Governor, First Lady encourage attendees to build on momentum at eighth annual Recovery Reinvented

BISMARCK, N.D. - Gov. Doug Burgum and First Lady Kathryn Burgum today hosted the eighth annual Recovery Reinvented at the Bismarck Event Center, encouraging participants to build on the progress made over the past eight years toward eliminating the shame and stigma of the disease of addiction and helping individuals find hope in recovery.

Now in recovery for over 22 years, the first lady recalled breaking her silence about her recovery from alcohol addiction publicly for the first time in an interview in February 2017, and deciding to make recovery and eliminating the shame and stigma of addiction her platform issue.

"I want to thank you for eight incredible years of working together to eliminate the shame and stigma of addiction. Your support and participation in Recovery Reinvented has made this movement possible," she said to the more than 700 people gathered in person at the Event Center and hundreds more watching online. "The progress we've made in North Dakota in eliminating the stigma of addiction is a direct result of your efforts. ... I want to thank you for your courage, your strength and your resilience. Thank you for not giving up hope for recovery."

The governor and first lady highlighted significant progress made to eliminate the shame and stigma of the disease of addiction and to promote and expand recovery options in North Dakota since the governor signed an executive order in January 2018 to create the Office of Recovery Reinvented, which is funded with private donations. Examples include:

• The Free Through Recovery program has substantially increased recovery support services to individuals involved with the criminal justice system who have behavioral health concerns. This program, administered by the Department of Health and Human Services' Behavioral Health Division, currently has more than 1,500 participants and has served nearly 7,100 individuals since the program launched in 2018.
• More than 1,200 peer support specialists have been trained to use their lived experience to assist others on their journey to recovery and wellness.
• The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has continued to address addiction by increasing access to effective medications and providing peer support training for those incarcerated.

The governor noted that while overdose deaths nationwide decreased in 2023 for the first time since 2018, more than 105,000 overdose deaths were still recorded nationwide. He cautioned that the decrease may not necessarily indicate less substance abuse but may stem from the wide availability of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone (Narcan). Burgum signed an executive order in 2017 directing state cabinet agencies to work with law enforcement and local and tribal governments to make naloxone readily accessible to first responders, community leaders and opioid users and their family members. Overdose deaths also decreased in North Dakota last year, from 136 to 120, according to preliminary data. Burgum said there should be a louder cry for action given that approximately 300 Americans die each day from overdose.

"It has to start somewhere. It start right here with all of you, and we can be the pebble in the pond that starts the ripples," he said, noting Recovery Reinvented has spurred a Youth Ending Stigma Challenge, recovery-friendly workplace training and other programs designed to eliminate the stigma of addiction through storytelling. "When you're out talking and normalizing the conversation, you're part of the solution."

Recovery Reinvented features state and national addiction and recovery experts who focus on reinventing recovery through the sharing of stories, creating recovery-friendly cultures in the workplace and community, and eliminating the stigma surrounding the disease of addiction.

Keynote speakers for this year's event include:

• Dr. William Moyers, vice president of public affairs and community relations at Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, who since 1996 he has been a passionate public advocate for addiction treatment and recovery, delivering powerful messages to audiences nationwide.
• Gregory Tatro, co-founder and co-executive director of Jenna's Promise, a treatment center based in Johnson, Vermont.
• Natasha Silver Bell, founder and CEO of SilverBell Global, which takes a multidisciplinary approach to recovery, and co-founder of Inservice Foundation, dedicated to providing mental health support to underserved populations.

The event is being livestreamed at www.recoveryreinvented.com.