September 13, 2023 • 30 mins
Community DC Host Dennis Glasgow visits with Kirsten Suto Seckler, who is the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for Shatterproof, a Non-Profit working domestically in the United States to end the stigma of addiction and to help those in crisis.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Good morning, and welcome to anotheredition of Community DC. I'm your host
Dennis Glascow. This morning we geta chance to visit for the first time
with Kirston Pseudo Seckler. She isthe chief Marketing and Communications officer for shadow
Proof, a nonprofit started over tenyears ago by a father who lost a
son to addiction and turned a brutaltragedy into a special place where people making
(00:24):
a difference to reversing the addiction crisisin the United States. I hope you
enjoyed my conversation with Kirston as muchas I did. Good morning, Kirsten,
Good morning Danna. It's such apleasure to talk to you when this
is the first time in the youand I have had a chance to talk
about shadow Proof, and I amjust so excited to talk about what I
do want to do first to giveeverything a little context to you being there
(00:46):
and shadow Proof. It's by theway, the origin story with Gary is
really cool, and I want youto share that too, because I know
the company in a nonprofit is tenyears old. But for discontextual purposes,
tell us a little bit about yourself. I know nonprofits have been very big
in your life. Several currently rightnow, but also in the past.
Can you just tell us where you'refrom and where you grew up and tell
(01:06):
us a little bit about you knowbefore joining shadow Proof. I have been
in the nonprofit business for over thirtyyears, and I really got my taste
into the nonprofit space after spending timedriving the Oscar Meyer Mienermobile, which was
my first job. Okay, well, that's fantastic that you've done that.
Yeah, it was buns of fun, as we like. But the thing
(01:30):
I loved about that job, eventhough it was a corporate job, was
I had a chance to change people'slives on the spot. Most of the
people that I interacted with were excitedbecause they had seen something that really just
turned their day around, made themhappy. And I thought, how cool
that I could do get that marketing, and what if I could do that
(01:53):
with every day in my life.And so that's when I decided to shift
from being in the corporate space tobeing in the nonprofit space, because I
knew that I would have a chanceto really find a cause that meant a
lot to me and be able toturn people's lives around. So I moved
over to the nonprofit space a coupleof decades ago and I started working for
(02:15):
Special Olympics and I spent twenty oneyears with Special Olympics helping change society's views
and attitudes, their hearts and mindsabout the abilities of people with intellectual disability
and it was fantastic. Loved thatwork. And when I had a chance
to move to a new nonprofit thatwas emerging that needed help in marketing and
(02:38):
changing people's views about their constituents,I took the chance and that's how I
got to Shatterproof. So I'm stillinvolved in Special Olympics Special Olympics DC,
but shatter Proof is a fairly newnonprofit or only ten years old, and
we are supporting people with substance usdisorder, which is a very prevalent problem
(03:01):
in society right now. Millions ofpeople are struggling. Many families have family
members who are struggling, and there'sa lot of shame and judgment that comes
along with this illness. And youknow, I want to turn that around.
I have family members who have struggledsubstance use disorder. I know personally,
(03:21):
the shame, the stigma, theconfusion, not knowing where to go
for help, and that's really whatattracted me to Shatterproof and I want to
help other families with that. ButI do want to talk about the founder
and cy Gary and his vision.I know the companies you mentioned was founded
ten years ago. Can you tellme the origin story about that? Yes,
Shatterproof is founded by Gary Mendel.Gary founded HgI Hotels, which of
(03:46):
those of you in the DC marketmay know the Madison or the Sheraton in
Crystal City or the Weston. That'sGary's company and his son Brian struggled the
substance use disorder for many years.He was in treatment. He went to
eight different treatment centers, and youknow Gary's of means he had tried everything.
(04:09):
And even though Brian had found recoveryfor about thirteen months, and with
his struggle, he was struggling withthe stigma that came with having substitute disorder,
and sadly, Brian took his ownlife even though he was thirteen months
ober. And it was in hisnote that he left his parents that he
(04:32):
shared that he felt this stigma thatcame with having this illness. And so
that's when Gary caused from being abusinessman and really said, Okay, how
did this happen as a father,How did this happen in this country?
How do I stop this happening fromother for other families? And so that's
(04:55):
how shatterprof emerged. He really wastrying to find answers. And when he
started digging for answers, what hefound was billions of dollars of research that
was sitting in medical journal journals thatare great solutions and ways in which we
can really face this epidemic, butthat weren't being implemented. What he found
(05:17):
was that there was no national nonprofitfor families who were struggling to turn to.
Just like if you know you havebreast cancer or for you're struggling with
a heart disease, there are otherplaces for people to go, but there
wasn't anything for families with substances disorder. And so he said, you know
what, let's create that. Andso he left his hotel business and he
(05:42):
created Shatterproof ten years ago and hasbeen changing laws and creating and implementing those
things that he saw in those medicaljournals. So created the principles of care,
a whole you know, standard ofcare that outlines what good addiction treatment
looks like, what evidence based addictiontreatment looks like. And of course addressing
(06:09):
the stigmas. We created a nationalstrategy for how can we address this stigma
that you know killed Brian and it'skilling others and so so that's really the
origin story of shatter Proof. AndGary, you know, is our founder,
our CEO, is very involved.He'll be in DC in a few
weeks when we have our walk andso we're just so grateful that he took
(06:33):
that brave step as a parent toput his story out there because there are
so many families who are struggling.And I get a little weepy because I'm
one of those families, and youknow, you don't know where to turn,
you don't know where to go,you don't know where to look for
information, you don't know what totrust because there's so much information out there
(06:57):
and you just are looking at you'rejust so desperate for help. And so
I'm so glad that shadow Proof existsand it continues to grow because there's so
many families you need us, Andthe work that we're doing is so smart,
and all we're doing is implementing allthat great thinking and all that great
research that has been done by reallysmart people so that's shadow proof and that's
(07:21):
how Barry found it. All right, let's do this before we talk about
your programs and your events and thewalk that's coming up on October twenty one.
