| A listing of daily and weekly support groups
EDITORS NOTE: All Support Group items must be written, signed and received by the Sun-Gazette Lifestyle editor one week before the day of publication. None will be accepted by phone.)
Various Times
Alcoholics Anonymous, several meetings every day in all areas of Lycoming County. Call 327-2860 for times.
Narcotics Anonymous, meetings seven days a week. Call 327-2678 for times and locations.
Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Center offers individual and group counseling for military veterans. Call 327-5281 for more information.
Community Safe Touch for Children, self-esteem and empowerment counseling available for children to protect themselves against sexual abuse.
Around Pasadena
LOS ANGELES - A pretrial hearing for two Pasadenans - including a local former gang intervention worker - accused of killing a teenager was postponed Tuesday until Sept. 13. James Floyd Wilson, 32, and Rodney Davon Fletcher, 25, are charged with murder in the death of 16-year-old Frank Mitchell of Pasadena, along with a slew of other crimes. Both defendants were ordered June 13 to stand trial for Mitchell's murder. They have pleaded not guilty. They remain in custody without bail. Mitchell was found strangled and naked in an alley in Northwest Pasadena in July 2005. Wilson founded a youth group, The Movement, which he said was working to steer young men away from gangs. But police say the defendant used the group to lure underage boys into having sex. Along with murder, Wilson is facing more than 20 other criminal counts, many of them related to sexual crimes against young men, detectives have said.
St. Christopher's alumni celebrate recovery from addiction
GARRISON - About 400 graduates of the St. Christopher's Inn substance-abuse treatment center gathered at Graymoor yesterday to celebrate sobriety. The 10th annual Alumni Picnic drew people from throughout the metropolitan region and beyond in recovery from alcohol or drug addiction. Some came to express their gratitude to the staff there and to the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, who run the center. "Words wouldn't express it," said Robert Maynard, 47, of Poughkeepsie, who completed his rehabilitation program in January. "It was life changing." Several attendees had effusive praise for the staff and friars who operate the center, which in 2009 will celebrate a century of service. "The friars and staff are so committed.
Is Rehab A Quick Fix Or Image Saver?
Actress Lindsay Lohan was arrested this morning on suspicion of driving drunk. Police say they also found cocaine in one of her pockets. Lohan just finished a stint in rehab. This made Action News wonder how effective celebrity rehab is, and if the stars are using it as an excuse to clean up their image. Dr. Mel Pohl at the Las Vegas Recovery Center says he feels for Lohan. "I know that anybody who has addiction is suffering, they're suffering badly", Pohl says. Lohan is among a handful of other celebrities who have made visits to prominent rehab centers, many in Malibu so called "star farms". But Pohl wonders if she is getting the proper treatment there. "Programs that offer respite and only respite are not doing a service to their clients. I think that recovery has to be offered as part of treatment".
NACDS President And CEO Issues Call To Action To Aggressively Advocate On Behalf Of Community Pharmacy, USA
Steven C. Anderson, IOM, CAE, National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) president and CEO, issued a call to action to attendees of this year's Pharmacy & Technology Conference to aggressively advocate on behalf of community pharmacy. Anderson called on those affiliated with pharmacy care to become active with the issues and to stay active.
"An association is only as strong as its members and any campaign needs willing foot soldiers. We have to speak with one, consistent voice about the value of pharmacy -- to policymakers, to legislators, to opinion leaders, to educators, to the media and to consumers," he said. "We, in community pharmacy, will never earn the influence we need or the respect we deserve if we don't do a better job of telling our story. With federal and state governments making nearly half of all healthcare payments in the U.S., and in an industry literally shaped by government rules and regulations, the biggest mistake we can make is to communicate too little."
"NACDS is making changes.
Celebs aside, rehab can work
Lindsay Lohan is back in rehab. It's not surprising, really. How serious can one be about overcoming addiction when one jumps back into the Los Angeles party circuit wearing an ankle bracelet designed to measure one's blood-alcohol content days after checking out of a chic substance-abuse treatment center? Lohan faces new charges of misdemeanor drunken driving, felony cocaine possession and driving on a suspended license following an incident early Tuesday morning. She had been out of rehab less than two weeks. It is not unusual to relapse in substance abuse recovery, celebrity or no. Actor Daniel Baldwin, who allowed ABC News' "Primetime" to tape various stages of his three-month drug-treatment program in Malibu, Calif., reportedly tried nine other treatment centers in his battle with addiction.
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