October 16, 2024 • 20 mins
Recovery from Substance Use Disorder is everything from a challenge to a celebration. The recovering community is ever-present to support folks through the challenges and to celebrate together every step of the way. Cindy Burzinski discusses her work with the recovering community and the many programs available at Wisconsin Voices for Recovery. Cindy is the current Director of Wisconsin Voices for Recovery, part of the UW-Madison Department of Family Medicine and Community Health (DFMCH). She is also a licensed Clinical Substance Abuse Counselor, person in long-term recovery, and researcher interested in increasing access to supportive resources within the recovery community. Cindy and Wisconsin Voices for Recovery can be reached at https://wisconsinvoicesforrecovery.org/
The views and opinions of the guests on this podcast are theirs and theirs alone and do not necessarily represent those of the host, Westwords Consulting or the Kenosha County Substance Abuse Coalition.
We're always interested in hearing from individuals or organizations who are working in substance use disorder treatment or prevention, mental health care and other spaces that lift up communities. This includes people living those experiences. If you or someone you know has a story to share or an interesting approach to care, contact us today!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Mike (00:12):
Welcome everybody.
This is Avoiding the AddictionAffliction brought to you by Westwords
Consulting and the Kenosha CountySubstance Use Disorder Coalition.
I'm Mike McGowan.
Recovery from substance usedisorder is everything from
a challenge to a celebration.
The recovering community is ever presentto support folks through the challenges.
(00:32):
And to celebrate togetherevery step of the way.
We're going to talk about recoveryand so much more with our very
special guest today, Cindy Burzinski.
Cindy is the current director ofWisconsin Voices for Recovery, part
of the UW Madison Department ofFamily Medicine and Community Health.
She is a licensed clinical substanceabuse counselor, person in long term
(00:52):
recovery and researcher interested inincreasing access to supportive resources
within the recovering community.
Welcome, Cindy.
Cindy (01:01):
Thank you.
Glad to be here.
Mike (01:02):
Well, Cindy, for those that don't know what it is, tell
us about Voices for Recovery.
Cindy (01:07):
Yeah, absolutely.
So Wisconsin Voices for Recoveryis a statewide, peer led,
recovery focused organization.
So we do a lot of advocacy workand engaging of the community.
We are part of the University ofWisconsin Madison Department of
Family Medicine and Community Health.
We did start in, I think, 2013and we have a, a team structure
(01:28):
with a number of team members.
We have an advisory council that meetsmonthly, and then a BIPOC community
advisory committee that meets quarterly.
Mike (01:37):
Well, when we were talking ahead of this, I was amazed.
You have a ton of programs.
Cindy (01:43):
Yeah, we do.
We do.
Our main focus is connectingpeople, reducing stigma, education,
harm reduction, and recoverysupport and peer support through
organizations that we fund.
Mike (01:56):
Well talk about some of the programs that you think people need to know about.
Cindy (02:02):
Yeah, absolutely.
They're kind of actually brokendown into those five areas.
So, Connecting People, ReducingStigma, Education, Harm
Reduction, and Recovery Support.
And so, for Connecting People, we havean annual rally every year that happens
during a recovery month in September,and it's usually the second Saturday
of September where we all come togetheras many people as possible across
(02:24):
the state to the Capitol in Madison.
And we have a rally.
We have speakers, we've gota lot of resource tables.
We have a hobby and wellness area,which is new the past few years.
We do Narcan trainings.
We provide free Narcanfentanyl test strips.
We have a DJ, food, kids area.
It's a great time.
(02:44):
So everybody can come together and learnand connect and support and advocate and
really working on reducing that stigma.
We have other events as well.
So we attend recovery related eventsacross the state and we have a stigma
awareness event that we do eachyear that travels around the state.
This year, upcoming, it's going to be, Ibelieve, November 19th in Lac du Flambeau.
(03:08):
We also do a lot of social mediaengagement and just connecting
with people through that way.
We also focus on reducing stigma.
And so, through that, we dotrainings and presentations.
As I mentioned, we have ourstigma awareness events.
We have a podcast.
It's called The Sober Podcast,which stands for Stories of
Badgers Empowering Recovery.
(03:28):
And these are people, yep, peopletypically from Wisconsin that
either talk about their organizationand the great work that they're
doing, or we pick a topic.
And we bring in a panel and havethe panelists talk about the topic,
such as stigma or harm reductionor other issues in the community.
