Check out the full-length article featuring our cofounder, Patrick Flynn, here: Rep. Dean welcomes Substance Use Awareness Activist, Patrick Flynn, to Tuesday’s State of the Union
“You can talk about addiction in a lot of places, talk about your issues,” Flynn said. “It’s very tough to be able to openly bring that into the workplace.”
That’s true for the people battling addiction, but their loved ones, too, Flynn said. When he co-founded the Someone You Know associate group at IBX, Flynn said he often thought of his mother, who was afraid people would view her as a bad parent due to her son’s addiction.
The support group provides IBX employees a place to share the way addiction impacts their lives. It aims to raise awareness about the effects of addiction while also reducing stigmas.
“That was the genesis and the passion behind starting the Someone You Know associate group,” Flynn said. “I want to take it to where any individual who is working for IBX, who is dealing with this in any way, can feel comfortable enough to come forward to join this group and talk about it.”
The support group is an extension of the the IBX Foundation‘s Someone You Know campaign, a grassroots effort designed to humanize the opioid crisis. Its 20 ambassadors – all local people in recovery – have been featured on various marketing platforms, including a mobile exhibit.
The ambassadors also have met with Mayor Jim Kenney, Gov. Tom Wolf and visited the U.S. Capitol building.
“I really think it’s a powerful thing that more companies should be doing,” Flynn said.