What you said is not far away, and you're right, it's just
around the corner. Is your missionstatement? Just to be clear for everybody
what that is. So we removethe barriers for people to recover, treat
I should to prevent, treat andrecover from substance US disorder. We are
(07:46):
working to help guide be that trustedguide for people through their scumplexities of addiction.
We inform the public about prevention,treatment and recovery, and we mobilize
the book to take action and toend addiction stigma. Okay, Now,
I mentioned over the last decade thatthe company has grown exponentially when I went
(08:07):
to the website, and I've donethat several times since I found out you
and I were going to be ableto chat about this. You have an
extraordinary staff there. There's a lotof people that are doing a lot of
different things there and you need thatespecially for what you're trying to pull off.
So maybe just to give us athirty thousand foot view about Chatterproof and
kind of what you do. Andonce again we will talk about events and
(08:28):
donations and some other things, butjust an overall glimpse for our listeners are
being introduced, probably to Shatterproof forthe first time, about what exactly is
it. Yes, so we liketo say that we work and three pillars
of work. First and foremost,we're focused on transforming addiction treatment. Addiction
treatment in this country is a littlebit scattered, not really part of a
(08:52):
health system, and so we wantto change that. We created that standard
of care that I mentioned that ourprinciples of care that everybody should be looking
at when they are looking for addictiontreatment and you can see those on our
website. We also took those principlesof care and we created a website called
treatment Atlas dot org. And whatwe did is we apply those principles of
(09:16):
care as quality metrics to treatment systemsand when people come to the site,
they can actually take an assessment tolearn what's the right type of treatment.
A lot of people who aren't inthe space or just finding out that they
might need help, they automatically think, oh my gosh, I'm going to
have to go away for thirty daysor sixty days or ninety days, and
(09:39):
that may not be the case.There's a lot of different types of treatment
out there. There's outpatient treatment,there's all kinds of things that people don't
realize, and so this website isreally great at helping someone assess the right
type of treatment that they might needand then going through and filtering out where
how to get to that right qualitytreatment. We filter treatment centers by insurance
(10:03):
and payment options, by demographics anddifferent lifestyle needs as well as the types
of substance that we use, andwe help people find that quality treatment that's
going to be right for them.And that's one of the principles right having
that there's no one size fits allwhen it comes to sort of dis treatment,
(10:24):
and so it's important that we're helpingpeople kind of navigate to that.
So that's a big piece of work, and that work that we're doing is
not just to create a website forpeople to find a locator. Behind the
scenes on that website, we're actuallyworking with treatment providers to show them the
areas in which they can be better. And then we're working with all of
(10:45):
the payers, all those health andjohance companies to say, you know what,
you might want to rethink who you'regiving your money to when you look
at the quality metrics and which we'remeasuring a lot of these treatment centers,
so they can start to make betterchoices and also really take a look at
what are they covering in their insurance, because we did an event last week
(11:05):
where we had one of our speakersto actually show what's covered if you have
diabetes versus what's covered if you haveaddiction, and the gaps are vast there
here, and so there's a lotof work that needs to be done,
which kind of takes me to thenext pillar of work, which is ending
addiction stigma. Seventy five percent ofthis country does not see addiction as an
(11:28):
illness. It's a brain disorder,and so it's really important that we start
to help this country understand that addictionis not a moral failing. It is
actually a brain disorder and an illness. The good news is it's a treatable
illness if you have the right typeof treatment and you have the access to
it. But it's still an illness, and so if we can break down
(11:48):
that stigma, we can get thiscountry talking about it like you and I
are around the kitchen table, inthe office, and around the boardroom.
We're going to make all the differentfriends. If you think about other health
challenges like HIV AIDS, right inthe eighties, nobody there's so many,
so many stigmas, and you know, it took a lot to really change
(12:11):
how we talk about that disease inthis country. But here we are and
we're talking about it differently, andthat's what we want to see for substance
use disorder. So that's a bigpiece of work that we're doing. We're
doing some great campaigns through social mediaaround that. We've got some more campaigns
that are coming out later this year, and I'm just excited about the work
(12:33):
that we're doing to end addiction stigma. That's that's my big goal in life.
Let's let's get this country talking aboutit. As we said, right,
everybody knows somebody. And then finallywe are educating and empowering communities.
What we like to say is theproof and shatter proof is that everything we
do is science and evidence based.Anything that we're doing is always grounded in
(12:58):
science, and that means the educationalmaterials that we're putting out is all evidence
based. And you can get thoseright on our website for free. We
have a whole learned section at shatterproofdot org and everything that we have there
is all rooted in science, soit's trustworthy information, and we're taking from
all the great scientists and all thegreat things out there, and we break
(13:18):
it down for the average person sothat they can really help. We can
help them understand, and then weprovide a platform for people to use their
voice, whether it's to advocate orto raise funds or raise awareness or get
involved locally. We have a wholeambassador program for people who want to get
(13:39):
out there and be more active inthis space. So and all of this,
we're also changing policy through all thatwork. We've passed one big law
of this past year called the mAT Act, which requires that doctors are
trained on preventing and treating addiction.Believe it or not, doctors who are
(14:01):
prescribing substances like othewids, we're nottrained. Oh no, well, listen,
after watching once Again Dope Sick,I believe that, by the way,
I believe it absolutely, And that'sextraordinary that you had that past.
Yeah, we're really excited about that. I know it, and I know
some doctors see it as a burden, but it really is so important.
