PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Moyer Foundation, a national nonprofit supporting programs that help children and families affected by grief and addiction, announced a three-year, $1.2 million grant from Indivior Inc. to support its Camp Mariposa® initiative.
“Addiction is a devastating disease impacting millions of people and their families, especially children. Navigating the difficult challenges of a family member’s substance use disorder is a critical and growing need in the U.S.,” said Mary FitzGerald, chief executive officer of The Moyer Foundation. “We are appreciative to Indivior for their significant commitment to help support and expand our addiction prevention services and life-changing Camp Mariposa initiative, including a new camp in West Virginia next year.”
The Moyer Foundation’s Camp Mariposa initiative is a national addiction prevention and mentoring program for youth impacted by substance use disorder in their families provided to those in need at no cost. Children ages 9-12 attend weekend camps multiple times a year. In addition, educational and support activities are offered to campers, teens, and their families throughout the year. Camp Mariposa gives youth the knowledge, coping skills and confidence to prevent them from developing an addiction of their own. Led by mental health professionals and trained mentors, Camp Mariposa provides a safe, fun and supportive environment critical to helping break the cycle of intergenerational addiction.
“We are very pleased to be partnering with The Moyer Foundation. There is an incredibly strong alignment between our two organizations’ commitments to make a measurable difference in the lives of everyone impacted by addiction,” said Shaun Thaxter, CEO, Indivior. “The Moyer Foundation’s Camp Mariposa initiative offers help and hope to families and communities, both of which are critical to break the intergenerational cycle of addiction and help solve the addiction crisis in our nation.”
Currently, Camp Mariposa camps are in 11 locations in the U.S., hosting approximately 1,200 campers in 2016.
Indivior’s grant funding will allow The Moyer Foundation to:
- Strengthen, grow and expand its current addiction prevention resources and services by supporting existing and new Camp Mariposa sites with the most recent location added in partnership with Community Connections to serve the rural area of Princeton, West Virginia, to be launched in early 2017;
- Improve infrastructure to provide the highest quality mentoring and addiction prevention programming as well as ensure best practices across the Camp Mariposa partner network; and,
- Form strategic industry partnerships to accelerate awareness and further reduce the stigma associated with addiction.
In addition, Indivior has extended its support for Camp Mariposa through employee volunteerism programs. This year, Indivior employees collected and donated more than 3,000 hygiene supplies for campers at Camp Mariposa’s 11 locations nationwide.
As the opioid epidemic strengthens its grip in the U.S., particularly in the Appalachian Region, there is an increased need for prevention programs like Camp Mariposa in states such as West Virginia. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2014 the state of West Virginia had the highest drug overdose rate in the U.S.1 at more than double the national average. In 2015, West Virginia had the highest reported rate of overdose deaths for youth ages 12-25.2 Camp Mariposa educates youth about the disease of addiction and strives to intervene before a problem develops, which can prove vital to delay the age of first use and in turn, reduce the risk for future addiction issues.
September is National Recovery Month
Indivior and The Moyer Foundation are committed to increasing awareness and reducing stigma around substance use disorders and support Recovery Month, sponsored each year in September by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMSHA). According to SAMHSA, 8.3 million children in the U.S. live in a home with a parent in need of treatment for alcohol and/or drug dependency. In addition, children living with an addicted family member are four times more likely3 than their peers to become alcohol dependent themselves. For more information about Recovery Month, “Join the Voices of Recovery: Our Families, Our Stories, Our Recovery,” please visit www.recoverymonth.gov/home.
About The Moyer Foundation
The Moyer Foundation is a public, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to provide comfort, hope and healing to children and families affected by grief and addiction. Founded in 2000 by MLB pitcher Jamie Moyer and his wife Karen, The Moyer Foundation supports thousands of children and families each year through its free signature programs and services. Camp Erin® is the largest national bereavement program for children and teens grieving the death of someone significant in their lives. Camp Mariposa® is an addiction prevention and mentoring program for youth impacted by the substance abuse of a family member. The Moyer Foundation Resource Center extends the Foundation’s continuum of care by providing robust online resources and personalized support for families experiencing grief or addiction. For more information, please visit www.moyerfoundation.org.
