Selected Papers of William L. White www.williamwhitepapers.com Collected papers, interviews, video presentations, photos, and archival documents on the history of addiction treatment and recovery in America. Citation: White, W. (2011). The state of recovery in Brazil: An interview with Crisvalter Medeiros. Posted at www.facesandvoicesofrecovery.org and www.williamwhitepapers.com The State of Recovery in Brazil: An Interview with Crisvalter Medeiros William L. White Emeritus Senior Research Consultant Chestnut Health Systems [email protected] Introduction started drinking at 13 and only stopped at age 35. At that time, I was working and had Recovery from a family, but I also had developed a serious addiction is a highly alcohol problem. I started studying personal process that is alcoholism in hopes of finding a solution. I profoundly influenced investigated AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) by cultural and got involved with other groups such as environments within "Tough Love," Neurotics Anonymous, and which recovery can be Catholic Pastoral. I spent 15 years attending nurtured or inhibited. A support groups almost daily. During this growing international recovery advocacy period, I also studied a lot about alcoholism movement seeks to widen the doorways of and other drug dependence and entry to addiction recovery and to create a wrote two books: Dependência Química: world in which recovery can flourish. In the Uma abordagem sociocultural and Drogas fall of 2011, I had the pleasure of na Adolescência: Uma visão interviewing Crisvalter Medeiros about his educativa. Both books were published by vision of a recovery advocacy movement in the institution where my wife and I work. I Brazil. In the future, we will try to update the also decided I needed to do something progress of this movement in Brazil and more than attending group meetings, so I other South American countries. decided to work with prevention programs directed at teenagers. I wanted to Bill White: How did you first become help young people avoid developing drug involved in the issue of addiction recovery in dependency problems. your country? In 2004, I began to de- Crisvalter Medeiros: My adolescence velop a prevention project in schools. With was much commited by alcohol. I the support of my wife, Ms. Vania Medeiros, williamwhitepapers.com 1 we developed a prevention project called was a new manager at the TV station who “Programa Rede Viva.” This program was closed the program, explaining that he did developed with the integration of recovery not want that kind of TV program. programs of mutual aid societies (Tough We also experimented with Love and Beyond and the Alateen program) a recovery program rooted in spirituality, and educational projects involving scientific TOV (Talleres de Oracion y Vida), with and technical knowledge of students. We young people in a situation of deprivation of started with a group of 20 teenagers and liberty as a result of drug use. We helped some of them who were performed an event that occurred in a already having alcohol and drug religious community treatment experiences. We did this work in schools, setting (Fazenda da Esperança), which and by 2009, we had more than 200 young included young people who participated in people participating. We eventually had to the “Programa Rede Viva.” This program stop when we failed to receive federal funds included young people in recovery. Another from the Ministry of Education. We were initiative was a course for residents never able to generate support from school of a rural community about prevention administrators in Brazil for such an initiative. and drug problems in the family. They did not recognize the importance of drug prevention and, like most Bill White: What activities have you been educators in Brazil, saw the response to the involved with since these early programs? drug problem as the responsibility of the health departments or the police. Crisvalter Medeiros: We per- formed four major conferences of national scope with professionals from universities in our more developed regions, always with the focus on improving the conditions of prevention in our region. In 2008, we managed to raise funds from federal, state, and local people to carry out a post- graduation lato sensu, which was directed toward 50 professionals working in public and private care for drug users. Currently, we offer courses on prevention for teachers and other professional Crisvalter Medeiros presentation to Sobriety Pastoral schools. We also offer conferences for the of the Catholic Church movements of the Catholic and Protestant churches and other communities. During the time of operation of the “Programa Rede Viva,” we did a TV interview program for three years. In this program, I interviewed people who worked in the field: psychologists, social workers, educators, and psychiatrists. I also talked to people representing various recovery mutual aid societies. I understood that it would be