(14:22):
Absolutely, I don't know why theywould see that as a burden. I
mean, it's just affecting so manypeople. And speaking of which, and
thank you for sharing all the pillars, I think it's just fascinating how deep
you and your team go along withGary of trying to help people out in
families. Maybe for context purposes andnot to put you too much on the
spot for statistics, but whether it'sthe DMV or maybe domestically in the United
(14:46):
States, what kind of numbers arewe looking at at all types of addiction
when you kind of group it alltogether, what kind of numbers are we
looking at? Well, in theUnited States, we're looking at forties six
million people struggling right now, andthose forties six million people are twelve years
old and older. So that's alot of people. The good news is
(15:07):
twenty two million people are in recovery, and so our goal is to get
more of those forty six million peoplestruggling to be part of that, to
grow that number in recovery. Inthe DMV. DC actually has the third
highest prevalence of substance use disorder inthe country, so we're a pretty small
you know, compared to other states. The third highest, fentanyl was involved
(15:31):
in seventy two percent of overdoses.That was back in twenty seventeen, but
just this past year that number grewto ninety six percent. You know,
I'm not surprised about that, andI apologize for interrupting. The only reason
I bring that up is because everytime I'm reading about just a celebrity passing
on accidentally, fentonol is usually inthat sentence. It seemed like it's accessible,
(15:56):
and it's also more prevalent than everI remember it. I mean,
it's really extraordinary, Kristen, itis. It's so fatnal, and it's
very interesting how prevalent it's become,you know, and this, that's this,
that's the other thing around substance use, disorder and and just addiction.
In this country. It's shape shifts, right. So he talked about dopsic
(16:18):
earlier, and you know, theover prescribing that happened in this country and
then, you know, which ledto more heroin use. Will now f
r fifty times stronger, fifty timesstronger than heroin and only just the equivalent
of a couple grains of salt cankill you. And so that is being
(16:41):
laced into drugs. It's laced intoheroin, it's laced into meth, it's
laced into cocaine, and so peopledon't expect this. That's unbelievable. I
had no idea, by the way, no idea. Yeah, and then
there's also the fake pill market.So a lot of people who you know,
and then we saw a big jumpin this with the pandemic, right,
(17:03):
a lot of people have been strugglingmental health wise in this country and
they rely on things like dan Xor other you know, pills and prescriptions
that may be available. Well,there's a lot of people who are selling
that you know, they're not beingprescribed. Uh, they're getting it you
know, in you know, illicitways, and they're just looking for help.
(17:26):
And a lot of those pills though, are leased with fentanyl, and
that also is what's causing a lotof these deaths. So I always I
have a twelve and a sixteen yearold and they are constantly hearing from me,
don't try anything because it's a matterof life, and no who cares
if you sound like a broken record. It's good advice for the children.
Because they don't know any better,young adults who know no frontal low baction
(17:49):
going on there, so they're justgonna start grabbing things and not paying attention.
But I'm glad you're doing the educationat home. I think that's an
important thing that you talk about ofstarting at home with education. But I
also want to talk to you aboutresearch, working with doctors and practitioners and
families everybody. I imagine that inthis industry everything is fluid because the data
(18:11):
keeps unrolling in. I mean,you just mentioned about fentonel and how it's
growing over the last you know alittle while, I mean it's extraordinary numbers.
So, Kirsten, I'm wondering,when it comes to just everybody that
you work with, how does communicationwork? Because there's so many different layers
and tentacles to what you're doing.How does it all come together and then
you get to see a final paperon something, or there's research and you
(18:33):
get to activate it. How doesit all work? It's a great question.
There are a lot of different playersin the space, but we always
look to SAMSA, which is ourgovernment agency in the country, and the
CDC for information and they really aredriving the information and the data as well
as the DA and so the governmentreally has really good data. It can
(18:59):
be better, but they have thelatest data. We also do a lot
of sharing among different organizations when itcomes to new science, when it comes
to new trends, and you know, the I would say the communication probably
can be better when if I wereto equate this to COVID, and when
I just think of the sheer numbersof people who are struggling and how we're
(19:22):
losing. We're literally losing eleven peoplean hour to overdoses. And so when
I think about that, and Ithink about how this country responded to COVID
and how we were able to getyou know, the numbers on a daily
basis, and we had to thatCOVID like response. We need a COVID
like response for this this public healthcrisis right now because the numbers are staggering,
(19:45):
and we do need to have bettersystems to better communicate. And we
do our best. We have great, great networks and great friends and great
places in which we know we canget reliable data. But I feel like
there just needs to be more,especially the way that we've structured everything in
this country, because we have yourfederal information, but then a lot of
(20:06):
information is happening at the state level, and the states all have their different
systems, and of course, nowthat opioid settlement funds have been distributed the
estates and counties, there are solutionsand things happening at the state in the
county level that we're trying to track. But it's really hard because that's you
know, first, you've got fiftystates, let alone all the counties within
(20:29):
those states that may be getting opioidsettlement funds, and so we're trying to
track all that and all the solutionsthat are that are happening, and all
the new science that's happening so thatwe can better inform the public. Okay,
just a couple of minutes. Iwant to talk about the upcoming walk
in October, because I know that'sreally important for the people, not only
your place, but also in theDMB that we have a walcoming up in
(20:49):
Washington, d C. And thereare several around the country too, but
the one that we care about mostbecause we're living close to it, is
coming up here on October on thetwenty first. But I did want to
talk to you about funding because Iknow that when it comes to a nonprofit,
whether it's government grants or you're lookingfor corporate sponsors, donations, all
those kind of things. Can wego over kind of how everything works,
(21:11):
how you are funded, and talka little bit about donations and all the
stuff. How money does come in? Yes, thank you. Yeah.
So Shatterproof primarily is funded by individuals, and we are always looking for individual
nations. We have corporate partners.We also get some state government funding,
(21:32):
but not as much as you'd think, and we also get some grants.
So really we rely on individuals tohelp support us, and in even every
little bit counts, and so there'sdifferent ways in which you can support.
There's a whole place on our websitewhere you can, you know, I
think it's even called Ways to Give, where you can learn different ways and
(21:56):
when she could contribute and support shatterProof. So, but we do rely
a lot on individual donations, andwe do have our upcoming walk October twenty
feet here in DC actually a nationalHarbor, and it's really an opportunity for
anybody who's been impacted to come outand share support. It is a fundraising
event, but we invite everybody toparticipate if you want to come out and
(22:19):
you want to show that you supportpeople with substance use disorder, or you're
in recovery, or maybe you've losta loved one. We welcome everybody to
come out and be a part ofour walk on the twenty first. It's
just so important that for those ofus who struggled, they said, it's
time for us to start to talkabout this as a country. And the
(22:40):
more of us you can come outand talk about it, the better.