We also have a Saturday night chat.
Where we post videos usually thelast Saturday of the month, where
(03:50):
we have somebody interviewedregarding the recovery story.
And so the interviewer and the personin recovery come together, they
decide which questions would we liketo talk about, which parts of my
story do I want to share, and thenthat person is interviewed and they
share that also to raise awareness.
Show that recovery ispossible and eliminate stigma.
And then we have our Speak Out onStigma initiative, which is fairly new.
(04:14):
It's been going on, I think,a little over a year, maybe a
year and a half at this point.
And for this, we have little fiveminute videos that we record.
So we provide peoplewith a list of questions.
And have them pick one or two questions,or they can come up with their own,
or they could modify a question.
But really the main point is to talkto them about stigma and get their
experiences and views on stigma.
(04:35):
This is open to anybody and everybody.
It's really focused on differentsectors and perspectives and
bringing together experiences.
And so they select one or twoquestions, and then I interview
them and ask them those questions.
The videos are only five minutes.
We post one usually every Monday.
We've gotten a lot of interest andwhat we're really looking to do is get
(04:56):
representation across different areas ofthe state, different sectors, different
communities, different life experiences.
So those are our two main ones.
And then we focus on education as well.
So we do community education.
So with Narcan trainingsor stigma trainings.
We attend conferences and dothose trainings or talk about one
(05:17):
of our programs or initiatives.
We also work with students.
So we work with the UW Madison PhysicianAssistant Program and work with them to
do NARCAN trainings in the community.
We also work with the UW MadisonCommunity Health Education
Program, which are medical studentsthat work with us on a project.
We have four cohorts per year thatcome through and work with us.
(05:40):
And what they do is they help us withthe Saturday night chat interviews,
and then we also give them anotherproject to do as part of their section.
And so for those interviews, it's anice opportunity to have an incoming
medical student be connected withsomeone in recovery to learn about
their experiences and provide apositive experience for both the medical
(06:00):
student and the person in recovery tohave a positive influence on somebody
going into their medical education.
So yeah, so those are some of our areas,and then we have two larger programs
above and beyond that one focused on harmreduction so we do Narcan training and
distribution through that program, but ourNalox-ZONE program is focused on providing
(06:21):
a, they're called Nalox-ZONE boxes.
So it's a type of opioid rescue kitwhere there's Narcan in it, a CPR
mask in it, instructions on how toadminister Narcan, and then resources.
So people can access theseboxes to obtain Narcan.
They can be used in an emergencysituation, but also just to
access the box to have the Narcan.
(06:41):
And it's really about increasingaccess across the state.
At this point, we have over 500 boxeslocated across Wisconsin in over 60
counties at this point and it continuesto grow, it continues to expand.
In Wisconsin, these boxes are free.
So if the organization or businessin Wisconsin would like a box all
they need to do is request one fromus and we'll work with them to get
(07:03):
them the box and then the supplies.
The other program that we're startingup is a fentanyl test strip program.
We'll provide fentanyl teststrips also for free to Wisconsin
organizations and communities.
So that's our harm reduction area.
And then we have a recovery supportand peer support area where we have
our ED2Recovery+ program, which is aprogram where we fund organizations
(07:26):
that provide peer support, they'renonprofits that provide peer support
to people in the community and alsoin the emergency department when they
come in due to an overdose or seekingsupport for a substance use disorder.
So when that person comes to theED the medical staff there ask
them if they'd like a peer supportconnection and then they call one of
the organizations that we fund whichprovides a peer support provider.
(07:49):
They meet, they talk about resources,they talk about, you know, what
are they looking for in recovery?
What support are they looking for?
What guidance are they looking for?
And they start a connection, andthen these folks are followed up
with over a period of time to helpsupport their recovery journey.
We also as part of that program providefree recovery coach trainings using the
CCAR model, and then we also have anannual virtual peer support conference
(08:14):
each spring that anybody can attend.
It's free.
CEUs are offered focused on in Wisconsintypically, but people can join.
And then we also have a peer supportprovider directory that we are developing.
So that's our most recent project.
So we are reaching out to all of the peersupport providers across Wisconsin, either
(08:34):
organizations that provide peer support.
Or people that are self employedthat provide peer support.
And they can sign up to be in thisdirectory, which will, in the coming
months, become accessible to the public.
So if someone's looking for peer support,they'll have a listing in whichever area
they're looking to have a listing forto see, okay, who provides peer support?
