"Rise Above the Occasion" Campaign

Independent Perspective # 1666

Guest: Doug Bisher 

Topic"Rise Above the Occasion" Campaign

Duration:  5:24

Published  October 7, 2021

Host:  Welcome to Independent Perspective, a public affairs presentation of Western New York Independent Living (WNYIL). Our guest today is Doug Bisher, Addict 2 Addict Niagara Peer Support Specialist at Independent Living of Niagara County (ILNC), and I'm your host Ernie Churchwell. Welcome to the program Doug.

Guest:  Thanks for having me Ernie.

 Host:  People that have listened to this program for a while are aware that Addict 2 Addict Niagara has been involved in a number of efforts to try to make people more aware of the need for recovery from addictions. One that they probably heard that made a big splash a couple of months ago was the Lockport Overdose Awareness Day event, but you're part of an effort that is continuing in the county. What is the task force that you belong to?

Guest:  It’s the Niagara County Opioid Task Force Public Awareness subcommittee through Niagara County.

Host:  Alright, and you have an activity that is essentially just kicked off the starting blocks. What can you tell us about the "Rise Above the Occasion" campaign?

Guest:  So the "Rise Above the Occasion" campaign is a plethora of different agencies within Niagara County that have come together as resource brokers and as resources for people that have struggled with substance use disorder, or are currently struggling with it, to come together and reduce the stigma and encourage and motivate people to let them know about the different providers within the community, to show that there are more options than one available for the support services and treatment.

Host:  Because I myself was particularly impressed, the task force has gone beyond just its members to enlist other community organizations as part of the campaign. Could you just quickly mention the names of them all?

Guest:  Yeah, so we got ourselves here the Addict 2 Addict Niagara program through Independent Living of Niagara County. We've got Beacon Center, Best Self, Catholic Charities, Mount St. Mary's, Clearview Community Missions, Cazenovia Recovery, Dale Association, Eastern Niagara Hospital, Horizon Health Services, Mental Health Association, New Directions, Niagara County, of course, Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center, Northpointe, Pinnacle Community Services and Save the Michaels.

Host:  That is one impressive list of cooperating organizations. Do we have your diplomatic skills to thank for enlisting all these people by any chance?

Guest:  I'll take some of that credit.

Host:  Alright, well wherever it's due. And how long is the campaign been going on?

Guest:  It's been something that's been in the works for quite a while now. We had a participant from the community, he’s a local artist. He goes by the name of Pretty Boy, and he was in the local treatment court. And it was part of this community improvement project is how this came about and there was a campaign that we were working on, and we were looking for someone to make an audio track to go with this campaign to make it more personable to people within the community and to involve not just the agencies but also someone in recovery themselves.

Host:  And I've seen this video and it is very impressive. However, I'm sure that people don't want to dash for pencils to try to jot down the URL of the YouTube video that they can see this on, but if they give you a call you can probably tell them or email them what that video is. What do you see as the ultimate goal of "Rise Above the Occasion?”

Guest:  Just to get the resources out there, to let these people know this a community thing we're putting together to provide the resources available and not be in competition but be in collaboration in working together with the amount of services that we have and the different levels of services. From peer support specialists to counselors, to doctors, to psychiatrists, to medication assisted treatment, to self help groups, whatever we can provide these people, because not one person has all the answers so it's really important that we do a lot of referring to each other.

Host:  Doug we're running low on time I'm sure people have questions, how can they reach you?

Guest:  They can give us a call at our Addict 2 Addict program at 716-398-4333.

Host:  Thanks so much for being with us Doug.

Guest:  Thank you.

Host:  You've been listening to Independent Perspective, a public affairs presentation of WNYIL. Our guest today was Doug Bisher, Addict 2 Addict Niagara Peer Support Specialist at ILNC and your host was yours truly Ernie Churchwell.