Message from Rick Riccardi, Chief Executive Officer
March 15 2022
So much is happening in the substance use Disorder/recovery world and at Fellowship RCO since my last report. There is a lot of buzz going on around the Respite right now in Broward County, and around the state and even in Texas. Our beds continue to be full as we partner with other state agencies to help people with substance use disorders begin their recovery journey.
We have saved over 3,700 lives since Respite’s inception 3 years ago and the community is responding to our call for action. Our Managing Entity, Broward Behavioral Health Coalition (BBHC) continuously creates ways to offer financial assistance to our participants who come to us as indigent. Most recently we have had the opportunity to meet with other state agencies like the Florida Health Department to discuss what they could potentially contribute to support our cause. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for our Donors, Friends of Fellowship, who truly continue to surprise me and incessantly support our mission and carry us through these difficult financial times.
I want to reiterate that it is an exciting time for the recovery movement. Florida State Senator Darryl Rouson who has more than 20 years of sobriety used his experiences to help push for changes in Florida’s substance use laws by creating a bill that would amend the state law to label certified peer specialists as an essential part of a coordinated system of care for the treatment of substance use disorders, and his bill was passed!
The bill requires peer specialists to have been in recovery from a substance use disorder or mental illness for the past two years or be a family member or caregiver of an individual with a history of a substance use disorder or mental illness. The bill authorizes the Department of Children and Families to develop a competency test that certified peer specialists would be required to pass.
The legislation also requires peer specialists to undergo background screening, but if they have a disqualifying offense in their background, they can request an exemption from the disqualification under the bill.
This is great news for peer specialists across the state and a huge victory for the recovery movement. This bill indirectly will help reduce the stigmas that have followed people with substance use disorders for decades and elevate an individual’s recovery journey by facilitating a place in the world where they can recover from their past and move forward.
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