(08:56):
Which organizations providepeer support in my area?
So that is the overview.
Mike (09:01):
Wow.
Well, that's a lot of stuff.
And as we were talking, I toldyou ahead of time that I had
somebody say to me a while backthat Wisconsin has a lot of usage.
We lead the country in so manycategories, especially around alcohol.
And she said, therefore it standsto reason we have a very strong
recovering community, which I thoughtwas a great way to look at it.
(09:24):
But then when we were talking, yousaid, well, that depends, right?
That's a lot of programs, but itdepends on where you're at, right?
Cindy (09:33):
Yeah, absolutely.
So it's definitely by community.
So, yes, there's strongrecovery in this state.
Also, it depends on resources.
So, you might have moreresources in an urban area.
You might have lessresources in a rural area.
So, there's different barriers to accessto resources, depending on where you
(09:55):
are in the state, and so yeah, it candefinitely vary by location and that's
one of the things that we're trying tofocus on is how do we eliminate barriers?
How do we raise awareness?
How do we build connections?
The rally is one way we cando that because people can
all come together and learn.
Here's all the resources in the areas.
Oh, I didn't know this resource existed.
Now I'm going to go reach out to them.
(10:15):
Or, Oh, I'm an organization and I didn'trealize there's an organization, you
know, in a city just like 20 miles away.
Maybe we can collaborate on something.
So it's really about buildingthose connections and
engaging at multiple levels.
So at the individual level, at theorganization level, and as much as we
can, connecting people across the state toincrease access to recovery and support.
Mike (10:38):
So you're not just an advocate group, you're a funnel, you're
a bridge, you're a connector.
Cindy (10:45):
Yeah, we strive to connect and engage as much as possible.
Mike (10:50):
We have a rather diverse audience of listeners, but one of your, and
we've had, we talked about thisbefore, there's some disparity in the
amount and the care to certain groupsin our country, let alone our state.
And you also address that racialdisparity as well as rural disparity.
Cindy (11:10):
Yeah, absolutely.
There's definitely barriers and themore awareness we can raise, the more
we can start to address these barriers.
Mike (11:19):
Talk a little bit more about the you called it the ED2 Recovery?
Cindy (11:24):
Yeah, the ED2 Recovery Program.
Absolutely.
So, this program started in 2017and it supports the provision
of peer support services.
We do have a request forproposal that goes out annually.
It typically gets posted in June,where organizations that provide
peer support that are non profitcan apply for funding from us.
(11:45):
So it's a really great opportunityfor networking and connection
and supporting the community.
The overarching program goal isactually to unite these treatment
systems to promote peer support.
And really, the aims are to decreasethe number of overdose fatalities
in Wisconsin by having the service,increasing treatment and recovery
(12:06):
support, reducing emergency departmentadmissions due to overdose as well because
there's more peer support out there.
Providing peer support in communitysettings and then being a sustainable
and collaborative peer support network.
And that collaborative piecekind of also goes into, you
know, the trainings that we have.
So we have that virtualconference that we do each year.
(12:27):
Those organizations that areparticipating in this program have
a say in what topics do they want tohear about each year at the conference?
What topics do they want supervisors tobe trained on outside of the conference?
What topics and trainings would be helpfulfor the peer support providers engaging
one on one with people looking to besupported on their recovery journey?
Mike (12:52):
Those of you who listen know that we're going to put a link on the blurb
to the podcast the Voices for Recovery'swebsite that has links to not only the
Lac du Flambeau November event, but allof the trainings and education events.
Cindy, in my introduction, I saidyou're in long term recovery.
How did you get involved with Voices?
Cindy (13:13):
How did I get involved with voices?
So that, so two ways, two ways.
So being a person in long termrecovery myself, I started to see
back in 2013 when this started, right?
Oh, there's a rally.
This is very interesting.
I want to check it out.
And so I went to my first rally.
And so it was a great welcomingand energizing experience.
(13:37):
And so from that point, Icontinued to go to rallies.
After a while, there was an opportunityto volunteer, and so I volunteered.
At that same time, I was alreadyemployed by the university.
And so, being employed by the university,knowing that, okay, well, this is
also affiliated with the university,got me connected in that way.
(13:58):
And so, being a researcher with theuniversity, working on a variety
of different projects, there was anopening to work on this team as well.
And so then I, I took that opportunity andbecame engaged in a career sense as well.
