A local nonprofit focused on recovery from drug and alcohol abuse is seeking to bring in more community advocates.
National Capital Treatment & Recovery hosted a kickoff event for the new undertaking, called “Friends of NatCap,” on Sept. 16 at the Lubber Run Community Center. The goal is to start building momentum for what is likely to serve as a community council.
“We’re looking to build a community advocacy group … to advocate for our mission,” said Jacob Parcell, the organization’s chief growth officer. “We really want this to be a collaborative effort.”
“Your voices, perspectives and leadership will shape what this becomes,” said Kathy Naylor, who chairs the organization’s board of directors.
The organization plans to engage people who want to be involved, but not at the level of the board of directors or as major fundraisers.
“We began asking ourselves, how do we create a place for them?” said Naylor. The end goal is developing a body that will be “flexible, social and action-oriented,” she said.
John Murphy, a civic leader with ties to a number of local social-safety-net organizations, was among those pressing for creation of Friends of NatCap.
“People don’t understand the difference you can make” getting involved at the grassroots level, he said.
Murphy said what was being asked of participants was modest but could reap big dividends.
“The number-one thing is to learn — to learn [the organization’s] story, learn what they’ve done in the community,” Murphy said. “The second thing is to spread the word.”
National Capital Treatment & Recovery began life in 1962 as Alcohol Rehabilitation Inc., created by Arlington leaders with support from local Kiwanis clubs and Walker Chapel United Methodist Church.
For its first decade, the organization focused on alcoholism, but it branched out in the 1970s to address other drug problems. Along the way, its name changed to Vanguard Services Unlimited.
For eight years, from 2010-18, the organization was affiliated with the national Phoenix House Foundation, but then resumed independent status and took its current name.
Over its 64-year history, more than 60,000 patients have gone through inpatient and outpatient programming.
Deborah Taylor has led the organization since 1989, first as executive director and then as CEO, after a career with Virginia Hospital Center (now VHC Health).
“It has been the most incredible experience to watch people take their lives back,” she said of the organization’s mission.
A psychiatric nurse certified in chemical dependency, Taylor said her organization is constantly updating its efforts to meet new challenges and focus on ever-evolving best practices.
“We are the most adaptable organization that exists,” she said.
Having a corps of volunteers who can help share its story with the broader community will go a long way, Taylor said.
“We don’t necessarily get the grassroots [attention]. There are people who don’t know we even exist,” she said.
“We need the understanding of the community,” Taylor added, to “make it OK to talk about” addiction issues.
“There’s still a stigma,” she said.
In addition to Friends of NatCap, the organization is setting up a foundation to support planned expansion efforts.
