Benjamin Ide Wheeler Medal

Davida Coady was selected as the 2005 recipient of the Benjamin Ide Wheeler Medal for lifetime achievement. The Berkeley Community Fund Nominations Committee noted her 35 years of dedication to the recovery and rehabilitation of addicts and alcoholics on the streets Berkeley. This historic honor, conferred on "Berkeley's Most Useful Citizen" since 1929, was presented to Dr. Coady at the 12th Annual Awards Dinner Gala on October 26.

NAADAC Organizational Achievement Award

Options received the 2006 NAADAC Organizational Achievement Award presented to an organization in the US that has demonstrated a strong commitment to the addiction profession and particularly strong support for the individual addiction professional. The award will be presented on September 30th 2006 at the NAADAC annual conference in Burbank, California. NAADAC, The Association for Addiction Professionals is the largest membership organization for addiction professionals in the country.

Car Need a Bath?

Come to the Options Recovery Services Car Wash benefit that is hosted every Saturday from 9 to 2 p.m. at Lutheran Church of the Cross parking lot (Across from AAA) at 1744 University Ave. Ben took his car, I mean "baby", here recently, and they did an excellent and most thorough job. Their suggested prices are WELL below what those other places are charging -- and you'll drive away sparkling, knowing you did something nice for somebody. They do waxing, leather conditioning, and tire dressing. Stop by tomorrow and see what we mean! Look for news on the Mobile Car Wash service coming soon.

Ex-addicts Extol Sobriety

Thirty-three recovering drug and alcohol addicts denounced their former addictions at Options Recovery Service's quarterly Celebration of Sobriety, a graduation program for its members last Friday afternoon. For some of those celebrants it was the first time in their lives they'd ever celebrated a conventional success.

"I ain't never graduated from nothing in my life," said Gerald Cole. "Let me tell you, it feels good."

Dana Beamon, also graduating, agreed.

"I didn't know how to be here, how to act civilized because of the way I lived, said Beamon.

A recurring theme at Options is the gratitude its clients express to the very police officers who arrested them. Clients say that the oficers didn't arrest them, they saved them, said Coady.

"Recovery happens in a community," said Latoya Brand. She graduated on Friday from Options women's program with her 4-month old son, Andre. Andre's father Charlier Evans, is also an Options client. "It was one of the best decisions I made in my life. My children got their mother back," Brand said.

Kevin Griffin Speaks of his Experiences with Options in his Book

I pull one of the mismatched folding chairs into the circle of twenty-five men and women in the large hall of the Veterans building in Berkeley. An ancient curtain hangs in front of the stage, and voices echo from comers of the cavernous room as people come together for the Friday morning meditation group. I take a little silk bag out of my backpack and bring. out a'set of Tibetan cymbals. The two small chimes are attached with a strand of leather like a shoelace. I hang the leather over my thigh, a chime failing on either side.

"My name's Kevin, and I'm an alcoholic and addict," I shout.

"Hi, Kevin," they shout back. They settle in and the room gets quieter.

"I'm here to share some meditation with you," I say. "Meditation is part of the Twelve Steps -- Step Eleven -- and I've found it to be very helpful in staying sober."

Most of the group is listening with interest. They are here, many of them, because they were arrested for drug possession and diverted to this program. "Options," it's called. Largely homeless, the population served by Options is pretty far "down the scale," as the Big Book says. With poor health, bad teeth, jobless, friendless, they really don't have much going for them.

Griffin, Kevin. One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps
Rodale Press, 2005

Find out more about Kevin Griffin at his homepage

Options Selected Amongst 'Best in America' Charitable Organizations

Of the 50,000 + charities that participate in the Combined Federal Campaign, only about 1500 - the members of Independent Charities of America and Local Independent Charities of America - will have to opportunity to display this "Best In America" seal of approval. Your organization is one of those chosen few.

The "Best In America" seal was inspired by the recent comparative review of "watchdog" groups by the National Council of Nonprofit Associations. The Council included the CFC standards in its review, and it was obvious that those standards match or often exceed the standards of other groups. ICA and LICA are acknowledged as the most rigorous in the application of those standards to member eligibility review, in conjunction with their own additional tests. Your organization has documented that it meets those standards and tests. Your recognition is well deserved.

3 Options Graduates Honored

Robert Reeder, Edward Williams, and Augusto Norana received the Theresa Lewis Campus Climate Award at the First Annual Vista Community College Awards Night. The award recongizes their commitment to improving campus life. All three recipients are graduates of Options. Congratulations Robert, Edward, and Augusto.

Alameda County Judge Champions Nonprofit Recovery Program

"You really wonder at the priorities of the country and where your money is being spent when you see that there is such inadequate mental health assistance," [Alameda County Superior Court Judge Carol Brosnahan] said. "There is almost no substance abuse assistance that's available.

That recognition has made Brosnahan a champion of efforts such as Berkeley's Options Recovery Services, a nonprofit substance abuse rehabilitation program. Through the years, she has directed numerous defendants to Options for help.

Lawyer's credit her with instituting a system where drug assistance counselors attend court. People with alcohol or drug problems "literally would be escorted accross the street to start getting help," defense attorney Syren said.

She and her husband of nearly 47 years, prominent San Francisco trial lawyer James Brosnahan, support the program in other ways. An art show featuring paintings by James Brosnahan not long ago raised $1700 for the center, the judge said

Recently she brought proceedings in her Oakland courtroom to a brief halt while she called for everyone present to applaud a man who successfully completed a 52-week substance abuse program.

Have Heart, Will Hammer

Once known as Christmass in April, Rebuilding Together has in San Francisco and Oakland turned into year-round efforts that that are directed by paid staff to enlist sponsors and teams and match them with projects from the simplest residential patch-and-paint to one that Oakland Executive Director John Caner has declared the "Super Rehab." There, Paul Radliff leads a large, skilled team from Pulte Homes to renovate three halfway houses owned and managed by Options Recovery Services for people coming out of drug and alcohol abuse treatment.

Room for Recovery

Where else but Berkeley can you see smiling police officers embracing the very people they arrested only months before? It's graduation day at Options Recovery Services, Dr. Davida Coady's urban refuge where drug addicts and alcoholics rebuild their lives through yoga, acupuncture, group discussion and counseling. Father Bill O'Donnell of St. Joseph the Worker Church has called Coady the "Mother Theresa of the East Bay." And Options has won the support of actor Martin Sheen ("The West Wing"). In Room for Recovery, former SF Chronicle editor Lewis Kolinsky examines how they're succeeding to help substance abusers stay clean and sober.