Mike (14:14):
We have, and I know you've done other work too, and I want, if you don't
mind, I want you to talk just a littlebit about that, especially your work with
veterans, your research with veterans.
Cindy (14:24):
Yeah, absolutely.
And I will just make a correctionthat I haven't done research
with veterans necessarily.
But I was 1 of 2 subject matterexperts on the development of some
materials to support veterans.
The Whole Health Projectso that is, it's the U.
S.
Department of VeteransAffairs, Whole Health.
It's part of their library, and Iworked on the substance use modules.
(14:47):
And so these are resources, clinical toolsfor clinicians to help support veterans.
We've got tools such as recovery orientedmutual self help groups, reducing
relapse risk, a tool on substanceuse disorder treatment, complementary
approaches, overviews on substance usedisorders and tobacco use disorders.
(15:09):
So yeah, these are tools that canhelp and aid clinicians in supporting
those in recovery for veterans.
Mike (15:18):
Yeah, I wanted you to mention that because we talk about underserved groups
or groups that kind of fly under theradar and they've done so much and that's
a group that does fly under the radarwhen it comes to substance use disorders.
Thanks.
Cindy (15:32):
Yeah, absolutely.
Mike (15:33):
You know, you also have done work with mindfulness, right?
And I have a personal friendof mine and back pain.
Cindy (15:41):
Yeah.
Mike (15:42):
Talk about the back pain.
Cindy (15:45):
Yeah, absolutely.
There's a large multi state researchstudy that we actually just completed
and it's called the STAMP study.
It's Strategies to Assistwith Management of Pain.
And so this was a collaboration betweenUW, with University of Wisconsin Madison,
Pennsylvania State University, Brighamand Women's Hospital at Harvard, and
(16:09):
University of Utah College of Social Work.
And so, these four sites, we cametogether, we worked on looking at
individuals who had long term chronic lowback pain treated with long term opioids.
And so we looked at, I think it's 770individuals across these different areas.
(16:29):
And we provided them with oneof two different therapies.
So mindfulness based therapy orcognitive behavioral therapy.
We followed them for, each of themfor a year and we're looking at the
impact of those therapies on theirback pain, their function, et cetera.
(16:49):
And so we are working on ourinitial primary outcomes paper
now, so keep eyes open for that.
We do have a paper out alreadyon the, the study protocol.
And so it's a very interesting read.
The interventions, they were eight weekslong, there were group interventions, and
they were two hours per week for each one.
(17:11):
So yeah, we're very excited.
The study lasted six plus years.
And yeah.
Yeah,
Mike (17:18):
And so you don't have a conclusion yet or?
Cindy (17:22):
Yeah, there's no preliminary results that I can share at this
point But I would say, you know,keep checking back The principal
investigators on this are Drs.
Zgierska and Dr.
Barrett And so, you know, if you yougoogle their names especially, Dr.
Aleksandra Zgierskaarticles should come up.
Mike (17:44):
Excellent.
You also talked about what you dofor individuals all over the state.
And on your website, there'sa link, a blog section.
Is that what you were addressingwhen you were talking about
the five minute videos, too?
Because there's a, there'ssome of those up there, too.
Cindy (18:01):
Actually, no.
The videos are on our YouTube channel.
Mike (18:04):
Oh, okay.
Cindy (18:05):
And so, yeah, so we have a YouTube channel where those videos live.
That's also where ourSaturday night chats live.
The Share Your Story on our websitewas a different initiative where we
had people talking about their story.
They wrote a little paragraph andthen kind of where they are today.
Mike (18:21):
I love those.
If somebody wanted to get involvedwith Voices, how would they do that?
Cindy (18:27):
So they could reach out to us, they could email us, they could message us on
our Facebook page, but usually the bestway to reach us would be through email
wisconsinvoicesforrecovery@fammed.wisc.edu.
We also have, depending on whatthey're looking to learn more
about different program emails.
So, we have a separate email forour Nalox-ZONE program because
(18:50):
it's a full program, and then ourED2Recovery+ program, we also have
a full email address there for that.
Mike (18:57):
Yeah, and I'm going to put a link to the main one on, on the end of the blurb.
I'll let you get away from us bygiving you a little go away question.
On that little summary, there'sa quote from a woman named Becca,
who summarizes her story ofaddiction with a great big smile.
Your picture of her has a great big smile.
And I love this.
(19:17):
She says, I am present.
I have hope.
I have a life.
It's kind of what it's all about, right?
