For this week’s episode of Community Corner, we sat down with Mary Linden Salter, Executive Director of the Tennessee Association of Alcohol, Drug & Other Addiction Services (TAADAS). The TAADAS team is intentional and pro-active about getting necessary recipients immediate access to resources and treatment. For the past fifty years of service, the mission has stayed the same: to reach out, advocate for, and inform the community of addiction prevention and recovery.
In response to related alarming factors in the state of Tennessee, TADAAS has created a hotline, developed school-based outreach and endless helpful resources. These factors include the statewide opioid crisis, rising suicide rates, and the legalization of online gambling. TAADAS directs much of their effort to restoring severed relationships, first with a recovery community and then family and friends.
Also under the umbrella of TAADAS is the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network (TSPN). The network is staffed all over the state with regional directors placed throughout. They deal with community training, intervention, and “post-ventions.” This training teaches how to recognize the signs and symptoms of potential suicide, to be able to ask the right questions, and get people to the right place. In light of widespread feelings of disconnect in a post-pandemic world, awareness of prevention and recovery is more important than ever.
Call or text the hotline below if you or a loved one is in need of addiction treatment or resources.
Listen to the full episode below to learn more about TAADAS and ways to support the cause.
For more resources and information, visit the TAADAS website at TAADAS.org or call (615) 780-5901.
