Our Mission & Values
New Directions Addiction Recovery Services is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to support the process of recovery from Substance Use Disorders.
Our vision for carrying that mission forward is to provide a broad network of much-needed services for those in recovery, and address substance abuse and addiction through advocacy, treatment, and continued support. Each of these areas is overseen by a director on NDARS’s Board of Directors.
We have four main principles that we uphold in all the work that we do:
Accessibility
The first and most important of the principles we follow in our work is accessibility.
One of the biggest obstacles to recovery is often how hard it is to get help. Many of the substances which are most commonly abused are illegal, and the fear of being caught and potentially thrown in prison often overrides the need for treatment.
On top of that, the stigma around addiction can make it seem impossible for those who abuse legal and illegal substances alike to reach out, as they are told that this is their fault and that they’re bad people because of it.
As if all that isn’t enough, the government continues to slash funding for addiction recovery services, and insurance companies do their utmost to keep from having to pay for treatment. These factors combine to create an environment where service providers have to evaluate people’s relative need, and those in recovery feel as if they’ve having to fight or even compete to get the help they want.
That’s why our primary objective whenever we’re developing any one of our programs is to make sure it will be as accessible as possible to the people who stand to benefit from it.
Sustainability
To ensure that accessibility, we follow our second principle, sustainability.
Too many agencies that provide services for those recovering from substance abuse and addiction rely heavily on the state for funding. This hinders the organizations in two major ways.
The first is that it often creates a conditional relationship, where in order to receive the funding, the organizations have to obey certain orders form the government. This includes subjecting those they help to requirements set by the government rather than by the agency, or changing the way they administer their services.
The second way is that if the state’s budget gets tight, as it often does, and politicians start cutting funding to essential services, as they often do, organizations can suddenly find themselves with no way to continue running their programs.
In either case, the end-result is that their services become inaccessible to those who need them.
So, we aim to keep each of our programs free from being overly reliant on outside government funding or conditional relationships. That way, we can control how we provide our services, and make sure that these programs will stay around and serve the community for a long time to come.
Community Support
In order to maintain that sustainability though, we need to secure other sources of funding. For that, we keep to our third principle, community support.
By this we mean that we try to make sure our operation is locally funded. Whether that means area businesses or families, the assistance we receive from within the communities we serve is integral to supporting all of our programs.
Local businesses help us not only through direct contributions, but also through company fundraisers and other ways of bringing attention and support. In the page of this site dedicated to our Partners, you’ll find a family of groups and individuals united by their dedication to the cause of supporting those trying to overcome substance abuse and addiction, in any way possible.
An additional benefit of this is that by looking to our neighbors for the financial support to keep these programs running, we build community awareness of what’s going on and help remove that stigma that keeps outsiders from seeing addiction and keeps those dealing with it from coming forward. By drawing our support from our own communities, we help build dialogue and understanding around these issues and make it easier for those who are struggling to speak out.
A Consistent Message
Finally, the fourth principle we strive to uphold is to maintain a consistent message throughout all our programs.
That message is that anyone, no matter who they are or how bad their situation is, is both capable and deserving of winning the battle against substance abuse and addiction.
With The Other Side, we say that you deserve to be able to enjoy yourself and have friends that support you. With the New Directions Sober Living, we say that you deserve a stable environment so you can take back control of your life. And with Connect To Recovery, we connect those struggling with addiction to the gift of recovery.