And so we invite anybody in theDMV to come out, share your story,
come join us, join this community, and if you know somebody or
you want to support, you know, you don't have to be impacted.
Is this is something that's really impactingall of our communities, and so we
welcome everybody to come out and learnmore and to learn just about how you
(23:04):
know you can be a part ofthe change as we aim to reverse this
addiction crisis in our country. Allright, I'm sure there's a little bit
more information on the website, butwhy don't we tell everybody what time does
everything start, when did it finish? Is there a cost to it?
And when you get there, howcan you donate those kind of things?
Just a little bit more specificity onthe walk sure, so you can register
(23:26):
to a team or as an individualat Shatterproof walk dot org. We start
we kick things off around nine o'clock, but we recommend everybody show up between
eight and nine. We've got somegreat activities. We'll have a community village
where different organizations locally we'll be there. We'll have an opening ceremony with some
(23:48):
great speakers and some warm up andsome fun activity to kick things off,
and then the walk will happen aroundnine thirty where everyone will walk for about
thirty minutes in and around National Harbor, and then we'll wrap it up with
a little closing ceremony and some prizes. And that's that's how you can join.
(24:14):
It is free to participate, Itis free to come out and join
us that day. We do encourageyou if you'd like to, you know,
start a fundraising team. You canask your friends, your family,
your corporation, your corporate partners andfriends and vendors if they want to contribute.
But we really just invite anybody tocome out and be a part of
this and to join this community andto show your support outstanding in with October
(24:37):
twenty first means that we're getting inthe fall, which means it'll be cooler
for the walk, which would bereally really nice. So over the weather,
we'll participate the day, which isgreat. I do get a lot
of questions when I talk to outstandingour profits like yours, and they ask,
Hey, if I'm going to donate, where's my money go? So
where does it go? The moneygoes to our impact work, So donate
(25:00):
help us continue to change those policies. They help us continue to build ATLAS.
So our treatment atlas dot org websitethat helps with navigating through those treatment
centers is only in fourteen states rightnow, so it helps us grow that
website across the nation. It alsohelps us with our stigma campaigns and helps
(25:22):
support the work that we're doing toend addiction stigma, as well as support
some of our education work so thatwe can create those better resources for for
individuals so people can get those freeon our website. Okay, So,
Kirsten, as we kind of wrapup everything, as chief Marketing and Communications
officer, imagine you're in all themeetings where you're always thinking about the future
(25:44):
as well, and I know you'vegot a lot of different jobs with that
title. But with that said,when Gary talks about the future of shadow
Proof with you and your team andeverybody else on staff in the management level,
what's the future look like for thenext five ten years for shadow Proof?
What what what kind of things ishe getting excited about. So the
(26:06):
main thing that we're really looking atis how do we get more people into
treatment? How do we help morepeople recover there the numbers are staggering.
When I talk about that forty sixmillion people struggling right now, that number
is up six million from last year, So there's a lot of people.
The numbers continue to grow, andso we're really focused on how do we
(26:30):
get this this treatment system better sothat more people have access and more people
can recover. In addition to that, we're also really leaning into how do
we prevent this, How do wecreate more opportunity for sober, positive opportunities
and you know encourage you know,recovery in the workplace, and more opportunities
(26:53):
where we're really embracing people who arein recovery or sober and not putting a
stigma on that. Right, let'scelebrate that, Let's let's create more opportunities.
So we've even with some of ourcorporate partners, I've seen some culture
change where they're not having happy hoursanymore, they're going on hikes, they're
(27:14):
really rethinking corporate gifts not being bottlesof wine and something else. So like
that, you know, and theseare just little things that, you know,
we're trying to help so that,you know, we can create even
a new workforce of people who cancome in and have jobs and have a
job where they feel like, youknow, it's not going to really be
it's a safe space for them tobe able to thrive and grow and they
(27:37):
don't have to worry about, youknow, all of the different influences that
can come with substances, alcohol,drugs, etc. So there's a lot,
a lot, a lot of thingsthat we want to do. We're
really focused on the hope and thefuture. We want to see these numbers
decrease, which means we really needto focus on making sure that we get
(27:59):
more people into treatment and create reallya recovery friendly world. Well, wonderful,
Well, Kirsten, we only haveabout a minute left and it's gone
by very quickly, and I havea feeling we're going to visit with you
again, not only about Shatterproof,but also Special Olympics down the road too
with this show, which is anothergreat charity and it's been around for a
very long time, but I'm gladthat you're a part of that as well
too. So if anybody wants tofind out more about shadow Proof in your
(28:22):
programs and educate themselves, or aboutthe walk or anything, website and maybe
some social media channels. If you'reon social media, we'd love to just
hear them all. Yeah, youcan go to Shatterproof dot org. That's
our website and everything that I mentionedtoday you can find right there and our
social We are on Instagram, weare on TikTok, we are on Facebook.
(28:45):
Just look for shadow Proof or weare Shatterproof and you can follow us
today. We've got great ways toget involved that we're constantly putting out there.
I can't I can't tell you howmuch I appreciate your time. Please
get my best to Gary. Itreally is sad that he lost a child,
but what he's done with that horribletragedy and the last decade of inventing
(29:08):
shadow Proof and doing what he's doingwith you, his team and everybody else,
it really is an extraordinary story.So please get my best to him
and all your staff, your angels. You're all doing great work out there.
So I hope that more people findout about shadow Proof and take advantage
of all that you bring to thetable. And we really appreciate everything that
you've done for us this morning anddoing this conversation, and thank you for
(29:29):
joining us on Community DC. Thankyou, Dennick. Hey everything okay,
Yes, I'm fine, Heller foryou. Tell me about school today.
When kids can't find the right words, music can help them sound it out.