Cindy (19:25):
Yeah.
Being present.
Living life, engaging in life, healing.
Mike (19:33):
That's terrific.
I'm just so glad you were able to do thistoday, and if you want more information
about the rallies, the event coming upin Lac du Flambeau, or any of the many
programs that Voices offer, just click onthe link and give yourself a little bit
of time, because there's so much there.
You can get lost in it.
(19:53):
It's great.
Thanks so much, Cindy,for being with us today.
And for those of you listening,you can join us anytime, of course,
that you're able to and until we seeyou again please, please stay safe.
Welcome everybody.
This is Avoiding the AddictionAffliction brought to you by Westwords
Consulting and the Kenosha CountySubstance Use Disorder Coalition.
I'm Mike McGowan.
Recovery from substance usedisorder is everything from
a challenge to a celebration.
The recovering community is ever presentto support folks through the challenges.
(00:32):
And to celebrate togetherevery step of the way.
We're going to talk about recoveryand so much more with our very
special guest today, Cindy Burzinski.
Cindy is the current director ofWisconsin Voices for Recovery, part
of the UW Madison Department ofFamily Medicine and Community Health.
She is a licensed clinical substanceabuse counselor, person in long term
(00:52):
recovery and researcher interested inincreasing access to supportive resources
within the recovering community.
Welcome, Cindy.
Cindy (01:01):
Thank you.
Glad to be here.
Mike (01:02):
Well, Cindy, for those that don't know what it is, tell
us about Voices for Recovery.
Cindy (01:07):
Yeah, absolutely.
So Wisconsin Voices for Recoveryis a statewide, peer led,
recovery focused organization.
So we do a lot of advocacy workand engaging of the community.
We are part of the University ofWisconsin Madison Department of
Family Medicine and Community Health.
We did start in, I think, 2013and we have a, a team structure
(01:28):
with a number of team members.
We have an advisory council that meetsmonthly, and then a BIPOC community
advisory committee that meets quarterly.
Mike (01:37):
Well, when we were talking ahead of this, I was amazed.
You have a ton of programs.
Cindy (01:43):
Yeah, we do.
We do.
Our main focus is connectingpeople, reducing stigma, education,
harm reduction, and recoverysupport and peer support through
organizations that we fund.
Mike (01:56):
Well talk about some of the programs that you think people need to know about.
Cindy (02:02):
Yeah, absolutely.
They're kind of actually brokendown into those five areas.
So, Connecting People, ReducingStigma, Education, Harm
Reduction, and Recovery Support.
And so, for Connecting People, we havean annual rally every year that happens
during a recovery month in September,and it's usually the second Saturday
of September where we all come togetheras many people as possible across
(02:24):
the state to the Capitol in Madison.
And we have a rally.
We have speakers, we've gota lot of resource tables.
We have a hobby and wellness area,which is new the past few years.
We do Narcan trainings.
We provide free Narcanfentanyl test strips.
We have a DJ, food, kids area.
It's a great time.
(02:44):
So everybody can come together and learnand connect and support and advocate and
really working on reducing that stigma.
We have other events as well.
So we attend recovery related eventsacross the state and we have a stigma
awareness event that we do eachyear that travels around the state.
This year, upcoming, it's going to be, Ibelieve, November 19th in Lac du Flambeau.
(03:08):
We also do a lot of social mediaengagement and just connecting
with people through that way.
We also focus on reducing stigma.
And so, through that, we dotrainings and presentations.
As I mentioned, we have ourstigma awareness events.
We have a podcast.
It's called The Sober Podcast,which stands for Stories of
Badgers Empowering Recovery.
(03:28):
And these are people, yep, peopletypically from Wisconsin that
either talk about their organizationand the great work that they're
doing, or we pick a topic.
And we bring in a panel and havethe panelists talk about the topic,
such as stigma or harm reductionor other issues in the community.
We also have a Saturday night chat.
Where we post videos usually thelast Saturday of the month, where
(03:50):
we have somebody interviewedregarding the recovery story.
And so the interviewer and the personin recovery come together, they
decide which questions would we liketo talk about, which parts of my
story do I want to share, and thenthat person is interviewed and they
share that also to raise awareness.
Show that recovery ispossible and eliminate stigma.
And then we have our Speak Out onStigma initiative, which is fairly new.
(04:14):
It's been going on, I think,a little over a year, maybe a
year and a half at this point.
And for this, we have little fiveminute videos that we record.
