Using Recovery Language:
Own Your Story, Influence Public Opinion and Policy
Featuring
Andrew Kiezulas
Founder, Young People in Recovery – Portland, ME, Chapter
Co-Founder, University of Southern Maine Recovery Oriented Campus Center
Jump to the Videos
Your story can make a difference!
Background
The BDAS Recovery and Development Unit partnered with NHTAC to host these statewide trainings on recovery storytelling, highlighting the positive impact of recovery.
Through interactive sessions, participants practiced recovery-promoting language, explored the risks of public storytelling, and developed community action plans.
The training strengthened recovery capital, fostered peer support, and inspired recovery professionals across New Hampshire.
Learning Objectives
Learn to use language that promotes recovery, reduces stigma, and builds community.
Learn how advocacy can create recovery-ready and recovery-friendly communities, increasing recovery capital for people in recovery and recovery allies.
Identify unintended consequences that may result from sharing recovery stories and understand how to use risk management strategies.
Participants will learn how to use their own recovery story to teach about recovery, reduce stigma, and demonstrate that recovery is a reality.
Who is this video training designed for?
- Participants who are in recovery will learn how to shape their recovery story to educate about recovery, reduce stigma, and advocate for change.
- Families and allies will enhance their understanding of how to support people in recovery and advocate in their communities.
- Treatment providers will expand their knowledge of the breadth and scope of recovery journeys and how to provide ongoing support for those in recovery.
Meet The Instructor
As person in long-term recovery and a recovery ally, Andrew has a deep understanding of how influencing public opinion can reshape public policy. While still in college, Andrew became a passionate recovery advocate. He founded a chapter of Young People in Recovery (YPR), a national recovery support services organization, in Portland, ME, and co-founded University of Southern Maine’s Recovery Oriented Campus Center.
Andrew has co-authored two U.S. Senate Resolutions and collaborated on local, state, and federal policy with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. He has trained thousands of people in and seeking recovery, recovery allies, direct mental health and recovery service providers, government organizations, lawmakers, and law enforcement.
Humbled by these opportunities, Andrew volunteers as Vice-Chair of YPR’s Board of Directors, while serving as CEO of a small medical device coating company in MA.
Resources & Tools
Webinar Materials:
Session 1 | Exploration of Concepts
This first video introduces the basics of recovery language and why the words we use matter.
Viewers learn how people make sense of the world through social cognition, or the way we think about and understand others. The video explains that we all carry implicit bias — automatic thoughts that can shape how we treat people, even when we don’t realize it.
The training also explores how word choices carry emotional meaning, called connotation, and how certain terms can increase stigma around substance use. Stigma can limit opportunities, reduce access to services, and make recovery harder. Participants are introduced to substance use disorder as a medical condition, not a moral failing, and review the clinical criteria that define it.
The video then shifts to hope and outcomes. Using national research, it shows how recovery improves many areas of life — including family relationships, health, finances, and community involvement.
Session 2 | Messaging
Build practical messaging skills that strengthen recovery advocacy and reduce stigma. In this recorded session from the Using Recovery Language training series, participants explore how strategic messaging shapes public understanding of substance use disorder, recovery, and community response.
This session moves from foundational language into applied communication—examining how framing, audience awareness, and message construction influence attitudes, service access, and policy momentum.
Participants learn how to craft recovery messages that resonate across sectors while remaining person-centered and stigma-informed.
Session 3 | Messaging Evaluation and Implementation
Learn how to evaluate, refine, and implement recovery messaging for real-world impact. In this recorded session from the Using Recovery Language training series, participants move from message creation into testing, adaptation, and strategic deployment.
This session focuses on how recovery language performs across audiences, systems, and communication channels. Participants explore evaluation tools, feedback loops, and implementation strategies that ensure messaging remains stigma-informed, culturally responsive, and aligned with recovery outcomes.
Session 4 | Advocacy & Policy Introduction
Learn how recovery language and storytelling translate into advocacy and policy influence. In this recorded session from the Using Recovery Language training series, participants are introduced to the fundamentals of recovery advocacy and the role community voice plays in shaping systems change.
This session focuses on how to engage policymakers, communicate program impact, and position recovery support services as essential public health infrastructure. Participants explore advocacy pathways, relationship-building strategies, and the role lived experience plays in informing legislation, funding priorities, and community investment.
Session 4 Cont’d | Advocacy & Policy Evaluation and Strategic Community Action Workshop
Put recovery language, storytelling, and advocacy skills into practice. In this capstone session from the Using Recovery Language training series, participants engage in hands-on workshops designed to translate messaging and advocacy concepts into real-world action.
Through guided exercises, role-play scenarios, and strategic planning activities, this session helps participants refine their recovery story, respond to challenging questions, and prepare for policy engagement. The focus is on building confidence, message discipline, and advocacy readiness across community and legislative settings.