Kevin Kirby, chairman of Transitional Living Corporation and a long-time recovery advocate in Sioux Falls, conceived of Face It! in 2007. As a person in recovery as well as a recovery service provider, Kevin witnessed the many barriers faced by people in our community working to achieve stable, long-term recovery. He saw the shortcomings of the current system, with its emphasis on “treat and release,” as well as the lack of awareness in the community around recovery issues.

Kevin began reaching out to local stakeholders and national recovery experts to discuss solutions. After months of research and due diligence, Kevin learned of an emerging national model that could significantly improve recovery opportunities while reducing the human and economic costs of the disease. Face It! was developed further after extensive study and on-site interviews with leaders who had developed and implemented the model in Connecticut and Philadelphia.

Face It! began through a series of community-wide "Recovery Town Hall" meetings to create dialogue about recovery from addiction. Over a six-month period, hundreds of volunteers from every sector of the community worked to design a dramatically new “recovery model” in Sioux Falls to help more people recover from alcohol and other drug problems. The Sioux Falls model consists of a three part strategic approach:

Recovery Support Services – provide long-term recovery support services and programs using principally the power of volunteers and technology

Awareness – develop and execute a strategic awareness campaign to eliminate the stigma that keeps people with alcohol and drug problems from getting help

Advocacy – facilitate and collaboratively build out a Recovery-Oriented System of Care (ROSC).

The Sioux Falls model is based on two successful efforts which have been proven to be highly effective. The Connecticut Center for Addiction Recovery has developed a Recovery-Oriented System of Care (ROSC) in that state, has also operated a range of recovery supportive services which have helped thousands of people get into and maintain recovery. The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, now Susan G. Komen for the Cure, has undertaken the most effective campaign in history to promote awareness of Breast Cancer. Both of these organizations have guided Face It! in its initial development, and assisting with long-term planning efforts.

Face It! hopes to inspire changes by community stakeholders across-the-board to move Sioux Falls toward this new model, called a Recovery Oriented System of Care (ROSC). The ROSC is not a treatment agency but a community based, collaborative model that addresses the needs of local individuals and families by providing services, advocacy and support for those affected by alcohol and other drug problems. This approach has been shown to help more people and to provide significantly better recovery care, while delivering economic benefits to the public and private sectors. Proven effective in Connecticut, the model calls for shifting the treatment of alcohol and other drug problems from an acute care approach to a model of chronic care, or “recovery management,” that provides long-term supports and recognizes the many pathways to health and wellness. Recovery from alcohol and drug problems is a process of change through which an individual achieves abstinence and improved health, wellness, and quality of life.

The principles and values of a recovery management approach include:

• An emphasis on resilience and recovery (as opposed to pathology and disease)

• Recognition of the multiple long-term pathways and styles of recovery

• Empowerment of individuals and families in recovery to direct their own healing

• Heightened collaboration with diverse communities of recovery