So we provide peoplewith a list of questions.
And have them pick one or two questions,or they can come up with their own,
or they could modify a question.
But really the main point is to talkto them about stigma and get their
experiences and views on stigma.
(04:35):
This is open to anybody and everybody.
It's really focused on differentsectors and perspectives and
bringing together experiences.
And so they select one or twoquestions, and then I interview
them and ask them those questions.
The videos are only five minutes.
We post one usually every Monday.
We've gotten a lot of interest andwhat we're really looking to do is get
(04:56):
representation across different areas ofthe state, different sectors, different
communities, different life experiences.
So those are our two main ones.
And then we focus on education as well.
So we do community education.
So with Narcan trainingsor stigma trainings.
We attend conferences and dothose trainings or talk about one
(05:17):
of our programs or initiatives.
We also work with students.
So we work with the UW Madison PhysicianAssistant Program and work with them to
do NARCAN trainings in the community.
We also work with the UW MadisonCommunity Health Education
Program, which are medical studentsthat work with us on a project.
We have four cohorts per year thatcome through and work with us.
(05:40):
And what they do is they help us withthe Saturday night chat interviews,
and then we also give them anotherproject to do as part of their section.
And so for those interviews, it's anice opportunity to have an incoming
medical student be connected withsomeone in recovery to learn about
their experiences and provide apositive experience for both the medical
(06:00):
student and the person in recovery tohave a positive influence on somebody
going into their medical education.
So yeah, so those are some of our areas,and then we have two larger programs
above and beyond that one focused on harmreduction so we do Narcan training and
distribution through that program, but ourNalox-ZONE program is focused on providing
(06:21):
a, they're called Nalox-ZONE boxes.
So it's a type of opioid rescue kitwhere there's Narcan in it, a CPR
mask in it, instructions on how toadminister Narcan, and then resources.
So people can access theseboxes to obtain Narcan.
They can be used in an emergencysituation, but also just to
access the box to have the Narcan.
(06:41):
And it's really about increasingaccess across the state.
At this point, we have over 500 boxeslocated across Wisconsin in over 60
counties at this point and it continuesto grow, it continues to expand.
In Wisconsin, these boxes are free.
So if the organization or businessin Wisconsin would like a box all
they need to do is request one fromus and we'll work with them to get
(07:03):
them the box and then the supplies.
The other program that we're startingup is a fentanyl test strip program.
We'll provide fentanyl teststrips also for free to Wisconsin
organizations and communities.
So that's our harm reduction area.
And then we have a recovery supportand peer support area where we have
our ED2Recovery+ program, which is aprogram where we fund organizations
(07:26):
that provide peer support, they'renonprofits that provide peer support
to people in the community and alsoin the emergency department when they
come in due to an overdose or seekingsupport for a substance use disorder.
So when that person comes to theED the medical staff there ask
them if they'd like a peer supportconnection and then they call one of
the organizations that we fund whichprovides a peer support provider.
(07:49):
They meet, they talk about resources,they talk about, you know, what
are they looking for in recovery?
What support are they looking for?
What guidance are they looking for?
And they start a connection, andthen these folks are followed up
with over a period of time to helpsupport their recovery journey.
We also as part of that program providefree recovery coach trainings using the
CCAR model, and then we also have anannual virtual peer support conference
(08:14):
each spring that anybody can attend.
It's free.
CEUs are offered focused on in Wisconsintypically, but people can join.
And then we also have a peer supportprovider directory that we are developing.
So that's our most recent project.
So we are reaching out to all of the peersupport providers across Wisconsin, either
(08:34):
organizations that provide peer support.
Or people that are self employedthat provide peer support.
And they can sign up to be in thisdirectory, which will, in the coming
months, become accessible to the public.
So if someone's looking for peer support,they'll have a listing in whichever area
they're looking to have a listing forto see, okay, who provides peer support?
(08:56):
Which organizations providepeer support in my area?
So that is the overview.
Mike (09:01):
Wow.
Well, that's a lot of stuff.
And as we were talking, I toldyou ahead of time that I had
somebody say to me a while backthat Wisconsin has a lot of usage.
We lead the country in so manycategories, especially around alcohol.
And she said, therefore it standsto reason we have a very strong
recovering community, which I thoughtwas a great way to look at it.
(09:24):
But then when we were talking, yousaid, well, that depends, right?
That's a lot of programs, but itdepends on where you're at, right?
