Jun 24 AICDAC’s Kami Anderson receives Staunton Craig award
Indiana Gazette – Kamala (Kami) Anderson, executive director of the Shelocta-based Armstrong-Indiana-Clarion Drug and Alcohol Commission Inc., has been honored by the Staunton Farm Foundation as this year’s Albert B. Craig, Jr. Award winner.
The foundation’s stated purpose is to improve the lives of people who live with mental illness and substance use disorders, through supporting nonprofit organizations in ten Pittsburgh area counties (Armstrong, Indiana, Westmoreland, Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Lawrence and Washington).
The purpose of the award is to recognize people who have challenged society to think in fresh ways about problems and solutions in behavioral health; to forge new paths, whether through uncommon partnerships or new ways of serving people with behavioral health issues; or who have invented a product or process that has alleviated mental illness/addiction.
“Kami Anderson is the embodiment of Albert B. Craig Jr.’s legacy,” foundation Executive Director Monique Jackson said. “Her innovation has driven so many transformative programs and she’s managed to create all of this with uplifting people in recovery at the forefront. She’s reshaping what recovery looks like every day, and Staunton Farm is thrilled to honor her in this way.”
For more than three decades, Anderson has worked at the forefront of behavioral health, helping people with substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health disorders access the care they need to thrive in society.
Since 1993, she has worked for AICDAC, starting in its fiscal department and working her way to the posts of deputy director and executive director. The foundation obsreved that, through her dedication and determination to improving the well-being of others, she has grown the organization into a statewide model for integrated, recovery centered-care.
Over those years, the commission expanded from a two-county operation (Armstrong and Indiana) with 10 employees to its current tri-county service area with a staff of more than 50. The foundation said her efforts have not only brought in more than 50 funding streams, but she’s driven the creation of groundbreaking programs, including:
- Certified Recovery Specialist workforce development
- Jail-based reentry programs
- A Recovery Capital Center in Kittanning that today has more than 450 members
- Its Addiction Recovery Mobile Outreach Team (ARMOT) program, embedding certified recovery specialists and case managers directly in local hospitals to assist individuals with SUDs and their families.
- The foundation said ARMOT has a 93% treatment connection rate among patients assessed, and its success has been recognized at both the state and national levels, including being featured in a documentary at the American Public Health Association’s annual conference.
- Recovery warmlines operating 24/7, connecting first responders and hospital staff to AICDAC experts
- Harm reduction initiatives, including statewide advocacy to legalize drug testing strips, and the installation of Narcan and harm reduction vending machines throughout the region
In April 2023, AICDAC was recognized by the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs as one of the entities that would serve as a regional recovery hub for both the department’s Region 6 (Southwest Pennsylvania) and Region 7 (Northwest Pennsylvania), supporting 22 counties with technical assistance and peer-based recovery system development.
More recently, AICDAC’s newest venture has been in expanded recovery housing, establishing licensed Recovery Houses for men and women with SUD. Three houses are being renovated and licensed in Armstrong County, two housed now exist in Indiana County and two more are in the planning stages.
AICDAC also is working to establish a licensed men’s house in Clarion County.
Anderson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where she majored in accounting with a concentration in office management.
In May 2005, she further honed her leadership skills as a graduate of the Northeast Addiction Technology Transfer Center Leadership Institute. In that same year she received the first William J. Schofield III Award for her “outstanding and uncompromising dedication and service to the addiction field.”