Bipartisan, Bicameral Coalition Unites for Congress Goes Purple, Honoring National Recovery Month
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Trone.Press@mail.house.gov
Bipartisan, Bicameral Coalition Unites for Congress Goes Purple, Honoring National Recovery Month
Members of Congress from both parties help #RecoveryMonth and #CongressGoesPurple trend on social media
A Congress Goes Purple 2020 celebration video from the Members can be found here.
WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Members of Congress came together for the second annual bipartisan, bicameral Congress Goes Purple day of action to recognize National Recovery Month.
The day was led by Freshmen Working Group on Addiction members Reps. David Trone (D-MD) and Denver Riggleman (R-VA), Bipartisan Opioid Task Force Co-Chairs Reps. Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Congressional Addiction, Treatment and Recovery Caucus Co-Chairs U.S. Representatives Tim Ryan (D-OH) and James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and Vice Co-Chairs U.S. Representatives Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Dave Joyce (R-OH), and U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Roy Blunt (R-MO).
“Mental health and addiction are the issues of our time, especially as we face the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Congressman David Trone, founder of the Freshmen Working Group on Addiction. “These issues don’t discriminate, and it’s critical that we confront them head-on. Today, my colleagues in Congress and I came together as Team America to recognize National Recovery Month and support the millions of Americans in recovery.”
National Recovery Month is held every September to increase awareness for mental health and substance use disorders and encourage those in need of treatment to seek recovery. This year, the theme is “Join the Voices for Recovery: Celebrating Connections,” which focuses on the challenges those in recovery are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The group of legislators is partnering with The Faces and Voices of Recovery to highlight awareness and resources for those in recovery during National Recovery Month.
Congress Goes Purple was inspired by grassroots and local efforts focused on bringing awareness to the addiction epidemic that is ravaging our nation. Purple is the color associated with National Recovery Month and recovery in general. Communities across the country have started their own “Go Purple” campaigns.
Congressman David Trone was elected to the House of Representatives in November 2018 to serve the 6th District of Maryland. In Congress, he founded the Freshmen Working Group on Addiction, a bipartisan group of 64 freshmen lawmakers dedicated to ending the addiction epidemic in the country. Trone has held multiple workshops about the crisis in Maryland and in December announced that his bill, which would provide $1.5 billion for five years to State Opioid Response Grants, passed through the House of Representatives. Rep. Trone also introduced a resolution supporting the designation of September 2019 as “National Recovery Month.”
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