(29:51):
Talk to the kids in your lifeabout their emotional well being, find
tools and resources it sounded out togetherdot Org brought to you by the AD
Council and Pivotal Ventures
Good morning, and welcome to anotheredition of Community DC. I'm your host
Dennis Glascow. This morning we geta chance to visit for the first time
with Kirston Pseudo Seckler. She isthe chief Marketing and Communications officer for shadow
Proof, a nonprofit started over tenyears ago by a father who lost a
son to addiction and turned a brutaltragedy into a special place where people making
(00:24):
a difference to reversing the addiction crisisin the United States. I hope you
enjoyed my conversation with Kirston as muchas I did. Good morning, Kirsten,
Good morning Danna. It's such apleasure to talk to you when this
is the first time in the youand I have had a chance to talk
about shadow Proof, and I amjust so excited to talk about what I
do want to do first to giveeverything a little context to you being there
(00:46):
and shadow Proof. It's by theway, the origin story with Gary is
really cool, and I want youto share that too, because I know
the company in a nonprofit is tenyears old. But for discontextual purposes,
tell us a little bit about yourself. I know nonprofits have been very big
in your life. Several currently rightnow, but also in the past.
Can you just tell us where you'refrom and where you grew up and tell
(01:06):
us a little bit about you knowbefore joining shadow Proof. I have been
in the nonprofit business for over thirtyyears, and I really got my taste
into the nonprofit space after spending timedriving the Oscar Meyer Mienermobile, which was
my first job. Okay, well, that's fantastic that you've done that.
Yeah, it was buns of fun, as we like. But the thing
(01:30):
I loved about that job, eventhough it was a corporate job, was
I had a chance to change people'slives on the spot. Most of the
people that I interacted with were excitedbecause they had seen something that really just
turned their day around, made themhappy. And I thought, how cool
that I could do get that marketing, and what if I could do that
(01:53):
with every day in my life.And so that's when I decided to shift
from being in the corporate space tobeing in the nonprofit space, because I
knew that I would have a chanceto really find a cause that meant a
lot to me and be able toturn people's lives around. So I moved
over to the nonprofit space a coupleof decades ago and I started working for
(02:15):
Special Olympics and I spent twenty oneyears with Special Olympics helping change society's views
and attitudes, their hearts and mindsabout the abilities of people with intellectual disability
and it was fantastic. Loved thatwork. And when I had a chance
to move to a new nonprofit thatwas emerging that needed help in marketing and
(02:38):
changing people's views about their constituents,I took the chance and that's how I
got to Shatterproof. So I'm stillinvolved in Special Olympics Special Olympics DC,
but shatter Proof is a fairly newnonprofit or only ten years old, and
we are supporting people with substance usdisorder, which is a very prevalent problem
(03:01):
in society right now. Millions ofpeople are struggling. Many families have family
members who are struggling, and there'sa lot of shame and judgment that comes
along with this illness. And youknow, I want to turn that around.
I have family members who have struggledsubstance use disorder. I know personally,
(03:21):
the shame, the stigma, theconfusion, not knowing where to go
for help, and that's really whatattracted me to Shatterproof and I want to
help other families with that. ButI do want to talk about the founder
and cy Gary and his vision.I know the companies you mentioned was founded
ten years ago. Can you tellme the origin story about that? Yes,
Shatterproof is founded by Gary Mendel.Gary founded HgI Hotels, which of
(03:46):
those of you in the DC marketmay know the Madison or the Sheraton in
Crystal City or the Weston. That'sGary's company and his son Brian struggled the
substance use disorder for many years.He was in treatment. He went to
eight different treatment centers, and youknow Gary's of means he had tried everything.
(04:09):
And even though Brian had found recoveryfor about thirteen months, and with
his struggle, he was struggling withthe stigma that came with having substitute disorder,
and sadly, Brian took his ownlife even though he was thirteen months
ober. And it was in hisnote that he left his parents that he
(04:32):
shared that he felt this stigma thatcame with having this illness. And so
that's when Gary caused from being abusinessman and really said, Okay, how
did this happen as a father,How did this happen in this country?
How do I stop this happening fromother for other families? And so that's
(04:55):
how shatterprof emerged. He really wastrying to find answers. And when he
started digging for answers, what hefound was billions of dollars of research that
was sitting in medical journal journals thatare great solutions and ways in which we
can really face this epidemic, butthat weren't being implemented. What he found
(05:17):
was that there was no national nonprofitfor families who were struggling to turn to.
Just like if you know you havebreast cancer or for you're struggling with
a heart disease, there are otherplaces for people to go, but there
wasn't anything for families with substances disorder. And so he said, you know
what, let's create that. Andso he left his hotel business and he
(05:42):
created Shatterproof ten years ago and hasbeen changing laws and creating and implementing those
things that he saw in those medicaljournals. So created the principles of care,
a whole you know, standard ofcare that outlines what good addiction treatment
looks like, what evidence based addictiontreatment looks like. And of course addressing
(06:09):
the stigmas. We created a nationalstrategy for how can we address this stigma
that you know killed Brian and it'skilling others and so so that's really the
origin story of shatter Proof. AndGary, you know, is our founder,
our CEO, is very involved.He'll be in DC in a few
weeks when we have our walk andso we're just so grateful that he took
(06:33):
that brave step as a parent toput his story out there because there are
so many families who are struggling.And I get a little weepy because I'm
one of those families, and youknow, you don't know where to turn,
you don't know where to go,you don't know where to look for
information, you don't know what totrust because there's so much information out there
(06:57):
and you just are looking at you'rejust so desperate for help. And so
I'm so glad that shadow Proof existsand it continues to grow because there's so
many families you need us, Andthe work that we're doing is so smart,
and all we're doing is implementing allthat great thinking and all that great
research that has been done by reallysmart people so that's shadow proof and that's
(07:21):
how Barry found it. All right, let's do this before we talk about
your programs and your events and thewalk that's coming up on October twenty one.
What you said is not far away, and you're right, it's just
around the corner. Is your missionstatement? Just to be clear for everybody
what that is. So we removethe barriers for people to recover, treat
I should to prevent, treat andrecover from substance US disorder. We are
(07:46):
working to help guide be that trustedguide for people through their scumplexities of addiction.
