol or other drugs.

Addiction isolates, but recovery embraces. Fellowship is that embrace.

Anyone who has battled the disease of addiction will tell you that a critical element of getting well is connecting with others in recovery for support and understanding. These are the people with whom we can be brutally honest about our thoughts, struggles and feelings—because unless you’ve been in it, you don’t understand it. We lean on each other, every single day.

You will find many references to the concept of fellowship in this issue of The Voice. Bill Lammers’ (Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation trustee and Hazelden alumnus) moving story on page 6 attests to the crucial importance of fellowship to recovery. Even Willow the dog—our newest “staff member” at our youth facility in Plymouth, Minnesota—brings fellowship, love and support to our youngest patients (see p. 10).

The newly launched $25 million campaign to expand our St. Paul facility, Fellowship Club (see the story on p. 9), is the most visible expression of our commitment to fellowship. I’m asking you—our alumni and supporters—to carry the message of fellowship by giving generously to this campaign. Your gift will make our services accessible to hundreds who urgently need them—but who can’t get off the waiting list and in the door.

If you have benefited from the fellowship of others who have helped you in recovery, please do all you can to make sure others have access to that same care, treatment and love.

Thank you for all you do for the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.

Mark Mishek President & CEO, Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

FROM THE PRESIDENT AND CEO



Pondering and wandering on theHealing Way Trail

“ You can google the Twelve Steps. You can read them in the Big Book. You can spend months—or years—working through them. But nothing is quite the same as walking the Twelve Steps on our “Healing Way Trail.”

– Jan Vondrachek Vice President, Pacific Northwest Region



a peaceful meadow inspires an ideaAlthough the ribbon cutting was just last summer, the idea of creating a walking trail with stops representing each of the Twelve Steps at Springbrook, Hazelden’s Oregon facility, was first dreamed up many years ago.

The campus’s 27 acres include a large, open meadow. Standing alone in the center is a spectacular oak tree. Admired by patients and staff members, this tree came to be known as the “God Tree,” symbolizing for many the concept of “a Power greater than ourselves,” as referenced in Step Two.

The beauty and tranquility of this outdoor space inspired the staff of Springbrook’s Spiritual Department to create a Twelve Step trail back in 1999. There was no fund-ing for anything elaborate, but that didn’t stop them. Using white plastic buckets stabilized with concrete, plastic signs and folding chairs, they built a walking path with a stop for each of the Twelve Steps. It wasn’t fancy—but it offered a quiet place for reflection and meditation. And the God Tree was visible from each step.

The springbrook community comes together Last year, Jan Vondrachek and the Board of the Hazelden Pacific Northwest Region launched a campaign to raise $120,000 to enhance the path. They wanted to build a winding walkway linking miniature landscapes for each of the Twelve Steps, symbolizing the journey that patients begin at Hazelden. Each step would be engraved on a stone, surrounded by landscaping that reflects its meaning.

Not only were board members and alumni enthusiastic about donating to the effort, but the Springbrook staff—anticipating that the trail would become a valuable part of their patients’ treatment plans—took it upon themselves to raise money as well. As Jan Vondrachek says, “It’s not just a pretty landscape. It carries deep meaning and purpose for patients. And whenever some-thing is about patient care or improving the patient experience, our staff steps up.”

In fact, Springbrook staff is wholly responsible for funding the third step of

the trail: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. This stop on the trail was constructed at the base of the “God Tree,” which patients now refer to as the “Third Step Tree.”

“I have heard patients recount more than one moment of clarity or insight gained while sitting at the tree,” reports Lisa Knudsen, spiritual care professional.

Landscape design reflects the meaning of each stepEach stop illustrates one of the Twelve Steps in a unique, moving way. Step One talks about how our lives have become unmanageable, so the landscaping around it is wild and untamed. Step Ten, which urges us to take personal inventory and admit our wrongs, uses mirrors to encourage self-reflection and see ourselves as we really are. Step Eleven, on prayer and meditation, is a serene, self-contained Zen Garden.