very important to create a space in the media so they could talk about recovery. This was very difficult because these people did not Conference on drug prevention for school educators want to show their faces because of their fear of social discrimination. In 2009, there williamwhitepapers.com 2 At the end of 2010, we approved are planning activities for the study and the establishment of a Regional Centre of dissemination of this idea. This is Reference the approach we were trying to find that for Training Professionals working in the could involve both professionals and the area of drugs in our State. We participated recovery community. The recovery com- in a public call through an announcement of munity also has difficulties. For exam- the federal government, specifically the ple, the members of AA do not admit that Secretaria Nacional de Políticas Públicas someone outside of AA can under- sobre Drogas (SENAD), the body that stand recovery, and professionals coordinates the Drug Policy in our underestimate what people in recovery can country. We are currently coordinating four contribute. We are organizing material for courses with the participation of 350 the initial course on Recovery Advocacy for professionals. This work can be seen on the people of mutual aid societies (AA and Al- site (www.crrifpb.com.br). Anon, ToughLove, Narcotics Anonymous, There are many difficulties with these and therapeutic communities, and activities because we are using a methodol- individuals that have made recovery ogy that, in our view, is still very through other experiences). In fact, we are much focused on the professional role. The just beginning this work curriculum of these courses is set by the of advocacy. We know it will be a great SENAD. This body has not yet mediated the challenge to change the treatment para- political tensions between professionals digm to the paradigm of recovery. But and the recovery community. There are in we very much hope that we get ahead, this field of work many conflicts involv- especially with your support. ing corporate interests. On the other hand, the recovery community is disorganized and remains hidden in total anonymity. The teachers at the centre are from regions of the country with more advanced academic resources. However, they do not have the academic or technical experience to increase the competence of people in recovery in a systematic way. While there is talk of social reintegration of former drug users by professionals, there are a few non- governmental initiatives involving people in Brazilian Association of Studies on Alcohol and recovery. Other Drugs You could say that today in Bra- zil, treatment has been dominated by the Bill White: What was the particular spark moral vision or mental illness. The stigma of that began your work on recovery advocacy the dependent is associated with crime or through use of the media? insanity, and most interventions are through the prisons or psychiatric hospitals. Here, Crisvalter Medeiros: In the course of my we have not heard talk about recovery; the studies, I met a teacher, Luca Santoro, who word is confused with treatment among the had lived 20 years in England and gave a professionals. In this sense, we understand class on advocacy and media advocacy. My the importance of organizing a movement of basic training was journalism, so I decided to recovery advocacy. focus on media advocacy. I read the book of In 2008, we Lawrence Wallack, Media Advocacy and discovered media advocacy, and only in Public Health: Power for Prevention (Media 2011 did we discover the Advocacy Group University of Berkeley, recovery advocacy movement. We see the 1993). Searching the internet, I found the need to change our view, and we williamwhitepapers.com 3 sites www.williamwhitepapers.com and say that Brazil is the paradise of the alcohol www.facesandvoicesofrecovery.com, so I industry. Although we have a decree also discovered recovery advocacy. I that controls the use of this drink, this law is understood that was what we needed in not respected, and Brazilians suffer greatly Brazil today to break the prejudice against from the impact of this problem in their lives, people in recovery. I became interested in including young people. the subject, so I bought on the Internet Let's Go Make Some History: Chronicles of the Bill White: What laws govern alcohol and New Addiction Recovery Advocacy drug use in Brazil? Movement, and also ordered the Recovery Advocacy Toolkit from Faces and Voices of Crisvalter Medeiros: The national law Recovery. on drugs (11.343) decriminalized the per- sonal use of drugs. In practice, the user, Bill White: Let me back up a bit and ask you when caught, does not go to jail. to describe the current state of alcohol and The Supreme Court, by unanimous deci- drug problems in Brazil. sion of its ministers, has released marijuana of legal consequences and as a result of this, Crisvalter Medeiros: In Brazil, 52% of the young people are increasing their use.