Reducing Stigma Surrounding Substance Use Disorders: Creating a Community-based Anti-Stigma Initiative

Reducing the stigma surrounding substance use disorders requires changing people’s attitudes and behaviors, a challenging task many state and local government and community organizations have undertaken. In this collection, we provide guidance on creating your own community anti-stigma campaigns and examples of programs currently in operation across the country. This collection includes:

  • A 2016 report from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine that reviews the evidence for effective strategies for stigma reduction and provide recommendations for creating successful anti-stigma campaigns
  • A tool-kit for creating an anti-stigma campaign from the Central East Addiction Technology and Transfer Center and the Danya Institute
  • A link to the Distorted Perceptions website that includes educational information and materials individuals and organizations can use in creating anti-stigma campaigns
  • A link to the website of the Northeastern University School of Law’s Changing the Narrative project that works to reduce stigma in media representations, provides evidence-based information to counter common myths about drug use and addiction, and connects people with experts willing to speak on anti-stigma topics
  • Reports about and links to websites for community based anti-stigma initiatives that may serve as a model including:
    • Recovery Reinvented, an initiative led by First Lady of North Dakota Kathryn Burgum – website link and a summary of the project from Addiction Policy Forum
    • Stigma Free West Virginia – website link to the homepage with information about the effects of stigma and stories of recovery as well as a link to the project’s training and evaluation website with resources and 6 training videos
    • A link the website for Morris County, New Jersey’s Proud to Be Stigma-Free initiative, which includes anti-stigma tool-kits for communities, colleges and universities, and faith-based organizations
    • A link to the website for A New Path: Parents for Addiction Treatment & Healing, an advocacy group with a focus on reducing the stigma associated with addiction and substance use disorder
    • A link to the Massachusetts-based Opioid Project when uses art and storytelling to change perceptions around addition and recovery

If you have additional materials we should consider including in this collection, please see our call for submissions page.

 

Policymakers & Community Leaders
Payers & Providers
Patients & Caregivers

Anti-Stigma Toolkit

Source: Central East Addiction Technology Transfer Center & The Danya Institute

This toolkit is designed for people who want to engage in efforts to reduce addiction-related stigma. The toolkit can help addiction treatment professionals and community groups to create multi-component stigma prevention and stigma reduction campaigns.

Document
Policymakers & Community Leaders
Payers & Providers
Patients & Caregivers

Distorted Perceptions

Source: On Our Own of Maryland, Inc. and The Anti-Stigma Project

Distorted Perceptions is a public education campaign to counter stigma experienced by individuals with mental health or substance use disorder conditions.

External Website
Policymakers & Community Leaders
Patients & Caregivers

Spotlight: Recovery Reinvented

Evidence Ranking: Potential

Source: Addiction Policy Forum

First Lady of North Dakota Kathryn Helgaas Burgum created Recovery Reinvented to end the shame and stigma that often accompanies people in recovery from addiction. As a person in long term recovery herself, she saw the need to empower people to seek help by openly talking about addiction and reality of recovery. Recovery Reinvented holds events in North Dakota with the goal of ending shame and stigma and creating recovery supportive communities. This report is part of the Addiction Policy Forum’s Spotlight series which highlights innovative programs to address the opioid crisis.

Document
Policymakers & Community Leaders

Stigma Free West Virginia: Training and Evaluation Resources

Source: West Virginia Department of Health & Human Resources, Bureau for Behavioral Health

Stigma Free West Virginia works to reduce the stigma around individuals with substance use disorder to improve treatment and recovery from addiction. This website provides training and evaluation resources to be used when conducting anti-stigma trainings. Includes links to 6 training videos.

External Website
Policymakers & Community Leaders
Payers & Providers
Patients & Caregivers

Stigma Free West Virginia

Source: West Virginia Department of Health & Human Resources, Bureau for Behavioral Health

Website for Stigma Free West Virginia which works to reduce stigma around individuals with substance use disorders. Includes information about what stigma is and how it affects individual’s and community’s ability to treat substance use disorder and recover from addiction. Includes stories of recovery and links to relevant resources.

External Website
Policymakers & Community Leaders
Patients & Caregivers

A New Path: Parents for Addiction Treatment & Healing

Source: Parents for Addiction Treatment & Healing

The website for A New Path, an advocacy group of parents, citizens, individuals in recovery, community leaders and health care professionals working to educate the public, media and policy makers about addiction and expand access to treatment. The group has a focus on reducing the stigma associated with

External Website