Staff regularly incorporate the Healing Way Trail into their treatment programs. “I often have members in my spirituality group walk the trail as a mindful meditation. It gently speaks to us wherever we are in our journey. It truly adds another dimension to our treatment here,” says Denise Brooks, spiritual care professional.

And patients couldn’t be more delighted with the trail. One eloquently describes it like this: “It is a living metaphor for life on the path that has chosen us. It starts in the safety of our surroundings at Hazelden, showing us the steps that lie ahead.”

Another patient expresses her feelings about the trail more succinctly: “I like pondering while wandering.”

Although the construction of the trail is officially completed, it continues to change and evolve. Patients create meaningful objects and place them on the trail—a decorated rock painted with the word “Hope,” or a design made with polished stones. “And we hope to add a gazebo, and maybe a yurt for groups, lectures and spiritual workshops. Yurts are very Pacific Northwest!” adds Jan Vondrachek. “It’s a continual work in progress.”

F E AT U R E



BILL LammERs


In 2000, at age 52, I arrived at a strange and wonderful place in Minnesota.Hazelden at Center City. I expected to find a bunch of drunks with bottles in brown paper bags. Instead I found wonderful, warm, caring people from all kinds of backgrounds. At that moment, I began my journey from what I call “the road of expectations” to where I am today—“the road of marvels.”

addiction: it’s a family diseaseMy story began when I was a very young child growing up in the chaos of a family torn apart by the disease of addiction. My dad was one of the most caring, wonderful people on the planet—when sober. He was pretty much the opposite when he was drunk. Unfortunately, he was under the influence far more often than he was sober. The strongest message I received as a child was “Don’t grow up to be like your father.”

As I observed what life was like in more “normal” families, I began to develop deep feelings of inferiority and shame—a black hole in my soul that I struggled to find a way to fill. I decided early on that I had to go it alone—that the only way to make up for my sense of worthlessness was to be perfect. I reasoned that if I could just be

more perfect, people might like me, accept me, look beyond this great black hole I felt inside my soul.

And so I began traveling down my “road of expectations.” This wasn’t easy, but I hoped it would lead me out of the pain I felt. I became the perfect child, the ‘A’ student-leader, the marathon runner, the model navy officer, the successful professional. I married a wonderful woman and we had four incredible children—the perfect family.

None of that filled the black hole.

So I tried other things to soothe my soul, things that I tried to keep secret: sex, gambling, people pleasing. Alcohol became a big part of my daily life. I told myself I wasn’t like my dad—for him, one sip of alcohol sent him on a two-week bender. I was a social drinker. I could control it.

But as time went on, I found I couldn’t control it after all. There were blackouts, awful recurring episodes. And after 30 years of marriage, my world came crashing down. When my secrets came out into the open, I hit an emotional, psychological and spiritual rock-bottom. My perfect family crumbled in public view.

I knew I had to stop drinking, but I felt there was so much more to do to address the hole in my soul and try to repair my severely fractured family relationships. A close friend gave me the phone number for Hazelden.

by Bill Lammers, Hazelden alumnus, member of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation board of trustees, chair of the Washington DC alumni chapter

From the Road of Expectations to the road of Marvels

“ IT HasN’T aLL BEEN a POsITIVE aRC uPwaRds. IN RECOVERy, yOu FaLL dOwN, gET uP, FaLL dOwN aNd gET uP maNy TImEs. as aN INdIVIduaL, THaT Is dIFFICuLT TO dO, BuT IN FELLOwsHIP IT BECOmEs POssIBLE.”

A L U M N I P R O F I L E



accepting yesterday, changing todayWhen I arrived, my deep sense of emotional woundedness penetrated every aspect of my life. For 28 days, I poured myself into learning everything I could about my disease, myself and the recovery process. I looked back on the trauma that stemmed from my childhood, my bad behaviors and how I had harmed my spouse, children, extended family and friends.

At Hazelden, the wonderful caregivers and my fellow patients gave me the tools I needed to begin my recovery journey. I came to understand the origins of the destructive path I’d been on. And through recovery I learned that although there is no changing the facts of my past, I can change each day into the future.