About Camp Mariposa
Please see Fact Sheet below.
About Indivior
Indivior is a global specialty pharmaceutical company with a 20-year legacy of leadership in patient advocacy, health policy and evidence-based best practice models that have revolutionized modern addiction treatment. Indivior is dedicated to transforming addiction from a global human crisis to a recognized and treated chronic disease. Building on its robust, global opioid dependence portfolio, Indivior has a strong pipeline of product candidates designed to both expand treatments in opioid dependence and address other chronic diseases of addiction including alcohol use disorder, cocaine intoxication and schizophrenia. Headquartered in the United States in Richmond, VA, Indivior employs more than 900 individuals globally and its portfolio is available in over 40 countries worldwide. Its name is a fusion of the words individual and endeavor and its logo radiates the company’s patient-centered holistic focus on expanding access to high-quality treatment services for addiction worldwide. For more information, please visit www.Indivior.com.
CAMP MARIPOSA FACT SHEET
ABOUT CAMP MARIPOSA
- Created by The Moyer Foundation in 2007, Camp Mariposa is a mentoring and addiction prevention program for youth impacted by the substance use disorder of a family member.
- The primary goal of Camp Mariposa is to give youth the knowledge, coping skills and confidence to help break the intergenerational cycle of addiction.
- Youth who attend have the opportunity to build relationships with their peers facing similar situations as well as mentors to further reduce feelings of isolation and guilt.
- Free weekend camp sessions, held six times a year, are offered for youth ages 9-12 and participants are encouraged to attend multiple times throughout the year.
- In addition, educational and mentoring activities are offered during noncamp months for campers, alumni, and their families.
- The Moyer Foundation partners with accredited mental health and youth serving organizations to deliver the Camp Mariposa program alongside professionally trained mentors.
- Camp Mariposa currently offers over 60 weekend camps at 11 locations around the country including Los Angeles and San Diego, CA; Washington, D.C.; Sarasota and St. Petersburg, FL; South Bend, IN; Eastern Kentucky; New Orleans, LA; Nashua, NH; Philadelphia, PA; and Seattle, WA.
WHO WE SERVE
- To date, 900 unduplicated children have benefited from Camp Mariposa, attending free weekend camp sessions more than 3,700 times.
- For approximately 85% of the campers, one or both parents are dependent on drugs or alcohol.
- Almost 75% of the campers are considered low-income.
- About 25% of campers are in foster or kinship care.
- Approximately 20% of our campers are children from military families.
THE NEED
- In 2014, there were 21.5 million Americans living with a substance use disorder.4 (SAMHSA)
- In 2005, more than 9.2 million children in the U.S. were living with a parent or other adult who used illegal drugs.5 (CASA Columbia)
- Children impacted by a family member’s addiction are at far greater risk than their peers to suffer from depression and anxiety as well as health and learning challenges.6 (CASA Columbia)
- In 2013, there were over 2.8 million new users of illicit drugs. Over half (54.1%) were under 18 years of age. (SAMHSA’s NSDUH Survey)
For more information on The Moyer Foundation and Camp Mariposa, please visit www.moyerfoundation.org.
REFERENCES
1http://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/statedeaths.html
2http://tfah.org/reports/youthsubstancemisuse2015/
3http://www.nacoa.net/impfacts.htm
4http://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUH-FRR1-2014/NSDUH-FRR1-2014.pdf
5https://www.centeronaddiction.org/sites/default/files/Family-matters-substance-abuse-and-the-american-family_0.pdf
6https://www.centeronaddiction.org/sites/default/files/Family-matters-substance-abuse-and-the-american-family_0.pdf
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SOURCE The Moyer Foundation