2932Wilshire Blvd, Suite 203
Santa Monica, CA 90403
Tel: 310.828.2966
www.mediapolicycenter.org
The Opioid Addiction Recovery Media Project
Saving Lives through Education, Prevention and Policy Change
The Media Policy Center is a leader in using both broadcast and online media to help
solve healthcare and social issues that confront the nation and beyond. The founders
and current Co-CEOs, Wiland and Bell, have won an Academy Award, multiple EMMYs,
Peabody and Christopher Awards, among other prizes. They are Ashoka Lifetime
Fellows and Professors/Co-Directors of the Media For Social Justice Graduate Program
at Woodbury University in Los Angeles. We are also partnering with the Semel Institute
for Neurobiology headed by Peter Whybrow, M.D.
Changing the perception of addiction – understanding that it can be a mental health
issue -- a disease of the brain and not a crime or moral falling -- is critical before we
can improve the system of treatment and support. Educating communities large and
small about the disease is an important step in treating the opioid/heroin epidemic.
Strategies: preventative and pro-active
• All intellectual capital created by our team will be accessible through a multi-level
online outreach program available to health care and mental health professionals,
educators, religious organizations, and community public health programs.
• Advisors include: physicians, health professionals, researchers, religious leaders,
pharmacologists, physical therapists, lawyers, workforce and community leaders.
• National topic areas will be determined in the R&D phase.
• Best practice recovery programs will be profiled.
• Patients, in all stages of addiction and recovery, will be invited to produce a video diary
using their smart phones or consumer HD video cameras that the project will supply.
These selfie portraits will provide a mirror for patients with addiction who need to know
they are not alone but, with help, can begin to turn their lives around.
As media professionals and social entrepreneurs, our goals are to leverage media for
positive change. It is obvious to us that the demand for affordable treatment programs
has overwhelmed traditional resources. How do we reach out to those most in need
who can least afford professional treatment programs? We believe the key lies with
leveraging successful programs and therapies through the use of digital media and the
Internet. This can be achieved by creating online interactive software programs with
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built-in
identity
protected preferences, directories, professional development programs (MOOCs), and
streaming programs that embrace new research and a greater understanding of how to
treat addiction as a disease of the brain.
Once on a server, the entire online program is available 24/7. It is scalable and it is free.
The program will be able to reach thousands of patients and families seeking help but
who are unable to find or afford an adequate local on-site rehab program. It will be
available to health care and mental health professionals for use in schools and
community public health programs. We believe recognition of the problem is the first
step towards recovery. Our online programs may only be the beginning of the journey to
recovery. But they are vitally important first steps for many who do want to change but
need help to get started. This project is meant for them.
Project Components:
1) PBS Mini-Series
2) Interactive Online Hub
3) Video Resource Library
4) Companion Text Book
5) Online MOOCs for Higher Education and Professional Development
6) Academic Conferences
7) Newsletter devoted to advancements in addiction treatment, Pain management, and
medical and mental health research.
9) Televised Local and National Town Hall Meetings
10) Emergency Overdose App for mobile devices
Expected Outcomes:
We plan to conduct an assessment of the media, software, and online components.
Our goals include:
• Design educational prevention programs for K-12 and adult populations
• Create a science-based pain index
• Create support programs for family, friends, and community
• Establish a resource tool kit for mental health care workers to utilize with their patients
• Organize a nation-wide coalition partnership network
• Create a national directory of information that can be accessed by zip code
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Board of Advisors:
Samuel Ball, PH.D., President, CASAColumbia; Professor, Yale School of Medicine
Jane Ballantyne, M.D., University of Washington
Sandra de Castro Buffington, Ph.D., UCLA Public Health Global Media
Center for Social Impact
Chris Evans, Ph.D., UCLA Geffen School of Medicine
David Fiellin, M.D., Yale Medical School
Gary Franklin, M.D. University of Washington School of Medicine
Richard Jackson, M.D., MPH, UCLA School of Public Health
Andrew Kolodny, M.D., CMO, Phoenix House
Lewis Nelson, M.D., NYU School of Medicine
Jeanmarie Perrone, M.D., University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Mel Pohl, M.D., Las Vegas Recovery Center
Rich Rawson, Ph.D., UCLA Geffen School of Medicine
William Resnick, M.D., UCLA Geffen School of Medicine
Stephen Ross, M.D., NYU School of Medicine and Bellvue Hospital
Andrew Saxon, M.D., University of Washington School of Medicine
Michael Von Korff, M.D., Group Health Research, Seattle WA
Sharon Walsh, Ph.D., University of Kentucky, Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy
Peter Whybrow, M.D., Director, UCLA’s Semel Institute for Neurobiology and the Brain
George Woody, M.D., University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine
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