It hasn’t all been a positive arc upwards. In recovery, you fall down, get up, fall down and get up many times. As an individual, that is difficult to do, but in fellowship it becomes possible.

In fellowship there is forgiveness and acceptance—and at the beginning and end of it all is love and a strong desire to help people to move forward, wherever they find themselves. My experience at Hazelden taught me that.

For the past 14 years, I have attempted to live a better life—a sober life—with daily amends to my loved ones. The scars of my past are still there, but the gaping wounds have healed. I am awed by life’s wonderful surprises and experience peace in new ways. Today I am on the “road of marvels.”

And one of the most marvelous things along that road is my service to the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. It is truly a gift for me to serve on the HBFF board of trustees and the Washington DC alumni chapter. I see first hand how thousands of recovery stories are writ-ten every day, thanks to HBFF’s treatment and renewal programs, research and publishing activities, and outreach and education efforts. It gives me a great sense of wonder and gratitude to play a small part in that.

I’ve done my best to repair my family relationships, and today I’m so grateful for my four children and eight grandchildren. Although they are dispersed all around the country, when we get together I am present to them, intent on sharing the joys they bring to my life. I am grateful to have a very special partner who really understands me, seeing me when I cannot see myself and loving and accepting me unconditionally.

It’s been a long, hard road, but there are marvels ahead.

“ Fellowship means that I never have to go through anything alone. It means I will always be surrounded by people who understand, who will listen and lead by example. Fellowship is the source of my spiritual connection with a power greater than myself. Fellowship is everything to me.”

– Megan M.

“ I was sober for twenty three years when I stopped going to meetings. I left all my sober friends and started drinking again. I left the fellowship that was keeping me alive. After five years of drinking I came back to the people of AA and a trip through Hazelden. It is my fellow alcoholics that keep me alive and somewhat sane.”

– Rick S.

graTiTude



Fellowship Club is growing$25 million campaign begins now!

This past June 5, the first shovel struck ground at Stewart Avenue between W. 7th Street and Shepard Road as we kicked off a two-year remodeling and expansion project of Fellowship Club. Our St. Paul outpatient facility can no longer keep up with the increasing demand for addiction treatment services. “We are over-whelmed with patients. We’re out of space and we can’t get people in fast enough,” says Mark Mishek, President and CEO of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.

The project will not only increase capac-ity—fully doubling the number of clients we serve at Fellowship Club—but will also

allow us to create and deliver new services that are desperately needed. Support for family members, group therapy, trauma therapy and development of new curricula for both women and young male adults are just a few of the innovative programs we have planned.

Many of these services will be offered in a brand new 55,000 square foot building. And in the tradition of Fellowship House, we will also expand and enhance gathering spaces in the manor house to encourage even more patient and family interaction, support and fellowship. There will be new lounge areas, meeting rooms, a state-of-the-art fitness

center, a beautiful 125-seat lecture hall and updated kitchen and dining facilities.

A bond issue will fund $15 million of the $25 million price tag for the project, but we are relying on you—our supporters and alumni—to fund the remaining $10 million. You can ensure that we are able to complete this urgent expansion of Fellowship Club by donating generously to the campaign. Here’s how:

Find out more about supporting the Fellowship Club expansion at: click here.

C A M P U S U P D AT E


http://bit.ly/1rJiqUn


New Hazelden at Plymouth Staffer Brings

TO PATIENTS

uNCONdITIONaL

LOVE

Is IT a COINCIdENCE THaT THE wORd DOG Is GOD sPELLEd BaCkwaRd?



Willow, a certified animal-assisted programming dog, comforts in ways that humans can’t.At just eight months, Willow is already a pro. Each morning, her owner and handler Jeannine Leonard (one of the Spiritual Care Professionals of the Hazelden at Plymouth facility for adolescents and young adults ages 12-25) tells her to “get dressed.” Willow knows that command means it’s time to put on her uniform—a red vest—and get to work spreading love to everyone she meets.

