Community forums are an excellent opportunity to engage the business sector, policy makers, substance abuse treatment providers, the religious community, the media, and others in a dialogue about how to improve substance abuse treatment services in the community. The forums are also an opportunity to identify ways to sustain the gains made in the overall substance abuse demand reduction efforts. The forums can be aired through a number of options, including your local public or commercial broadcast radio or TV stations or your local cable system. The organizing footprint for community forums can be limited or broad based. Community forums can be organized at the community, city or town, or state levels.

The primary target audiences for the 1999 National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month are:

• Corporate and small business sectors
• Policy makers and elected officials
• Labor unions
• Community-based substance abuse treatment providers
• Recovery community
• Americans with disabilities
• Diverse populations: African Americans, Asian and Pacific Islander Americans, Hispanic/Latinos, and
• Native Americans.

As you begin to identify panel members and forum participants for your community forum, be sure to include representatives of these sectors.

Coordinate with your local public and commercial radio, television station, or cable system to tape and air a discussion panel about substance abuse and treatment issues in the workplace and in your community. This discussion should create a greater understanding on the part of viewers and listeners of the magnitude of the substance abuse problem, identify the employers' needs regarding substance abuse treatment programs, and the community's needs for demand reduction. It should also explore ways to minimize the stigma of treatment and recovery.

Recruit members from your community who are knowledgeable or who have a great interest in substance abuse and treatment to participate in a broadcast community forum. Panel members should include employers representing large and small businesses, an elected official or other policy maker, a treatment provider, and a person in recovery. Ensure that the panel is representative of your community's cultural, ethnic, and racial diversity. Plan to have one or two people standing by in the event of any last minute cancellation from one of the confirmed panelists.

Identify an experienced facilitator to host the session, keep the discussion focused, and make sure that all points are covered. The facilitator should read an introduction and a closing statement from the teleprompter to summarize the key points of the discussion.

Make sure that the key points of the discussion can be covered within the timeframe allowed by the broadcast station. Meet with panelists on several occasions in advance of the broadcast to clarify the purpose of the discussion. One of the additional goals and benefits of this process is to bring together a wide range of business and community leaders to brainstorm about these issues. They should have the opportunity to create their own agenda for the forum.

The community forum agenda can include the following topics:

• An overview of the extent and magnitude of the substance abuse problem in the sponsoring community, including workplace challenges and the underlying problems substance abuse creates (loss of productivity in the workplace, crime, etc.).
• Identification of current substance abuse treatment efforts that are working and a dialogue about unmet substance abuse treatment and demand reduction needs.
• A discussion of the issue of "stigma" as a de-motivating effect on those who need to seek substance abuse treatment.
• Recommendations to the businesses sector on the benefits of providing substance abuse treatment programs to their employees.

The purpose of the forums is to raise awareness about the issues related to substance abuse treatment and Recovery Month observance activities at local, State, and regional levels. Look for community forums in the following cities:

For more information, please contact Michele Westbrook at (301) 443-5052, or email mwestbro@samhsa.gov.