We inform the public about prevention,treatment and recovery, and we mobilize
the book to take action and toend addiction stigma. Okay, Now,
I mentioned over the last decade thatthe company has grown exponentially when I went
(08:07):
to the website, and I've donethat several times since I found out you
and I were going to be ableto chat about this. You have an
extraordinary staff there. There's a lotof people that are doing a lot of
different things there and you need thatespecially for what you're trying to pull off.
So maybe just to give us athirty thousand foot view about Chatterproof and
kind of what you do. Andonce again we will talk about events and
(08:28):
donations and some other things, butjust an overall glimpse for our listeners are
being introduced, probably to Shatterproof forthe first time, about what exactly is
it. Yes, so we liketo say that we work and three pillars
of work. First and foremost,we're focused on transforming addiction treatment. Addiction
treatment in this country is a littlebit scattered, not really part of a
(08:52):
health system, and so we wantto change that. We created that standard
of care that I mentioned that ourprinciples of care that everybody should be looking
at when they are looking for addictiontreatment and you can see those on our
website. We also took those principlesof care and we created a website called
treatment Atlas dot org. And whatwe did is we apply those principles of
(09:16):
care as quality metrics to treatment systemsand when people come to the site,
they can actually take an assessment tolearn what's the right type of treatment.
A lot of people who aren't inthe space or just finding out that they
might need help, they automatically think, oh my gosh, I'm going to
have to go away for thirty daysor sixty days or ninety days, and
(09:39):
that may not be the case.There's a lot of different types of treatment
out there. There's outpatient treatment,there's all kinds of things that people don't
realize, and so this website isreally great at helping someone assess the right
type of treatment that they might needand then going through and filtering out where
how to get to that right qualitytreatment. We filter treatment centers by insurance
(10:03):
and payment options, by demographics anddifferent lifestyle needs as well as the types
of substance that we use, andwe help people find that quality treatment that's
going to be right for them.And that's one of the principles right having
that there's no one size fits allwhen it comes to sort of dis treatment,
(10:24):
and so it's important that we're helpingpeople kind of navigate to that.
So that's a big piece of work, and that work that we're doing is
not just to create a website forpeople to find a locator. Behind the
scenes on that website, we're actuallyworking with treatment providers to show them the
areas in which they can be better. And then we're working with all of
(10:45):
the payers, all those health andjohance companies to say, you know what,
you might want to rethink who you'regiving your money to when you look
at the quality metrics and which we'remeasuring a lot of these treatment centers,
so they can start to make betterchoices and also really take a look at
what are they covering in their insurance, because we did an event last week
(11:05):
where we had one of our speakersto actually show what's covered if you have
diabetes versus what's covered if you haveaddiction, and the gaps are vast there
here, and so there's a lotof work that needs to be done,
which kind of takes me to thenext pillar of work, which is ending
addiction stigma. Seventy five percent ofthis country does not see addiction as an
(11:28):
illness. It's a brain disorder,and so it's really important that we start
to help this country understand that addictionis not a moral failing. It is
actually a brain disorder and an illness. The good news is it's a treatable
illness if you have the right typeof treatment and you have the access to
it. But it's still an illness, and so if we can break down
(11:48):
that stigma, we can get thiscountry talking about it like you and I
are around the kitchen table, inthe office, and around the boardroom.
We're going to make all the differentfriends. If you think about other health
challenges like HIV AIDS, right inthe eighties, nobody there's so many,
so many stigmas, and you know, it took a lot to really change
(12:11):
how we talk about that disease inthis country. But here we are and
we're talking about it differently, andthat's what we want to see for substance
use disorder. So that's a bigpiece of work that we're doing. We're
doing some great campaigns through social mediaaround that. We've got some more campaigns
that are coming out later this year, and I'm just excited about the work
(12:33):
that we're doing to end addiction stigma. That's that's my big goal in life.
Let's let's get this country talking aboutit. As we said, right,
everybody knows somebody. And then finallywe are educating and empowering communities.
What we like to say is theproof and shatter proof is that everything we
do is science and evidence based.Anything that we're doing is always grounded in
(12:58):
science, and that means the educationalmaterials that we're putting out is all evidence
based. And you can get thoseright on our website for free. We
have a whole learned section at shatterproofdot org and everything that we have there
is all rooted in science, soit's trustworthy information, and we're taking from
all the great scientists and all thegreat things out there, and we break
(13:18):
it down for the average person sothat they can really help. We can
help them understand, and then weprovide a platform for people to use their
voice, whether it's to advocate orto raise funds or raise awareness or get
involved locally. We have a wholeambassador program for people who want to get
(13:39):
out there and be more active inthis space. So and all of this,
we're also changing policy through all thatwork. We've passed one big law
of this past year called the mAT Act, which requires that doctors are
trained on preventing and treating addiction.Believe it or not, doctors who are
(14:01):
prescribing substances like othewids, we're nottrained. Oh no, well, listen,
after watching once Again Dope Sick,I believe that, by the way,
I believe it absolutely, And that'sextraordinary that you had that past.
Yeah, we're really excited about that. I know it, and I know
some doctors see it as a burden, but it really is so important.
(14:22):
Absolutely, I don't know why theywould see that as a burden. I
mean, it's just affecting so manypeople. And speaking of which, and
thank you for sharing all the pillars, I think it's just fascinating how deep
you and your team go along withGary of trying to help people out in
families. Maybe for context purposes andnot to put you too much on the
spot for statistics, but whether it'sthe DMV or maybe domestically in the United
(14:46):
States, what kind of numbers arewe looking at at all types of addiction
when you kind of group it alltogether, what kind of numbers are we
looking at? Well, in theUnited States, we're looking at forties six
million people struggling right now, andthose forties six million people are twelve years
old and older. So that's alot of people. The good news is
(15:07):
twenty two million people are in recovery, and so our goal is to get
more of those forty six million peoplestruggling to be part of that, to
grow that number in recovery. Inthe DMV. DC actually has the third
highest prevalence of substance use disorder inthe country, so we're a pretty small
you know, compared to other states. The third highest, fentanyl was involved
(15:31):
in seventy two percent of overdoses.That was back in twenty seventeen, but
just this past year that number grewto ninety six percent. You know,
I'm not surprised about that, andI apologize for interrupting. The only reason
I bring that up is because everytime I'm reading about just a celebrity passing
on accidentally, fentonol is usually inthat sentence. It seemed like it's accessible,
(15:56):
and it's also more prevalent than everI remember it. I mean,
it's really extraordinary, Kristen, itis. It's so fatnal, and it's
very interesting how prevalent it's become,you know, and this, that's this,
that's the other thing around substance use, disorder and and just addiction.
