Ally
Aligned with your recovery, allied with you.
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Four out of five Americans who need substance-use treatment never receive it — and the barriers are as cultural as they are clinical. The Regroup Awareness Program replaces the old two-character narrative — the rock-bottom addict and the miracle recovery — with a modern one: recovery as a practical, measurable, dignified project that ordinary people run with support. And every touchpoint ends at a door.
Every activity earns its place by moving someone one step along this chain.
“Recovery is a project, not a confession. It runs on goals you can see, support you can name, and progress you can count — and anyone can start today.”
Each audience gets its own message, its own materials, and its own measure.
Recovery is practical and yours to run — belief optional, relapse is data, help is a form away.
You have a defined role and real tools — not just worry.
A secular-compatible complement to your care ministry — not a rival to it.
The substance story and the screen story are the same story — habits, triggers, goals.
Recovery-friendly is retention-friendly — here's the playbook.
Each with its activities, its materials, and the outcomes it owes the program.
First-person storytelling — the stigma-breaker and the content engine's fuel.
September, every year — the program's national heartbeat.
A complement to care ministries — never a rival.
Pairing the substance story with the screen story — prevention in the language of habits.
Recovery-friendly is retention-friendly.
The founder's voice first — then a certified bench behind it.
Free, local, practical — the program's front porch.
The program runs on the calendar the recovery world already keeps.
| When | Observance / Beat | Regroup Activity |
|---|---|---|
| January | Dry January | Habit-reset content wave · FOCUS goal-drafting mini-series · family night cycle begins |
| April | Alcohol Awareness Month | Employer push: lunch-and-learns and EAP pack promotion |
| May | Mental Health Awareness Month | Co-occurring-disorders storytelling · clinician guest arc on the podcast |
| August 31 | International Overdose Awareness Day | Remembrance-and-hope content · helpline amplification |
| September | National Recovery Month | The anchor campaign: State of Recovery report, flagship events, partner toolkits |
| Oct – Nov | Back-to-school & digital wellness season | Schools program tour · screen-habit family nights |
| Year-round | Weekly / quarterly | Podcast & social engine weekly · speaker bureau monthly · partner onboarding quarterly |
Outputs prove activity; outcomes prove the theory of change. Both get counted — measurement is the program's own FOCUS Check.
| Level | Measures | Instrument & Cadence |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | People reached, materials distributed, sessions held, stories published, partners active | Component dashboards · monthly |
| Engagement | Ally conversations, tutorial completions, newsletter growth, toolkit downloads, podcast listens | Site + platform analytics · monthly |
| Attitudes | Stigma and help-seeking attitude shift | 3-question pre/post micro-surveys at events · per event |
| Action | Contact-form inquiries, helpline referrals surfaced, partner-coded referrals, course enrollments | Attribution codes + CRM · monthly |
| Impact | Program entries and 90-day arc completions across the licensed network | FOCUS outcome data via license clause · quarterly |
One narrative, five audiences, zero shame.
Bring the Awareness Program to your congregation, school, workplace, or center — or tell your story and become part of the narrative that replaces the old one.
Explore FOCUS Get in Touch Contact UsTwenty honest statements, about two minutes, and a score on the spot — showing where you are on the journey and which course fits you right now: STABILIZE, BUILD, or EXPAND. Private, free, and one size doesn’t fit all: your result is a starting line to review with your support team.
Take the Check-In →Tell us a little about what you need — we're listening.
Your message is on its way. Stay tuned — Skip will be back to you shortly.
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Aligned with your recovery, allied with you.
Your FOCUS™ Guide
Learn the recovery goal framework — and how to start using it today
Hi, I'm Ally — aligned with your recovery, allied with you. I'll walk you through FOCUS™, Regroup Recovery's goal-setting and execution framework, step by step. Use the sidebar or the Next button to move through the tutorial at your own pace.
Ready? Click Next and let's look at what makes FOCUS different from every goal formula that came before it.
FOCUS™ is a goal system built for recovery — not borrowed from business. It's, measurable, and designed around how recovery actually works: finite energy, real triggers, and capacity that changes week to week.
FOCUS gives every recovery goal five tests to pass, then surrounds the goal with the machinery to run it: a weekly cycle, a 90-day arc, a scoring rubric, and built-in support roles.
Draft » Test » Commit » Track » Review » Recalibrate — a complete loop every week. A goal that fails any letter gets rewritten before it gets attempted, and relapse is treated as data, never a reset.
FOCUS is proprietary to Regroup Recovery, created by Skip Vanderburg, and anchors the REBOOT study-guide library and course series you'll see later in this tutorial.
Here's each test in detail. When you draft a goal, run it through all five — one honest question per letter.
| Test | The rule | Ask yourself |
|---|---|---|
| Focused | One clearly defined change at a time | Is this exactly one thing? |
| Observable | Progress you can see, count, and record daily | Could someone else verify it happened? |
| Calibrated | Sized to your capacity this week | Can I do this as I am today? |
| Unified | Aligned with your recovery and values | Does it serve who I'm becoming? |
| Scheduled | A timeline plus a standing review date | When will I do it — and review it? |
Score each test 0–2 for a total out of 10: 8–10 commit · 5–7 rewrite the weakest letter · 0–4 rethink the goal with your support team.
FOCUS works for two audiences at once — the person in recovery, and the center guiding them.
Per SAMHSA's 2024 NSDUH, 48.4 million Americans had a substance use disorder — and only about 1 in 5 received treatment. Modern, measurable, belief-neutral frameworks widen the front door.
You can start FOCUS today with a journal, one supporter, and thirty minutes of reading. Here's the path.
For recovery centers, the fastest path is a single 90-day pilot cohort. Everything your team needs already exists.
Every element of FOCUS is backed by a chapter in the REBOOT study-guide library — the framework is the engine; the guides are the fuel.
| FOCUS element | Supporting study guides |
|---|---|
| Goal drafting & five tests | Setting Goals to Deal with Addiction · the Step-by-Step Management Plan |
| Daily logging | My Recovery Journal Templates — daily pages & weekly check-in |
| Stabilize (days 1–30) | Understanding & Acknowledging · the Journey Map · the Treatment Plan |
| Build (days 31–60) | Support Network · Managing Triggers · Managing Cravings · Healthy Habits |
| Expand (days 61–90) | Building a New Lifestyle · Relapse Prevention · Long-Term Sobriety |
| Weekly & monthly reviews | Continuously Monitoring Progress — the monitoring loop & scorecard |
The REBOOT Course Series packages everything into three guided 30-day courses — run instructor-led (one 90-minute group session weekly, 6–12 participants) or self-led at home (read 45 min, workshop 30, partner call 30, plus daily journaling). Each course ends with a milestone gate before the next begins.
Face it · the plan · first FOCUS goals · the daily habit
Your people · triggers · cravings · healthy habits
New lifestyle · storm plan · monitoring · graduation
Every course ends at a gate — and each has its own self-scoring assessment: STABILIZE · BUILD · EXPAND. Along the way, the interactive Toolbox keeps your FOCUS scorecards, trigger map, craving card, journal, and habit tracker in one private place — and the Recovery Centers directory can connect you with verified professional support whenever you need it.
Whether you're starting your own 90 days or bringing FOCUS to your center, we'll walk you through it — materials, pilots, and everything in between.
Skip Vanderburg · Founder, Regroup Recovery · skip@regrouprecovery.org
Open the Contact Form Email Skip DirectlyNeed help right now? SAMHSA National Helpline 1-800-662-HELP (4357), free & confidential, 24/7 · Call or text 988 · Emergencies: 911