Cindy (09:33):
Yeah, absolutely.
So it's definitely by community.
So, yes, there's strongrecovery in this state.
Also, it depends on resources.
So, you might have moreresources in an urban area.
You might have lessresources in a rural area.
So, there's different barriers to accessto resources, depending on where you
(09:55):
are in the state, and so yeah, it candefinitely vary by location and that's
one of the things that we're trying tofocus on is how do we eliminate barriers?
How do we raise awareness?
How do we build connections?
The rally is one way we cando that because people can
all come together and learn.
Here's all the resources in the areas.
Oh, I didn't know this resource existed.
Now I'm going to go reach out to them.
(10:15):
Or, Oh, I'm an organization and I didn'trealize there's an organization, you
know, in a city just like 20 miles away.
Maybe we can collaborate on something.
So it's really about buildingthose connections and
engaging at multiple levels.
So at the individual level, at theorganization level, and as much as we
can, connecting people across the state toincrease access to recovery and support.
Mike (10:38):
So you're not just an advocate group, you're a funnel, you're
a bridge, you're a connector.
Cindy (10:45):
Yeah, we strive to connect and engage as much as possible.
Mike (10:50):
We have a rather diverse audience of listeners, but one of your, and
we've had, we talked about thisbefore, there's some disparity in the
amount and the care to certain groupsin our country, let alone our state.
And you also address that racialdisparity as well as rural disparity.
Cindy (11:10):
Yeah, absolutely.
There's definitely barriers and themore awareness we can raise, the more
we can start to address these barriers.
Mike (11:19):
Talk a little bit more about the you called it the ED2 Recovery?
Cindy (11:24):
Yeah, the ED2 Recovery Program.
Absolutely.
So, this program started in 2017and it supports the provision
of peer support services.
We do have a request forproposal that goes out annually.
It typically gets posted in June,where organizations that provide
peer support that are non profitcan apply for funding from us.
(11:45):
So it's a really great opportunityfor networking and connection
and supporting the community.
The overarching program goal isactually to unite these treatment
systems to promote peer support.
And really, the aims are to decreasethe number of overdose fatalities
in Wisconsin by having the service,increasing treatment and recovery
(12:06):
support, reducing emergency departmentadmissions due to overdose as well because
there's more peer support out there.
Providing peer support in communitysettings and then being a sustainable
and collaborative peer support network.
And that collaborative piecekind of also goes into, you
know, the trainings that we have.
So we have that virtualconference that we do each year.
(12:27):
Those organizations that areparticipating in this program have
a say in what topics do they want tohear about each year at the conference?
What topics do they want supervisors tobe trained on outside of the conference?
What topics and trainings would be helpfulfor the peer support providers engaging
one on one with people looking to besupported on their recovery journey?
Mike (12:52):
Those of you who listen know that we're going to put a link on the blurb
to the podcast the Voices for Recovery'swebsite that has links to not only the
Lac du Flambeau November event, but allof the trainings and education events.
Cindy, in my introduction, I saidyou're in long term recovery.
How did you get involved with Voices?
Cindy (13:13):
How did I get involved with voices?
So that, so two ways, two ways.
So being a person in long termrecovery myself, I started to see
back in 2013 when this started, right?
Oh, there's a rally.
This is very interesting.
I want to check it out.
And so I went to my first rally.
And so it was a great welcomingand energizing experience.
(13:37):
And so from that point, Icontinued to go to rallies.
After a while, there was an opportunityto volunteer, and so I volunteered.
At that same time, I was alreadyemployed by the university.
And so, being employed by the university,knowing that, okay, well, this is
also affiliated with the university,got me connected in that way.
(13:58):
And so, being a researcher with theuniversity, working on a variety
of different projects, there was anopening to work on this team as well.
And so then I, I took that opportunity andbecame engaged in a career sense as well.
Mike (14:14):
We have, and I know you've done other work too, and I want, if you don't
mind, I want you to talk just a littlebit about that, especially your work with
veterans, your research with veterans.
Cindy (14:24):
Yeah, absolutely.
And I will just make a correctionthat I haven't done research
with veterans necessarily.
But I was 1 of 2 subject matterexperts on the development of some
materials to support veterans.
The Whole Health Projectso that is, it's the U.
S.
Department of VeteransAffairs, Whole Health.
It's part of their library, and Iworked on the substance use modules.
(14:47):
And so these are resources, clinical toolsfor clinicians to help support veterans.