Willow, a fluffy Australian Labradoodle, bred especially for her wonderfully calm tempera-ment and quick intelligence, joined Jeannine on the spiritual care team in June of 2014. She is the realization of a dream Jeannine has had since she came to Hazelden, eight years ago. “We strive to be leaders in the best proven techniques and practices, so I knew that it was important to incorporate animal assisted

programming,” Jeannine says. Research shows that well-trained facility dogs can bring significant health benefits to patients—reducing anxiety and stress, lowering heart rate and blood pressure, and even boosting levels of naturally occurring hormones that promote a sense of well-being.

a connection deeper than wordsJeannine facilitates “step groups,” working with patients to address steps Two and Three of The Twelve Steps, which focus on hope, recovery and learning to accept support. She also leads “grief groups,” for patients who are dealing with traumatic loss.

Willow is a powerful presence at these meetings. Young people who hesitate to risk putting their thoughts into words find they can communicate with Willow through a different kind of language. When someone is grappling with difficult emotions, Willow will walk over and rest her head in her lap or lie down with her muzzle on his feet. And some-how, Willow’s touch allows patients to break through their pain and begin to reach out, speak about their struggles and feel hope.

“She offers nurturing, love and acceptance to kids who often feel utterly unworthy of those things. She doesn’t judge them for anything they’ve done in their past. It’s a first step for them in learning to accept love and support,” Jeannine says.

Jeannine remembers a young girl, newly arrived, who made a show of being completely in control—as if treatment at Hazelden was no big deal. “On her third day here, she was walking by my office when she saw Willow. She came in, began petting her and then started to sob. Somehow, the dog made it possible for her to let down her guard. Willow made Hazelden a safe place for her to reveal her fear and pain. And finally, she began to talk.”

“willow is the best thing about this place!”The staff hear patients say that all the time. She’s soft as a stuffed animal, calm when kids need soothing and eager to play frisbee when they want to be active or let off steam. And when kids feel pain, homesickness or loneliness, having Willow there to cuddle makes all the difference.

O N T H E C O V E R



Jeannine would dearly love to see another certified, animal-assisted programming dog added to the Spiritual Care Team. “I’m not here in the evenings, and that’s often when kids need a loving friend the most. I’d love to see a night staff person get a dog.”

In the meantime, Willow handles the job alone. And all she asks in return is a scratch behind the ears.

Visit our website to learn more about Willow and see a video of her at work: hazelden.org/plymouth.

willow Follows in Irish’s Large Paw Prints Long before Willow joined Hazelden at Plymouth, Irish—a big, soft, fluffy golden retriever—was leading the way at the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, CA.

He arrived there more than six years ago, and has become one of the most familiar and beloved staff members on campus. Certified by the Foundation for Pet Provided Therapy, Irish attends group therapy, spiritual care groups, stress management groups and one-on-one sessions with patients, offering unconditional love and furry hugs.

When a patient is feeling emotional or vulnerable, Irish knows how to help. He’ll go over and put his head in her lap, or his paws on her thighs. “The love, comfort and support that Irish gives patients is different from what we as humans can offer,” explains Jennifer Dewey, Wellness Manager.

Irish has a playful side too—he is a dog after all! No one in yoga class can do a better “downward dog” pose. And when he struts around the gym with a towel in his mouth, you might mistake him for a big, happy, long-haired gym attendant.

Your support can bring another dog like Willow to the patients at Hazelden. If you would like to learn about how you can help, please go to hazelden.org/supportwillow.

Willow with her owner and handler, Jeannine Leonard

Irish at the ready, Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, CA.


http://hazelden.org/plymouth

http://hazelden.org/supportwillow


E V E N T s

Hazelden Betty Ford’s calendar is bursting with opportunities to stay connected, have fun, help others or learn something new.

