As an advocate for healthy, balanced recovery, I often find myself at the mercy of the world around me. Whether it be school, a job, a complicated relationship or even a not-so-complicated one, the same holds true: that balance is crucial. I simply cannot allow external forces, however extenuating, to take control of my life.

I know that there are certain responsibilities that we must all attend to, like paying our bills, feeding our pets, staying hygienic, and, yes, maintaining relationships. No matter how self-sufficient one may like to be without relationships, whether they are intimate relationships, platonic relationships, relationships with the people we work with or attend classes with, the same holds true for all of us: we simply cannot exist alone. This has been exemplified every September for several years now at our state capitol.

The Wisconsin Voices for Recovery organization has been hosting the recovery rally this time in September since 2013 and will likely go on doing so until there is no longer a need. However, if people continue on as we do, consumed by debt and premature death, and as long as U.S. forces maintain and occupy foreign lands that supply us with deadly drugs, all the while keeping ourselves ignorant, distracted, and confused, my guess is that there will always be a need.

Personally, I have gone to great lengths to assist the fight against the growing problem of addiction with the growing solution that we call recovery. But it is not enough, and whether people are addicts, friends of addicts, loved ones, spouses or any general citizen, it is so important that we all be informed with factual, up-to-date information. Facts. Not opinions. Facts.

As with any good movement, though, it is important to be as inclusive as possible, and that is why the Rally for Recovery has reached out to so many amazing organizations.

Some the advocacy groups you may find at the rally include the Wisconsin Recovery Community Organization (WIRCO), Live Free, Madison College and UW student organizations, and Oxford House, democratically run sober living houses in Dane County and throughout the country.

If you or someone you know is seeking recovery in one form or another, please contact John Boyne at Madison College, or contact WIRCO at their website www.wirco.org, or call 608-513-2069.