An upcoming HBO series on addiction is being viewed as a unique opportunity to educate the public about a disease that affects more than 22 million Americans -- and many more family members -- but is widely misunderstood. 

The 14-part HBO documentary series is the linchpin of the "Addiction" project, but it's far from the only component. A collaboration between HBO, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the campaign also includes a companion book, a comprehensive addiction information website at HBO, and a national community-outreach program coordinated by Join Together, Faces and Voices of Recovery, and Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA). A four-DVD version of the documentaries will be sold for a minimal price at retail outlets and online.

The national outreach partners also are organizing a series of town-hall style meetings in over 35 states, "house parties," and other local events where advocates and residents can discuss some of the key themes and issues raised in the documentary, including the nature of addiction, addiction in the workplace, and the difficulty of finding and getting adequate treatment. 

These groups, for example, are urging local advocates to team up with experts in their communities and research local data as a springboard for discussions on themes like "Youth: Addiction, Treatment and Recovery" and "New Treatments for Addiction."

The AddictionAction.org website includes a variety of organizing information for advocates, including a viewer's guide, interactive house-party hosting and RSVP tools, event-planning checklists, and organizing tips.

HBO itself is investing in a major national marketing campaign to promote the series, and dozens of major media outlets are planning related coverage for the first two weeks of March.

"This is really about helping communities ... ride this wave of publicity and seize the opportunity presented by the films to not only raise awareness, but to develop continuing plans of action," said Eric Helmuth, Join Together's director of online communications. 

Outreach at Town Hall Meetings

Local leaders in over 40 cities are organizing town hall screenings of the main "Addiction" documentary. A March 5 event in Philadelphia, for example, will be held at the Prince Music Theatre, followed by a discussion with guests like Arthur C. Evans. Jr., Ph.D., director of the Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health, and Tom McLellan Ph.D., CEO of the Treatment Research Institute.

Beverly Haberle, executive director of the recovery advocacy group PRO-ACT, is helping to coordinate the Philadelphia screening and will moderate a discussion following the film. More than 1,200 invitations to the screening have been sent out to local, state and federal lawmakers, hospital administrators, school officials, and addiction prevention and treatment experts, she said.

"This will certainly clear up some of the misconceptions about this disease," Haberle said. "We're planning a series of meetings after the screening, for people to take the information and say, 'O.K., how can we work with this?'"

"There's a lot of excitement" about the Addiction series, added Haberle, who praised HBO for developing the project and working with organizers of local events like the one in Philadelphia. "It allows us to do things we didn't have the resources to do," she said. "There are insurance issues we've been working on here for a long time, and this allows us to kick it up a notch, to get our message out to a much broader audience."

March 15 Premiere on HBO

The "Addiction" project officially launches with the centerpiece documentary airing on March 15 on HBO. HBO will use all of its tools, including multiplex channels, HBO On Demand, podcasts, web streams, and DVD sales, to support the project, company officials said. All 14 films in the series will initially be aired through March 30.

The initial "Addiction" broadcast will be aired during a free HBO preview weekend (March 15-18), meaning millions of Americans who don't subscribe to the network will still be able to watch the documentary (pending local cable operator participation). "HBO is utilizing all of its platforms to develop programming directly targeted to the various needs of the American public on this complex public-health issue," said Chris Albrecht, HBO's chairman and CEO. "Our resources are committed to illuminating, demystifying and defining addiction -- a problem that is riddled with misconceptions."

"The producers of the series really expended a tremendous amount of energy, time and money learning about this issue and talking to medical experts and families dealing with addiction," said Join Together's Helmuth. "They thought hard about what individuals and communities need to know, and what tools treatment and recovery advocates need to move this issue forward."