A deep debt of thanks is owed to our founder Larry Wiseburn who left us December 27, 2015.Thanks to his vision we were in the forefront of the new 
recovery movement. He not only created FAVOR Pee Dee, but was instrumental in organizing and creating a statewide network of South Carolina community recovery organizations, with FAVOR SC at the governing body. Currently there are six statewide charter members of FAVOR SC in South Carolina (see Services).
Larry recognized that stigma was one of the biggest barriers to treatment for people with substance use disorders. This led to the recovery advocacy movement in Florence, South Carolina in the early 2000’s. In Larry’s vision he states:
My vision is that everyone, everywhere has access to vast and varied recovery support services –that no one suffers the ongoing desolation of addiction –that those who have found recovery no longer have to live behind a veil of stigma but rather they feel welcomed by society and appreciated for the courage and strength it takes to live a life re-claimed from darkness and viewed not as morally weak, but as people who have taken hold of an extended hand and struggled mightily to reclaim the spark of divine inspiration and live a life in the light for everyone to see.
He believed that by our silence we are letting others define us, and that advocacy was the best means to fight this obstacle. Working in the field of substance use disorders (SUD’s) for over 30 years he also believed there was an urgent need for recovery support services to help people transition into a life of recovery. He also felt there was a need for education for family members and allies of recovery.
NEW MESSAGING
Larry led reform to provide alternative terminology which would help remove the negative stigma. One of his most successful initiatives was when he launched a campaign to help reduce stigma by providing alternative terminology, i.e., what is now referred to as “messaging” which would help remove the negative connotations associated with the language used at that time. He suggested revising some of the stigmatizing words such as “clean” and “dirty”, substituting “I am in recovery” for “I am an alcoholic/addict” along with many others. He was one of the first in the nation to start promoting this new messaging. He is genuinely considered a leader in changing the nation’s view of addiction.
In fact, in the very first speech made by our new “Drug Czar” (properly called the Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy), Michael Botticelli. Mr. Botticelli used the new messaging term “substance use disorder” (SUD) publicly for the first time. This helped cement the term (SUD) as an important messaging tool in the new addiction recovery movement across the United States.
To enter this grassroots movement Larry created FAVOR Pee Dee in 2006. He created a recovery community organization made up entirely of persons from the recovery community. He learned to recognize and embrace the many different pathways to recovery. Educational programs were developed leading to the creation of a Recovery Training Academy (RTA) to train peer support specialists and recovery coaches. The training program was created by Larry and is now offered several times a year through the parent organization, FAVOR SC.
We are all indebted to Larry for his pioneer work in this new addiction recovery movement.
FAVOR Pee Dee, Inc.
Florence, SC
