This fall, The Council launched the Center for Co-Occurring Disorders, a groundbreaking initiative designed to address substance use and mental health issues together.
Substance use and mental health disorders often go hand-in-hand, with the National Institute on Drug Abuse estimating that about half of those who experience a substance use disorder will experience a mental illness during their lives and vice versa.
Despite the well-established link between these conditions, many treatment providers cannot or do not address substance use and mental health together, which leads to increased costs, duplication of services, and – most importantly – poorer outcomes overall. The Council launched our Center for Co-Occurring Disorders to respond to this critical challenge.
In this episode of Healing Choices, we will explore the connection between substance use and mental health, as well as the challenges and benefits of treating these conditions together. Plus, we’ll explore this history of substance use and mental health treatment in Houston – and how for 75 years, The Council has played a role in advancing care, research, and training around these life-changing conditions.
I wish to inform you of my intention to retire as President and CEO with The Council, effective August 31, 2021. Although this retirement will be effective in August, I have been asked to remain in an “emeritus” position working for the Foundation for the next three years to ensure a smooth transition, assist in planned giving, and aid with institutional memory. A search process to identify my replacement is underway, capably led by our Board Chair, Dean Quinn, along with the help of outside counsel. I’m excited to be handing the baton over whenever that person is chosen and will support them in any way I can.
In my 28 years as President and CEO, much has changed, and as I reflect on my time with The Council, I am filled with awe and gratitude. In August 1993, I went to work for The Council at a most difficult time. We had a deficit of $93,000, almost no available cash reserves and were nearly 90% financed by state and federal grants. Less than 1% of the Houston community had ever heard of “The Houston Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse.” We had a Foundation in name only. But, we had the passion, vision and dedication of a few willing board members, a couple of 3 x 5 index cards of donors and a powerful, if not resilient, intention to prove that, as someone said, “We really can raise money for drunks!”
Today, we are operating with a balanced portfolio between public and private funds. We have established the organization as one of the best — in culture, in meeting mission, and in esteem by the community we serve. We have established Foundation reserves to help ensure The Council’s operation for years to come, secured a stable annual operating budget, and continuously serve more than 65,000 people each year!
During this 28 year period, we have helped a lot of people – those we can tell of, and many who were helped that we will never know. We have seen miracles of recovery many times over, and we have experienced the deep loss that comes when addiction is not faced head on. I am profoundly grateful to you and our many friends and partners who shared in our passion and helped to grow and sustain our mission. My greatest gift has been to experience so much passion and dedication by an incredible staff, board, and community who serve a purpose greater than themselves and have given back to service in untold ways.
Through it all, it has been my honor to help lead this organization through fires, mergers, and pandemics, building new programs and responding to changes in our community. Each day of those 28 years I have never tired or desired to be elsewhere, looking forward to coming to work and to the opportunities we have been given.
As we look to the light at the end of the tunnel of these past twelve months and ahead to our 75th anniversary, The Council is well positioned for the future. We have launched our Center for Co-Occurring Disorders, completed a successful reserve fund campaign, secured grants and contracts for the next several years, and have a strong and devoted leadership team and board of trustees.
And so, the time is now for me to step aside and make room for the next person to assume leadership as I retire from daily service to The Council. Until then, we continue to serve those that need us, now and in the future – vowing never to turn anyone away.
Yours in gratitude and recovery,
Mel Taylor
For The Council’s official press release detailing Mel’s career and legacy, click here.
Upon reflection, the first ripple is always memorable. Perhaps it was a small wave, a tiny wrinkle that subtly disturbed the surface, growing wider nonetheless. Other times the ripple is rapid and dynamic … a disruptive momentum that may forever change all touched by the waves. In either instance, a ripple is potentially the most powerful catalyst at the start of a new story.
At The Council on Recovery, we know about the ripple effect, it’s how our story – our journey – began. But the story of The Council is not just ours. It is the story of millions of lives touched by our work, and how their recoveries have rippled out across time to make our world a better place.
We have long understood that every person’s challenge with addiction touches everyone and everything around them. This is why we are so deeply committed to helping every individual discover his or her power to harness the momentum of healing and positively impact others.
For 75 years, we have been a powerful center of hope, spreading waves of light across the dark and lonely landscape of addiction. From our humble beginnings with one phone and a single employee, we sought to reach out, to educate and serve. That focus has endured over the years and especially blossomed under the leadership of President and CEO Mel Taylor. Together, we have created models for treatment and collaboration that have become systems of care across the community. We have trained tens of thousands of professionals and strategically mapped our future to ensure longevity in the communities we serve.
Join us Friday, April 22, 2021, from 12-1 pm for a special 75th anniversary celebration of The Council on Recovery to honor the work of our founders, board members, partners, staff, clients and our supporters. And help us celebrate the retirement of our President and CEO Mel Taylor and the 28 years of ripples he has created through his vision and servant leadership.
At The Council on Recovery, we have always believed that everyone has a contribution to make to the world. That’s why our work is so important and so powerful. Every life touched by The Council reaches out to another and another. The tide swells with every milestone, and together we are forging a better world.
To sponsor this special event, click here, or text COUNCIL75 to 41444. For questions on this event and sponsorships, contact Special Events at (281) 200-9336 or specialevents@councilonrecovery.org.
