History

APRA's beginnings trace back to 2008 when Lois Jordan, LCSW, Owner/Director of Solutions Outpatient Services identified a need in the Dallas area for increased collaboration and communication among substance abuse and mental health professionals. "I felt that we (area treatment professionals) had become isolated from one another. We had all these fine programs in the area, but we were losing familiarity with one another, and the kinds of services that were being offered by our sister agencies." "Moreover," says Jordan, "I draw strength from contact with my colleagues in the field. My motives were personal as well as professional"

So, when Rhonda Gibbs, then working as Marketing Representative for Starlite Treatment Center asked Lois to introduce her to Dallas area treatment professionals, Lois offered to reach out to her large network of colleagues and organize a get-together. Solutions Outpatient Services and Starlite Treatment Center sponsored the first networking luncheon on April 18, 2008. Over thirty area professionals attended, and at the end of the meeting, several attendees said, "Let's do this again."

Lois continued to organize luncheons every other month, and the numbers of professionals attended continued to grow. Treatment professionals and addiction business developers enjoyed the opportunity to meet representatives from other facilities, and to learn about the services offered by follow agencies and programs. Moreover, there seemed to be no shortage of agencies that were willing to sponsor the meetings or provide the space. According to Jordan, "It began to take on a life of its own."

From Networking Luncheons to APRA

As word got around about the bi-monthly networking luncheons, they continued to grow in attendees, with up to 70 area professionals showing up to meet one another and talk about the programs they represent, announce job openings, or promote upcoming educational events. John Vance, Ph.D., LCSW, a treatment professional who had been attending the networking luncheons for about a year, saw an opportunity to take the idea of networking to the next step. Vance had experience in developing provider networks while working under a federal grant he had authored in New Orleans. In the spring of 2009 he approached Lois Jordan with the idea of creating an organization of addiction and mental health treatment providers so that they could increase the benefits to current participants and the people they serve. While the regular networking luncheons would remain open to anyone who wanted to attend, memberships in the new organization would be offered to participants who wanted a more active involvement and increased exposure within the treatment community. Jordan was excited at the prospect, and invited Vance to pitch the idea at the next networking luncheon.

Vance agreed to "run it up the flagpole, and see if anyone salutes." On July 17, 2009, he presented the idea of forming an organization to the attendees of the luncheon at Sante Residential Treatment Center. Vance said later, "I was surprised by the response – right after the meeting was over, several folks approached me and volunteered to contribute time, energy and ideas. Within minutes we had our Steering Committee."

On August 25, 2009, the Steering Committee met for the first time, and within 90 minutes of concentrated work, had developed a Charter, which included the organization's name, mission, purpose, activities, benefits to members, membership criteria, and how it would be governed. Vance later said, "It was remarkable to find a diverse group of strong-willed personalities who were able to hammer out a shared vision so effectively."

An early concern arose about the organization's name. Representatives within the mental health field pointed out, and rightly so, that the name Addiction Professionals Resource Alliance seemed to exclude mental health practitioners who made up a substantial percentage of the attendees. The Steering Committee agreed that the organization should include both mental health and addiction professionals, and while the name of the organization remained the same, the APRA Charter and Bylaws clearly state the inclusive nature of the organization, thus embracing the interdependence of both mental health and addiction fields. Membership is also open to students, faculty, and researchers as well, exemplifying the shared vision that we all have much to learn from one another.

The Steering Committee continued to meet regularly, each member donating his or her time to the effort. The details of Board of Directors duties were worked out, the Bylaws were developed, and on August 25, 2010, one year to the day after their first meeting the Bylaws were unanimously approved by the Steering Committee, which is now the APRA Board of Directors.

Committees were established to help to manage membership, programming, education, and the APRA web-site development. Current plans are to launch the web-site in the spring of 2011, putting APRA on the map for everyone who has internet access, and offering portals to members' web-sites and organizational affiliations, along with classified ads and notifications of upcoming events of interest to its membership.