In this country. It's shape shifts, right. So he talked about dopsic
(16:18):
earlier, and you know, theover prescribing that happened in this country and
then, you know, which ledto more heroin use. Will now f
r fifty times stronger, fifty timesstronger than heroin and only just the equivalent
of a couple grains of salt cankill you. And so that is being
(16:41):
laced into drugs. It's laced intoheroin, it's laced into meth, it's
laced into cocaine, and so peopledon't expect this. That's unbelievable. I
had no idea, by the way, no idea. Yeah, and then
there's also the fake pill market.So a lot of people who you know,
and then we saw a big jumpin this with the pandemic, right,
(17:03):
a lot of people have been strugglingmental health wise in this country and
they rely on things like dan Xor other you know, pills and prescriptions
that may be available. Well,there's a lot of people who are selling
that you know, they're not beingprescribed. Uh, they're getting it you
know, in you know, illicitways, and they're just looking for help.
(17:26):
And a lot of those pills though, are leased with fentanyl, and
that also is what's causing a lotof these deaths. So I always I
have a twelve and a sixteen yearold and they are constantly hearing from me,
don't try anything because it's a matterof life, and no who cares
if you sound like a broken record. It's good advice for the children.
Because they don't know any better,young adults who know no frontal low baction
(17:49):
going on there, so they're justgonna start grabbing things and not paying attention.
But I'm glad you're doing the educationat home. I think that's an
important thing that you talk about ofstarting at home with education. But I
also want to talk to you aboutresearch, working with doctors and practitioners and
families everybody. I imagine that inthis industry everything is fluid because the data
(18:11):
keeps unrolling in. I mean,you just mentioned about fentonel and how it's
growing over the last you know alittle while, I mean it's extraordinary numbers.
So, Kirsten, I'm wondering,when it comes to just everybody that
you work with, how does communicationwork? Because there's so many different layers
and tentacles to what you're doing.How does it all come together and then
you get to see a final paperon something, or there's research and you
(18:33):
get to activate it. How doesit all work? It's a great question.
There are a lot of different playersin the space, but we always
look to SAMSA, which is ourgovernment agency in the country, and the
CDC for information and they really aredriving the information and the data as well
as the DA and so the governmentreally has really good data. It can
(18:59):
be better, but they have thelatest data. We also do a lot
of sharing among different organizations when itcomes to new science, when it comes
to new trends, and you know, the I would say the communication probably
can be better when if I wereto equate this to COVID, and when
I just think of the sheer numbersof people who are struggling and how we're
(19:22):
losing. We're literally losing eleven peoplean hour to overdoses. And so when
I think about that, and Ithink about how this country responded to COVID
and how we were able to getyou know, the numbers on a daily
basis, and we had to thatCOVID like response. We need a COVID
like response for this this public healthcrisis right now because the numbers are staggering,
(19:45):
and we do need to have bettersystems to better communicate. And we
do our best. We have great, great networks and great friends and great
places in which we know we canget reliable data. But I feel like
there just needs to be more,especially the way that we've structured everything in
this country, because we have yourfederal information, but then a lot of
(20:06):
information is happening at the state level, and the states all have their different
systems, and of course, nowthat opioid settlement funds have been distributed the
estates and counties, there are solutionsand things happening at the state in the
county level that we're trying to track. But it's really hard because that's you
know, first, you've got fiftystates, let alone all the counties within
(20:29):
those states that may be getting opioidsettlement funds, and so we're trying to
track all that and all the solutionsthat are that are happening, and all
the new science that's happening so thatwe can better inform the public. Okay,
just a couple of minutes. Iwant to talk about the upcoming walk
in October, because I know that'sreally important for the people, not only
your place, but also in theDMB that we have a walcoming up in
(20:49):
Washington, d C. And thereare several around the country too, but
the one that we care about mostbecause we're living close to it, is
coming up here on October on thetwenty first. But I did want to
talk to you about funding because Iknow that when it comes to a nonprofit,
whether it's government grants or you're lookingfor corporate sponsors, donations, all
those kind of things. Can wego over kind of how everything works,
(21:11):
how you are funded, and talka little bit about donations and all the
stuff. How money does come in? Yes, thank you. Yeah.
So Shatterproof primarily is funded by individuals, and we are always looking for individual
nations. We have corporate partners.We also get some state government funding,
(21:32):
but not as much as you'd think, and we also get some grants.
So really we rely on individuals tohelp support us, and in even every
little bit counts, and so there'sdifferent ways in which you can support.
There's a whole place on our websitewhere you can, you know, I
think it's even called Ways to Give, where you can learn different ways and
(21:56):
when she could contribute and support shatterProof. So, but we do rely
a lot on individual donations, andwe do have our upcoming walk October twenty
feet here in DC actually a nationalHarbor, and it's really an opportunity for
anybody who's been impacted to come outand share support. It is a fundraising
event, but we invite everybody toparticipate if you want to come out and
(22:19):
you want to show that you supportpeople with substance use disorder, or you're
in recovery, or maybe you've losta loved one. We welcome everybody to
come out and be a part ofour walk on the twenty first. It's
just so important that for those ofus who struggled, they said, it's
time for us to start to talkabout this as a country. And the
(22:40):
more of us you can come outand talk about it, the better.
And so we invite anybody in theDMV to come out, share your story,
come join us, join this community, and if you know somebody or
you want to support, you know, you don't have to be impacted.
Is this is something that's really impactingall of our communities, and so we
welcome everybody to come out and learnmore and to learn just about how you
(23:04):
know you can be a part ofthe change as we aim to reverse this
addiction crisis in our country. Allright, I'm sure there's a little bit
more information on the website, butwhy don't we tell everybody what time does
everything start, when did it finish? Is there a cost to it?