You can find these events and more on our website at hazelden.org under events. Mark your calendars and save the dates:

NOVEmBER 15, 2014

Principles & Practices – Magic in the Sequence of TransformationMadison, WI

dECEmBER 4, 2014

Minnesota Clinical ConnectionPlymouth, MN

dECEmBER 5, 2014

Oregon Screening of “The Anonymous People”Portland, OR

dECEmBER 6, 2014

Grit and Grace – A Professional Symposium on Women and Addiction TreatmentNaples, FL

dECEmBER 11, 2014

California Screening of “The Anonymous People”Rancho Mirage, CA

dECEmBER 12, 2014

Relapse Prevention: Paradox or Possibility? NEWCenter City, MN

dECEmBER 17, 2014

Addiction in the Legal ProfessionWebinar

JaNuaRy 5, 2015

Family Lecture Series at TribecaNew York, NY

JaNuaRy 31, 2015

The 2015 Beamer AwardsRancho Mirage, CA

2014-2015 It was more than three decades ago that First Lady Betty Ford traveled to Hazelden to gather information for her plans for the Betty Ford Center, which opened in Rancho Mirage, California in 1982. It has been a special place of hope and healing ever since. Now, all these years later, Hazelden and the Betty Ford Center have come together as one.

To honor Mrs. Ford’s legacy, the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation dedicated the Women’s Recovery Center in Center City, MN in her name, in a special ceremony on October 10. It will now be known as the Betty Ford Women’s Recovery Center. By adding Mrs. Ford’s name to the women’s treatment units in Center City, we are expanding her wonderful legacy and ensuring that it will help future generations of women find hope and healing in recovery.

Through her candor and openness about her own life, Mrs. Ford became a pivotal force in transforming our nation’s collective consciousness about the treatment of alcoholism and addiction. Her own battle overcoming depen-dence on alcohol and painkillers taught her to embrace the pivotal role of fellowship and support at every phase of the recovery journey.

We will be forever grateful for Mrs. Ford’s enduring passion for all people in recovery and her especially heartfelt devotion to women struggling with addiction.

Women’s Recovery Center Rededicated to Betty Ford


http://hazelden.org

Greg Williams’s 2013 film, The Anonymous People, imagines what could be accom-plished if 23 million Americans organized as a force for social and political change—and offers a strategy to make that happen.

Eleven years into his long-term recovery from alcohol and drug addiction, Greg Williams came to believe that changing how we talk about addiction could have a huge impact on the way society and government perceive the disease.

The traditions of anonymity and of refer-ring to oneself as an “addict” or “alcoholic” may have the unintended consequence of leading others to “interpret this as a form of shame. The point of the film is to empower the recovery community to have a conver-sation with people outside the community, using language that is not characterized by stigma and shame,” he told The Fix , a website about addiction and recovery.

Williams advocates using language like this instead: “My name is Greg Williams and I am a person in long-term recovery and that means I haven’t used alcohol or drugs since I was 17.”

The movie showcases people in recovery from all walks of life, including public lead-ers, executives, celebrities and athletes, who have taken the courageous step of coming out of the shadows to tell their personal stories of recovery.

The Anonymous People has two key aims: to help the public understand that addiction is an illness, not a character flaw; and to mobilize the 23 million Americans in long-term recov-ery—fully 7% of the population—to advocate for urgently needed resources and policies that advance lasting recovery solutions.

Hazelden helps spread the message The Hazelden community is excited about the film’s positive reception, as the

organization has long been a powerful advocate for recovery. William Moyers, Hazelden’s Vice President of Public Affairs and Community Relations, describes The Anonymous People as a “huge milestone in Hazelden’s history of trying to eliminate the stigma and expand greater understanding of recovery from addiction.”

The film was privately funded—including over $70,000 raised through Kickstarter. Hazelden got involved early in the produc-tion process, helping Williams identify people in recovery to interview for the film. Hazelden also promoted the movie through its publishing division and provided financial support for the film’s distribution.

And Hazelden has been instrumental in bringing the movie to audiences, hosting a free screening of the film on its website, and sponsoring dozens of screenings and panel discussions for viewers across the country.

abandoning anonymity?Some viewers have felt uncomfortable about the movie’s message, encouraging those in recovery to drop their masks of anonymity. But is the movie really aban-doning this critical aspect of the treatment programs that have been so successful for decades? Not according to Moyers.

