ATLANTA – State Representative Erick Allen (D-Smyrna) was recently honored by the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse (GCSA) through the establishment of the Erick Allen Recovery Activist of the Year Award. Rep. Allen was chosen as the namesake of the award for working as a champion for Georgia’s substance abuse recovery community, and he present the award during the GCSA’s annual luncheon.
“I am honored and humbled to be the namesake for the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse Activist of the Year Award,” said Rep. Allen. “I look forward to continuing the work of addiction and recovery advocacy and presenting the award at the GCSA’s annual luncheon later this month.”
In recognition of Rep. Allen’s efforts to save lives and end the stigma surrounding substance use disorders (SUDs), GCSA’s Recovery Activist of the Year Award will now be known as the Erick Allen Recovery Activist of the Year Award. This award is dedicated to Rep. Allen for his work as a staff member at the Georgia Department of Health and Developmental Disabilities, community leader in Cobb County and co-chair of the General Assembly Working Group on Addiction and Recovery. Additionally, more than 10 years ago, Rep. Allen provided guidance and direction for the Recovery Month Mini-Grant program, which continues to mobilize and organize individuals, families and communities to speak up and speak out in support of all recovery during the month of September. Through this dedication, the council seeks to recognize Rep. Allen for believing in the power of the activist voice at the grassroots level as it relates to Georgians seeking or in recovery.
The Georgia Council on Substance Abuse serves as the voice for the more than 800,000 people who are in recovery in Georgia. The council partners with The Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, The Georgia Department of Community Health, The Georgia Department of Community Supervision and The Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. The policy agenda of GCSA is directed by the expressed needs of people in recovery across the state of Georgia. GCSA’s policy goals are aimed at improving the quality of life for people in recovery and seeking recovery by improving the quality of recovery resources and expanding access to those resources.
For more information on the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse, please click here.
Representative Erick Allen represents the citizens of District 40, which includes portions of Cobb and Fulton counties. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2018 and currently serves on the Banks & Banking, Code Revision and Human Relations & Aging Committees
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