National Recovery Month
September is National Recovery Month

National Recovery Month has been observed during the month of September in the United States since 1989.
The County of San Diego kicked off the month this year by bringing our recovery community together and raising awareness for treatment, support programs, and local resources. This year’s event theme, Celebrate the Tides of Hope, celebrated recovery as a continuous and evolving journey filled with resiliency and possibility.
Every year, we welcome individuals in recovery, those thinking about recovery, and the families and friends of those on recovery journeys to come celebrate with us!
This year, we celebrated with approximately:
- 250 attendees
- 70 community-based organizations
and distributed over 400 free naloxone kits and fentanyl testing strips to the community!
If you attended this year's event, we'd love to hear from you!
2023 Event Recap
Interested in attending or being an exhibitor at next year's event?
Together, we can raise awareness, reduce stigma, and shine a
light on recovery. For questions about the event, please email Engage.BHS@sdcounty.ca.gov.
To raise awareness about recovery and resources, we invite you to promote this month with your networks.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has provided a free National Recovery Month toolkit to spread awareness about the process of recovery and share hopeful messages.
Check out their toolkit for:
- Social media content and shareables
- Resources for learning about and supporting people in recovery
- Promotional materials about recovery
The entities below provided in-kind services during this year's event.
-
Event Exhibitors
- A New PATH
- Acadia Healthcare Comprehensive Treatment Centers
- Access to Independence
- Alvarado Hospital
- Aviva Psychological Services
- Catholic Charities
- Champions for Health
- Choice Harvest Worship Center
- Community Health Improvement Partners
- Comprehensive Opioid Recovery Center
- Confidential Recovery
- Dads Corps at SAY San Diego
- Deaf Community Services of San Diego, Inc
- Drug Enforcement Administration
- El Dorado Community Service Center
- Episcopal Community Services
- Exodus Recovery - Mobile Crisis Response Team
- Family Health Centers of San Diego
- Goodwill Industries
- Healing Oaks Clinic - The Neighborhood House Assoc.
- Institute for Public Strategies
- Jewish Family Service
- Love on a Leash
- Metropolitan Area Advisory Committee on Anti-Poverty
- McAlister Institute, South Teen Recovery Center
- The Meeting Place Clubhouse
- Mental Health Center of San Diego
- Mental Health Systems/TURN
- National Alliance on Mental Illness San Diego
- Neighborhood Healthcare
- North County San Diego Alcoholics Anonymous
- Paradise Valley Bayview Crisis Stabilization Unit
- Pathways Community Services
- Pathways Oasis Clubhouse
- Project A.W.A.R.E.
- The Phoenix
- San Diego Community College District
- San Ysidro Health Center
- Second Chance
- SMART Recovery San Diego
- SOAP MAT, LLC
- Southern Caregiver Resource Center
- Stepping Stone
- Survivors of Torture, International
- Telecare Mobile Crisis Response Team
- The Twelfth Step House of San Diego - Heartland House
- University of California San Diego, Research Centers
- Union of Pan Asian Communities
- Vision y Compromiso CalGETS
- Vista Hill Foundation
- Women for Sobriety, Inc.
Access & Crisis Line
If you or someone you
care about is in crisis or would like behavioral health resources or
support, including accessing Mobile Crisis Response Teams (MCRT),
please call the Access and Crisis Line at (888) 724-7240
(24 hours a day, 7 days a week). Calls are answered by experienced
counselors, with assistance available in over 200 languages.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
(SAMHSA) Harm Reduction
Harm reduction is an evidence-based approach critical to
engaging with people who use drugs and equipping them with life-saving
tools and information to create positive change in their lives and
potentially save their lives. Visit the SAMHSA Harm Reduction website for more information.
It’s Up to Us
The It’s
Up to Us campaign empowers San Diegans to talk
about mental health and substance use disorders, recognize warning
signs of suicide, access resources, and seek help.
Mental Health Resources
Behavioral Health Services
offers a Managing
Your Mental Wellness web page which features a variety of
resources available to help you navigate mental health challenges and
daily stressors.
211 San Diego
211 San
Diego is a free service that helps people get referrals to
local County resources like housing, utilities, food, and employment assistance.

If this is an emergency, please call 9-1-1 or go to the nearest emergency room.
Confidential and free of charge, the San Diego Access & Crisis Line (ACL) offers immediate support and resources from an experienced counselor 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on all behavioral health topics including: suicide prevention, crisis intervention, community resources, mental health referrals, alcohol and drug support services and more. Language interpreter services enable the ACL to assist in over 200 languages within seconds.