The MCF leverages its impact through collaborations with other organizations that have similar interests. We will continue an established partnership with the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation and form other partnerships as opportunities arise.

In November 2014, Mary Christie Foundation funded a partnership with the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation’s Institute for Recovery Advocacy to explore issues related to addiction in young people. Their first initiative involved a better understanding of opioid use and abuse among college students. The two organizations conducted a national survey of college-aged young adults on the topics of awareness, use, and opinions of the risks associated with prescription pain medication and heroin.

The survey found that prescription pain medications are readily accessible, and despite growing concern about the nation’s opioid crisis, young people on and off America’s campuses still do not appreciate the deadly dangers of such drugs. Nearly 16 percent of respondents reported having used pain pills not prescribed to them at some point in their life, while over 37 percent said they would not know where to go for help in the event of an overdose.

The alarming survey data was unveiled at a Capitol Hill symposium for Members of Congress, their staff, Administration officials and the public in June 2015. The event produced significant interest among members of Congress who are currently considering the Comprehensive Addiction Recovery Act. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Sheldon Whitehouse were in attendance, along with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Congressmen Stephen Lynch and Erik Paulsen.

The ongoing partnership between the Mary Christie Foundation and the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation will include additional forums and publications on issues such as binge drinking and risk behaviors on campus and smashing the stigma of addiction among young people.