“It’s NOT about doing away with anonym-ity. It’s a fine line. But I believe you can speak out without violating the anonymity tradition by simply talking about yourself and your experience as an individual in recovery without revealing the specifics of your recovery program. I don’t represent any recovery program. I merely speak as a person in recovery,” he explains.

“I’ve learned that when I stand up and speak out, putting a face on the problem and the solution, then I become a beacon of hope, a touchpoint for others who still suffer from the illness I live with,” Moyers continues.

Changing the language of recoveryGroundbreaking documentary film

HOw yOu CaN sEE “THE aNONymOus PEOPLE”The film is inspiring, entertaining and informative. If you haven’t seen it yet, here are a few different ways to do so:

• The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is sponsoring free screenings and discussions moderated by William Moyers at the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, CA on December 11 and at Greater Portland Bible Church, Portland, OR on December 5. (details at hazelden.org/people).

• It is available for streaming from Netflix.

• Host a screening in your local community—the organization Many Faces 1 Voice is making the film available to anyone who wants to organize a showing (see manyfaces1voice.org/become-a-host.php).

“ Mrs. Ford was one of recovery’s greatest advocates, and this movie is all about the spirit of what she did— to have the strength, the intestinal fortitude and the willingness to stand up and speak out.” – William Moyers


http://hazelden.org/people

http://manyfaces1voice.org/become-a-host.php



I N T H E M E D I A


OuR LOCaTIONsAurora, ColoradoBeaverton, OregonBoston, MassachusettsCenter City, MinnesotaChaska, MinnesotaChicago, IllinoisIrving, TexasMaple Grove, MinnesotaNaples, FloridaNew York, New YorkPlymouth, MinnesotaRancho Mirage, CaliforniaSpringbrook, OregonSt. Paul, Minnesota

Together we will overcome addiction.hazeldenbettyford.org800-257-7800

The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation helps people reclaim their lives from the disease of addiction. It is the nation’s largest nonprofit treatment provider, with a legacy that began in 1949 and includes the 1982 founding of the Betty Ford Center. With 15 sites in California, Minnesota, Oregon, Illinois, New York, Florida, Massachusetts, Colorado and Texas, the Foundation offers prevention and recovery solutions nationwide and across the entire continuum of care for youth and adults. It includes the largest recovery publishing house in the country, a fully-accredited graduate school of addiction studies, an addiction research center, an education arm for medical professionals and a unique children’s program, and is the nation’s leader in advocacy and policy for treatment and recovery.

© 2014 Hazelden Foundation Hazelden and the Hazelden logo are registered trademarks of the Hazelden Foundation.

(10/14)

The new logo, and the mission and vision statements below, represent our new beginning together as the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation and will serve as guideposts for all that our organization does as we head into the bright future ahead.

The bold, exciting new Hazelden Betty Ford logo represents a positive shift in our brand and in how consumers view us. It depicts the mission and vision graphically with an abstract form that carries real meaning. Much like two hands joining to create a comforting shelter of care, our logo represents the coming together of two nurturing organizations. Hope, optimism and way-finding are represented with a strong use of line and repetition in an upward motion. The new color palette showcases growth, energy and positivity—offering a feeling of freshness that is balanced in strength.

And the new organization, while stronger together, will also retain the distinctive characteristics that made each component great, including our names.

The new mission statement also reflects our forward-looking vision that retains all that made us great over the years:

We are a force of healing and hope for individuals, families and communities affected by addiction to alcohol and other drugs.

And our vision concisely sums up all that you enable us to do through your generosity each and every day:

Together we will overcome addiction.

Thank you so much for all that you do to enable us to fulfill this mission and vision. We deeply appreciate your generous support of our wonderful organization!

inTroducing our neW logo, Mission and vision!


Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation - Voice August 2014 · down. When my secrets came out into the open, I hit an emotional, psychological and spiritual rock-bottom. My perfect family

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