Young People in Recovery (YPR) is proud to announce the change of leadership of YPR Danville, now led by local resident Madalyn Shinn King.

Former chapter lead Chelsea Sadler was promoted to a national position. YPR is a national peer-led organization that provides recovery support services focusing on youth and young adults in recovery from substance use disorder.

YPR aims to improve access to resources such as housing, education and employment that sustain long-term recovery. By creating a national network of individuals in recovery, YPR empowers people to get involved in their communities by providing them with the tools and support to take charge of their futures.

In 2021, there was a 13.55% increase of overdose deaths in Kentucky, reflecting the social isolation, economic uncertainty, and stress that people are experiencing due to COVID.

But even before COVID, youth and young adults were disproportionately affected by the substance use epidemic: drug overdoses are now the number-one cause of accidental death in the U.S. with more than six in 10 deaths of young adults involving an opioid.

Substance use disorder (including alcohol) is estimated to affect nearly 21 million people in the U.S. For every youth or young adult struggling with addiction, there are hundreds of millions more family members, siblings, friends, and other loved ones desperate to help them.

Without access to aftercare support services like those provided by Danville chapter, young people in recovery are likely to relapse, risking injury, disease, incarceration, and even death.

Once a person leaves treatment, there is no single peer provider of aftercare support, particularly for people who may be going back to the same family, school, social group and environment where their addiction first took root. YPR aims to fill this gap and provide a more integrated and recovery-oriented system of aftercare.

YPR achieves these goals by being a national platform for people to speak out about substance use disorder and reduce stigma; by being a broker of opportunities for volunteer advocates; by welcoming and encouraging of all pathways to recovery; by reflecting the diversity within the recovery community; and by providing support for the research community to advance treatment practices, particularly as they affect young people.

About YPR

YPR has 59 chapters in 15 states and the District of Columbia, including 14 in Kentucky. YPR was founded in 2010 by a group of young people in recovery (under age 30) who wanted to help others. YPR envisions a world where all young people have the resources they need to thrive in recovery from addiction to drugs and alcohol. YPR’s mission is to provide the life skills and peer support to help people recover from substance use disorder and reach their full potential.

YPR programs focus on chapters that conduct pro-social activities, all-recovery meetings, and free workshops focusing on how to access resources such as education, housing and employment; life-skills curriculum programs for individuals in recovery from substance use disorder and criminal justice-involved individuals who struggle with substance use; and advocacy to promote policies and programs that benefit individuals in recovery from substance use disorder, particularly youth and young adults.