I wanted to take a little detour this week and revisit the Bevell Blast. The subject this week isn’t what you might expect but something that needs to be addressed…in my humble opinion. My focus this week is sadly directed towards someone I have known for a long time and have considered a friend and business associate. Hopefully he will hear this and do the right thing.

As many of my readers will remember, a few weeks back I wrote about an opportunity for those of us in the recovery community to do something completely selfless and purchase the alcoholicsanonymous.com url and donate it to AA as a token of our appreciation for the role they have played in the reconstruction of many of our lives. I will admit that it initially was a bit pricey but after a little negotiation, we were getting to an acceptable number. However as we made contact with AA World Service to first get their permission and to make sure that we were operating within the traditions, we were told that while they were grateful for the sentiment they felt that it would not be appropriate. So we left it at that and hoped that no one would try to obtain this site and use it for personal gain.

Unfortunately my faith in mankind was naïve. This is particularly disturbing to me because the individual who was attempting to sell the url professed to be a friend of Bill W., as well as the person who owns the company who bought it. So this is my Bevell Blast to you Peter Harrigan owner of Palm Partners Treatment Center.
Beyond the nice gesture, the reason for returning the url to the proper individuals was not only the right thing to do, but also a way to ensure that something as powerful and important as AA isn’t used as a misleading marketing tool for some treatment center looking to fill beds. There are countless unscrupulous entities in our community and this business is cut-throat in some circles. That said, competition is one thing but deception is something completely different. I can only hope that you did not get this idea because you are on my email list. I thought you would have learned from the Watersheds experience – with this same kind of issue.

If you visit the url right now, you will find an “unofficial” AA website, which it is. It also happens to be a site devoted to driving business to a treatment center in Florida. Sure, there is some basic AA information cut and pasted from elsewhere but what really troubles me is the fact that this site is designed to harvest unsuspecting referrals for financial gain. Again, even if there were other options for treatment or some assortment of resources, that would be more understandable; however, the hotline number and all requests for help go directly to one facility and that is not right.

We built Treatment Solutions in an effort to find the best possible treatment for the individual…that doesn’t come from one center, it comes from relationships we have with countless centers around the country. People are going to alcoholicsanonymous.com because they are desperate and with desperation comes vulnerability. We would never use AA or NA or any other 12 step fellowship as a front to promote our business. It is incomprehensible to us that you would even think that this is ok. So Peter I am putting you on Bevell blast and I hope that you will rethink your approach. The only way you can make this right is to donate the site to AA or if they cannot accept because of the traditions then you need to simply point it to AA.org and leave it be.

For now, we can hope for the best, but the truth will manifest and if there is an ounce of deception, we are going to open a whole new category for the Bevell Blast and the repercussions will not be pretty. I am sure that I am the least of your worries however; I am sure AA World Service has sufficient legal representation and this would appear to be a blatant case of Trademark infringement.

Let me know what you are going to do Peter – you know how to reach me.

Jim Bevell
CEO Treatment Solutions Network
561 577-3174
jimb@tsnemail.com

I thought I’d take a quick breather from health care reform this week to refocus the attention on the reason I am so passionate about the topic in the first place…addiction. Listen, I know all of us have grown somewhat desensitized to the horror stories and cautionary tales that plague the headlines each day with regard to addiction; however, those of you who know me realize by now that I’m not afraid to shake things up when it comes to speaking my mind and now is one of those times. There are too many talkers out there and not enough walkers when it comes to pretty much everything, especially addiction. It has been this way for far too long and frankly, it is one of the biggest reasons our country is in such a precarious addiction predicament.

This week I am introducing a new regular segment to our humble little blogosphere here at Treatment Solutions, and that will be called the “Bevell Blast”. It is simple really, whenever anyone in the public eye comes out and publicly states that they have experienced a drug or alcohol ‘setback’ and vows to give back to the community as a result, I will immediately extend a hand to them and provide them with some ways in which they can take action. If they choose to ignore my invitation to walk the walk, and do not offer any proof of how they are supporting their “vow” to give back, they will instantly be put on “Bevell Blast”. Trust me, they will wish they weren’t. I will simply use my humble public forum to illuminate the individual’s hollow promises and lack of follow thru. Keep in mind, all they need to do is their part by giving back some of what they learned from their own experience and they will be immediately removed from the “Bevell Blast” and praised publicly for being part of the solution.

I want to be clear – I am not interested in doing anything but providing a little push wherever needed. I will be the first to admit that from experience, addicts are strong starters and lousy finishers so consider the “Bevell Blast” a good-faith insurance policy. Sadly, the court of law will let celebrities and public figures skate by on empty promises; however, there is a new sheriff in town and my domain is the court of public opinion…and this courtroom is never out of session. Just to reiterate, unless you have made a public statement that you are going to ‘give back’, you are safe. My team and I have grown tired of empty promises and through our network have designed some very simple ways for high profile individuals to give back, so there is no room for excuses.

Our very first subject is an individual that has impressed me as an athlete, an actor and a man over the years. Sadly, due to a pretty common set of circumstances. he found himself in a battle with addiction at the hand of prescription medication. He has battled with addiction in the past and is now in a position to save lives. In fact, he has been quoted as saying…

“I felt that in spite of the fact I am supposedly a big tough guy, I couldn’t beat prescription drugs on my own. I’ve worked hard to get off of them and really hope other people will realize they need to seek professional help, rather than ignoring the problem or trying to get off of the prescriptions on their own.

“This has been a challenging time for me personally, and I really appreciate the outpouring of love and support from my fans, friends and family. I am looking forward to getting back to teaching and working.”

That is a beautiful statement and I am here to help him follow thru. If you aren’t familiar with the story, that individual is Burt Reynolds and the details can be found here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/dailydish/detail?blogid=7&entry_id=47925

Burt, I am extending an open invitation to you – please contact us and let’s discuss how we can work together to make an impact on this terrible disease and save some lives. I look forward to hearing from you and truly hope you never find yourself on “Bevell Blast”. You are too special a human being to go out like that.

Jim Bevell

CEO TSN

561 577-3174

jimb@tsnemail.com