We've got tools such as recovery orientedmutual self help groups, reducing
relapse risk, a tool on substanceuse disorder treatment, complementary
approaches, overviews on substance usedisorders and tobacco use disorders.
(15:09):
So yeah, these are tools that canhelp and aid clinicians in supporting
those in recovery for veterans.
Mike (15:18):
Yeah, I wanted you to mention that because we talk about underserved groups
or groups that kind of fly under theradar and they've done so much and that's
a group that does fly under the radarwhen it comes to substance use disorders.
Thanks.
Cindy (15:32):
Yeah, absolutely.
Mike (15:33):
You know, you also have done work with mindfulness, right?
And I have a personal friendof mine and back pain.
Cindy (15:41):
Yeah.
Mike (15:42):
Talk about the back pain.
Cindy (15:45):
Yeah, absolutely.
There's a large multi state researchstudy that we actually just completed
and it's called the STAMP study.
It's Strategies to Assistwith Management of Pain.
And so this was a collaboration betweenUW, with University of Wisconsin Madison,
Pennsylvania State University, Brighamand Women's Hospital at Harvard, and
(16:09):
University of Utah College of Social Work.
And so, these four sites, we cametogether, we worked on looking at
individuals who had long term chronic lowback pain treated with long term opioids.
And so we looked at, I think it's 770individuals across these different areas.
(16:29):
And we provided them with oneof two different therapies.
So mindfulness based therapy orcognitive behavioral therapy.
We followed them for, each of themfor a year and we're looking at the
impact of those therapies on theirback pain, their function, et cetera.
(16:49):
And so we are working on ourinitial primary outcomes paper
now, so keep eyes open for that.
We do have a paper out alreadyon the, the study protocol.
And so it's a very interesting read.
The interventions, they were eight weekslong, there were group interventions, and
they were two hours per week for each one.
(17:11):
So yeah, we're very excited.
The study lasted six plus years.
And yeah.
Yeah,
Mike (17:18):
And so you don't have a conclusion yet or?
Cindy (17:22):
Yeah, there's no preliminary results that I can share at this
point But I would say, you know,keep checking back The principal
investigators on this are Drs.
Zgierska and Dr.
Barrett And so, you know, if you yougoogle their names especially, Dr.
Aleksandra Zgierskaarticles should come up.
Mike (17:44):
Excellent.
You also talked about what you dofor individuals all over the state.
And on your website, there'sa link, a blog section.
Is that what you were addressingwhen you were talking about
the five minute videos, too?
Because there's a, there'ssome of those up there, too.
Cindy (18:01):
Actually, no.
The videos are on our YouTube channel.
Mike (18:04):
Oh, okay.
Cindy (18:05):
And so, yeah, so we have a YouTube channel where those videos live.
That's also where ourSaturday night chats live.
The Share Your Story on our websitewas a different initiative where we
had people talking about their story.
They wrote a little paragraph andthen kind of where they are today.
Mike (18:21):
I love those.
If somebody wanted to get involvedwith Voices, how would they do that?
Cindy (18:27):
So they could reach out to us, they could email us, they could message us on
our Facebook page, but usually the bestway to reach us would be through email
wisconsinvoicesforrecovery@fammed.wisc.edu.
We also have, depending on whatthey're looking to learn more
about different program emails.
So, we have a separate email forour Nalox-ZONE program because
(18:50):
it's a full program, and then ourED2Recovery+ program, we also have
a full email address there for that.
Mike (18:57):
Yeah, and I'm going to put a link to the main one on, on the end of the blurb.
I'll let you get away from us bygiving you a little go away question.
On that little summary, there'sa quote from a woman named Becca,
who summarizes her story ofaddiction with a great big smile.
Your picture of her has a great big smile.
And I love this.
(19:17):
She says, I am present.
I have hope.
I have a life.
It's kind of what it's all about, right?
Cindy (19:25):
Yeah.
Being present.
Living life, engaging in life, healing.
Mike (19:33):
That's terrific.
I'm just so glad you were able to do thistoday, and if you want more information
about the rallies, the event coming upin Lac du Flambeau, or any of the many
programs that Voices offer, just click onthe link and give yourself a little bit
of time, because there's so much there.
You can get lost in it.
(19:53):
It's great.
Thanks so much, Cindy,for being with us today.
And for those of you listening,you can join us anytime, of course,
that you're able to and until we seeyou again please, please stay safe.
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