Ray Charles' daughter leading national drug awareness campaign

-
http://www.fox7austin.com/news/local-news/76537448-story


The daughter of legendary musician Ray Charles has been in the Austin area this week on a mission to help those battling drug addiction.
Sheila Raye Charles is leading the Raye of Hope Recovery Crusade across Texas and 15 other states raising awareness and education about drug abuse. Charles visited the Travis County Jail earlier this week and a number of other stops across Travis County not only share her story but to also let those people know there is hope and is using her story as proof.



While most public discussion relating illegal drugs focuses on marijuana reform, one source is arguing for a shift in conversation. While marijuana reform is an multifaceted issue, there still needs to be a focus on  on what we are doing to combat drug addiction in the country as a whole.
In a recent report, it was argued that the U.S. needs to follow the same concepts utilized in Canada to combat drug addiction. The primary areas of change need to be in supply reduction, demand reduction, and harm minimization; these areas have been focused on extensively in other countries in one form or another.
  1. Supply Reduction: This related to prevention through law enforcement through targeting drug dealers and importation to reduce the availability of drugs. Through supply reduction, we can use programs that reduce the availability of drugs which can prevent the use as well. This is utilized largely by law enforcement.
  2. Demand reduction: The core of demand reduction is reducing the desire for illegal/illicit drugs. The steps needed to achieve this are early intervention, education and measures designed to remove the user’s needs.  Largely this is done through police services combined with law enforcement. Supply and demand reduction is directly linked when it comes to increasing the potential for success.
  3. Harm Minimization/reduction: The core of this principle is to reduce the harm felt by individuals and the community by excessive drug use. The other two policies will never completely attain success without implementing programs designed on focusing on the individuals who actually do end up engaging in unhealthy unsafe drug use. One example of this would be the needle exchange program which focuses on providing a safe clean way for users to use intravenous needles. Another example is methadone clinics which give an alternative to opiates for those who desperately want to maintain a better life.
Research has shown that strategies that focus on addiction prevention will see the cost of long term rehabilitation reduce which in turn, will make the treatment more accessible to others. There is also evidence that reveals that early intervention has the greatest potential for success and lowers the chance of a relapse. The youth have the greatest potential for success in recovery so focusing on youth will be of great importance.
Furthermore, it is necessary to provide the youth community with enhanced education and prevention programs in school. The one place that is common for drug use is in school. These students need intervention and need to understand harm minimization. In addition, education needs to reach students before drug deals do.
In conclusion, a roadmap for success for targeting and engaging addicts would implement new innovative enhanced prevention programs targeted at supporting different treatment options across the country. That is what Sheila hopes to promote in her new campaign. She hopes to reduce the stigma of addiction and give those suffering something to aspire to.
“People (in jail, or lost) can relate to it and it changes their whole concept and mindset of who they think we are.” Charles said, “We aren’t sitting up high and looking down at them, we are coming to them in a peer-to-peer level saying we understand where you came from and we are right there with you.”
Charles’ tour will continue throughout the early part of 2016.
Call 800-559-9503Toll Free. Privacy Guaranteed. No Commitment.
Help is standing by 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Difference between A-list, B-list, C-list and D-list Actors & Celebrities

-
Image
“A-list”  actors are exceptionally successful, their notoriety extends beyond the silver screen, and their name guarantees a box office hit. Some “A-list” actors include: Will Smith, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Angelina Jolie, Meryl Streep, and Johnny Depp. The “A-list” actors are usually made up of male actors as with more high earning positions. “B-list”  actors are usually television actors or less successful movie stars. Some “B-list” actors include: Nicholas Cage, Katherine Heigl, David Morse, Samantha Morton, and Pierce Brosnan. “B-list” actors usually never headline a film by themselves; this means the supporting actors are usually fairly notable too. “C-list”  actor is a character actor that’s known by face and not by name. They are usually still good actors, but they receive less notoriety than an A or B-list actor. “D-list”  actors are the lowest on the celebrity hierarchy; they appear on celebrity game shows and reality television....
Read more

How Diana Ross’ daughter, Rhonda Ross learned her dad was Berry Gordy

-
Image
How Diana Ross’ daughter learned her dad was Berry Gordy Diana Ross' daughter Rhonda Photo: Anne Wermiel Blood will out. Which is why — after her Emmy-nominated turn in the soap “Another World” and launching a real estate firm —  Rhonda Ross Kendrick AKA   Rhonda Ross is singing again. Backed by an eight-piece band, this love child of music royalty Diana Ross and Berry Gordy returns to the Iridium Sunday night to perform her own songs, an amalgam of R&B, funk and jazz she calls “music of the African diaspora.” ‘ I FEEL I’M FINDING MY VOICE AND MY PURPOSE, AND THE MUSIC I REALLY WANT TO SHARE. ’  - Rhonda Ross But some may recall a 7- or 8-year-old Rhonda who, from the audience at Caesar’s Palace, sang “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand)” as her Supreme mother held the mic. These days, Raif, Rhonda’s 5-year-old son (with her pianist husband Rodney Kendrick), is likely to get onstage and bust some dance moves during her ...
Read more

Laurence Fishburne and Gina Torres CONFIRM they ended their marriage last year

-
Image
Trouble viewing? Click to view in browser: https://mypublicist.blogspot.com/2017/09/laurence-fishburne-and-gina-torres.html In the celebrity public relations world, keeping your divorce secret for an entire year takes skill.  And yet Laurence Fishburne ( Black-ish ,   The Matrix ) and Gina Torres ( Suits ) managed to do just that. 'There are no bad guys here': Laurence Fishburne and Gina Torres CONFIRM they ended their marriage amicably last year... as it's reported 'actress was spotted kissing a mystery man' After the images surfaced online, Gina confirmed: 'With heavy hearts, Laurence and I quietly separated and began the dissolution of our marriage last year.' The photos of Gina kissing the mystery man, along with the fact that Gina and Laurence haven’t been photographed together during more recent public appearances, have led the publication to wonder aloud if the couple has separated. Kevin Wright, an entrepreneur and solar energy in...
Read more