And when you get there, howcan you donate those kind of things?
Just a little bit more specificity onthe walk sure, so you can register
(23:26):
to a team or as an individualat Shatterproof walk dot org. We start
we kick things off around nine o'clock, but we recommend everybody show up between
eight and nine. We've got somegreat activities. We'll have a community village
where different organizations locally we'll be there. We'll have an opening ceremony with some
(23:48):
great speakers and some warm up andsome fun activity to kick things off,
and then the walk will happen aroundnine thirty where everyone will walk for about
thirty minutes in and around National Harbor, and then we'll wrap it up with
a little closing ceremony and some prizes. And that's that's how you can join.
(24:14):
It is free to participate, Itis free to come out and join
us that day. We do encourageyou if you'd like to, you know,
start a fundraising team. You canask your friends, your family,
your corporation, your corporate partners andfriends and vendors if they want to contribute.
But we really just invite anybody tocome out and be a part of
this and to join this community andto show your support outstanding in with October
(24:37):
twenty first means that we're getting inthe fall, which means it'll be cooler
for the walk, which would bereally really nice. So over the weather,
we'll participate the day, which isgreat. I do get a lot
of questions when I talk to outstandingour profits like yours, and they ask,
Hey, if I'm going to donate, where's my money go? So
where does it go? The moneygoes to our impact work, So donate
(25:00):
help us continue to change those policies. They help us continue to build ATLAS.
So our treatment atlas dot org websitethat helps with navigating through those treatment
centers is only in fourteen states rightnow, so it helps us grow that
website across the nation. It alsohelps us with our stigma campaigns and helps
(25:22):
support the work that we're doing toend addiction stigma, as well as support
some of our education work so thatwe can create those better resources for for
individuals so people can get those freeon our website. Okay, So,
Kirsten, as we kind of wrapup everything, as chief Marketing and Communications
officer, imagine you're in all themeetings where you're always thinking about the future
(25:44):
as well, and I know you'vegot a lot of different jobs with that
title. But with that said,when Gary talks about the future of shadow
Proof with you and your team andeverybody else on staff in the management level,
what's the future look like for thenext five ten years for shadow Proof?
What what what kind of things ishe getting excited about. So the
(26:06):
main thing that we're really looking atis how do we get more people into
treatment? How do we help morepeople recover there the numbers are staggering.
When I talk about that forty sixmillion people struggling right now, that number
is up six million from last year, So there's a lot of people.
The numbers continue to grow, andso we're really focused on how do we
(26:30):
get this this treatment system better sothat more people have access and more people
can recover. In addition to that, we're also really leaning into how do
we prevent this, How do wecreate more opportunity for sober, positive opportunities
and you know encourage you know,recovery in the workplace, and more opportunities
(26:53):
where we're really embracing people who arein recovery or sober and not putting a
stigma on that. Right, let'scelebrate that, Let's let's create more opportunities.
So we've even with some of ourcorporate partners, I've seen some culture
change where they're not having happy hoursanymore, they're going on hikes, they're
(27:14):
really rethinking corporate gifts not being bottlesof wine and something else. So like
that, you know, and theseare just little things that, you know,
we're trying to help so that,you know, we can create even
a new workforce of people who cancome in and have jobs and have a
job where they feel like, youknow, it's not going to really be
it's a safe space for them tobe able to thrive and grow and they
(27:37):
don't have to worry about, youknow, all of the different influences that
can come with substances, alcohol,drugs, etc. So there's a lot,
a lot, a lot of thingsthat we want to do. We're
really focused on the hope and thefuture. We want to see these numbers
decrease, which means we really needto focus on making sure that we get
(27:59):
more people into treatment and create reallya recovery friendly world. Well, wonderful,
Well, Kirsten, we only haveabout a minute left and it's gone
by very quickly, and I havea feeling we're going to visit with you
again, not only about Shatterproof,but also Special Olympics down the road too
with this show, which is anothergreat charity and it's been around for a
very long time, but I'm gladthat you're a part of that as well
too. So if anybody wants tofind out more about shadow Proof in your
(28:22):
programs and educate themselves, or aboutthe walk or anything, website and maybe
some social media channels. If you'reon social media, we'd love to just
hear them all. Yeah, youcan go to Shatterproof dot org. That's
our website and everything that I mentionedtoday you can find right there and our
social We are on Instagram, weare on TikTok, we are on Facebook.
(28:45):
Just look for shadow Proof or weare Shatterproof and you can follow us
today. We've got great ways toget involved that we're constantly putting out there.
I can't I can't tell you howmuch I appreciate your time. Please
get my best to Gary. Itreally is sad that he lost a child,
but what he's done with that horribletragedy and the last decade of inventing
(29:08):
shadow Proof and doing what he's doingwith you, his team and everybody else,
it really is an extraordinary story.So please get my best to him
and all your staff, your angels. You're all doing great work out there.
So I hope that more people findout about shadow Proof and take advantage
of all that you bring to thetable. And we really appreciate everything that
you've done for us this morning anddoing this conversation, and thank you for
(29:29):
joining us on Community DC. Thankyou, Dennick. Hey everything okay,
Yes, I'm fine, Heller foryou. Tell me about school today.
When kids can't find the right words, music can help them sound it out.
(29:51):
Talk to the kids in your lifeabout their emotional well being, find
tools and resources it sounded out togetherdot Org brought to you by the AD
Council and Pivotal Ventures
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Monster: BTK
'Monster: BTK', the newest installment in the 'Monster' franchise, reveals the true story of the Wichita, Kansas serial killer who murdered at least 10 people between 1974 and 1991. Known by the moniker, BTK – Bind Torture Kill, his notoriety was bolstered by the taunting letters he sent to police, and the chilling phone calls he made to media outlets. BTK's identity was finally revealed in 2005 to the shock of his family, his community, and the world. He was the serial killer next door. From Tenderfoot TV & iHeartPodcasts, this is 'Monster: BTK'.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.