USARA Program Manager invited to White House to Share her Recovery Story – USARA

USARA Program Manager invited to White House to Share her Recovery Story

Arielle Spanvill at White HouseUtah Support Advocates for Recovery Awareness (USARA) and the Utah Health Policy Project (UHPP) are pleased to announce that Arielle Spanvill, USARA’s Project Manager of Healthcare Education and Outreach has been invited to the White House on January 21, 2015 to share her story of recovery and how access to health care through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has enabled her to maintain her long-term sobriety.

Her visit is being organized by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the White House, who are holding their first meeting on Treating Substance Use Disorders Today: Access, Recovery, and the Affordable Care Act.

This event will bring together the nation’s leading experts in the fields of substance use disorders and mental health treatment to discuss the latest programs, policies, and how the ACA is expanding coverage and access to address substance use disorders and mental health treatments.

Arielle will headline the conference with her recovery story. Members of the Utah media can watch Arielle at the White House online at www.whitehouse.gov/live, from 12:30-2:30pm MST on Wednesday, January 21, 2015.

Arielle has been in long-term recovery from alcohol and drug addiction for the past six years and has been advocating for recovery with USARA at the local, state, and national level. She completed her Bachelors of Social Work from the University of Utah in 2014, and completed an internship with SAMHSA. She is currently working on her Masters of Social Work, to be completed later this year. Arielle has been offered a position on the National Recovery Month Planning Partners Committee to organize events for recovery month in September.

Arielle has been involved with advocacy efforts with USARA since 2010, and has become a strong voice for Utahns in addiction recovery. As part of her work she manages the Bringing Recovery Supports to Scale Technical Assistance Center Strategy (BRSS TACS) grant. Arielle has also worked with both USARA and UHPP to advocate for the Governor’s Healthy Utah Plan—which would expand access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment services for thousands of Utahns who need it.

Currently, there are 120,724 adult Utahns who need access to, but are not receiving, substance use disorder services. There are also 75,114 adult Utahns who need access to, but are not receiving, mental health services.  We know that with earlier access to prevention and treatment services people can and do recover from mental health and substance use conditions.  For the first time in our Nation’s history the Mental Health and Addiction Parity Act and the Affordable Care Act have opened the way for people to get their behavioral health needs met on par with their physical health.

The Healthy Utah Plan could be the key to open the door to services that can help reduce healthcare costs in the long run, reduce prison recidivism, and help people recover quicker.

Date: January 21, 2015

Time: 2:30-4:30pm EST/ 12:30-2:30pm MST

Web Link for live stream: www.whitehouse.gov/live

Contact Info:

Arielle Spanvill

Project Manager, USARA

Cell. 801.368.3597

ariellespanvill@myusara.com

RyLee Curtis

Senior Health Policy Analyst

Cell: 801.706.7831

rylee@healthpolicyproject.org