The Do Gooders Podcast Christin Thieme

We see stats about addiction. We see substance abuse portrayed in film and in TV shows. We might even know someone who’s personally faced addiction to drugs or alcohol. But most of us don't really understand what causes addiction, and why our brains respond the way they do to drugs.
Dr. Judy Grisel has made it her life’s work to unravel the mysteries of addiction, striving to uncover its root causes.
A distinguished behavioral neuroscientist whose expertise spans the fields of pharmacology and genetics, Dr. Grisel's groundbreaking research draws from her insights into addiction. These insights aren’t just academic though; they're also deeply personal. 
Dr. Grisel's journey has been shaped by her own experience with addiction, which has given her a unique vantage point on the subject. 
Her passion for understanding the neuroscience behind addiction led her to deliver a powerful TED Talk titled “Never Enough: The Neuroscience and Experience of Addiction,” which captivated audiences around the world. She wrote a book of the same name.
With a career dedicated to advancing our understanding of addiction, Dr. Grisel is on the show to share her knowledge, insights and research findings, shedding light on this complex and often stigmatized topic.
EPISODE SHOWNOTES: Read more.
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FIGHT FOR GOOD. Give to The Salvation Army.

It’s 2024, and the opioid crisis is showing no signs of slowing down.
Overdose deaths from opioids, including prescription painkillers and synthetics like fentanyl, continue to rise.
The statistics paint a chilling picture. 
According to the CDC, an estimated 187 people in the U.S. die every day of opioid overdoses, most involving illicit and dangerous versions of fentanyl. 
What’s perhaps more alarming, is this crisis is now affecting every age group. In fact, overdose is now the third leading cause of death in American children. From 2019 to 2021, adolescent overdose deaths more than doubled.
To help us better understand the crisis, Dr. Ricky Bluthenthal is on the show today. At the University of Southern California, Dr. Bluthenthal is a Professor and Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Department of Populations and Public Health Sciences, and Associate Dean for Social Justice in the Keck School of Medicine.
He’s well versed on the opioid crisis and its devastating effects on families and communities. He’s been published more than 190 times in peer-reviewed scientific journals and is on the editorial board of the International Journal of Drug Policy. Dr. Bluthenthal has received numerous awards including the John P. McGovern Award for Excellence in Medical Education from the Association for Multidisciplinary Education & Research in Substance Use & Addiction.
On this episode, he joins to give us more insight on the opioid crisis and what he believes needs to happen to make change.
EPISODE SHOWNOTES: Read more.
BE AFFIRMED. Get the Good Words email series.
WHAT’S YOUR CAUSE? Take our quiz.
STUDY SCRIPTURE. Get inside the collection.
BE INSPIRED. Follow us on Instagram.
FIGHT FOR GOOD. Give to The Salvation Army.

Did you know every 39 minutes, someone dies in a drunk-driving accident in the United States? That's about 37 people a day.
We know drinking and driving is deadly, yet it continues to happen across the country.
According to one estimate, on average, those who drive drunk will be intoxicated 80 times before being caught. In addition, studies show the odds of being involved in a fatal auto accident increase with each additional DUI arrest. 
It’s a fate Shauna Zeuske tempted again and again.
In 2015, she was arrested for driving under the influence. That DUI was her third. Within a month, she’d received two more and ended up with a three-year jail sentence. She was able to get some time shaved off her sentence, but within six months of returning home, she got her sixth DUI.
When she went back to jail, she told her public defender she wanted to go to The Salvation Army. They allowed it, so she entered the Adult Rehabilitation Center program. These residential programs provide spiritual, emotional and social assistance to individuals who are experiencing a variety of social, emotional and spiritual challenges, including issues relating to substance abuse. Shauna feared she wouldn’t be able to get sober, but she stuck with it, because as she said, “she desperately wanted to stop drinking.”
And in 2021, she graduated from The Salvation Army San Diego Adult Rehabilitation Center. 
She went on to manage the Transitional Living Center at The Salvation Army Door of Hope Rady Campus in San Diego, helping other women looking for transformation too.
And today, she works as a financial controller for a construction company. She recently married and continues to sponsor and mentor others through their own challenges.
Shauna is on the show to share more about her own experience on the road to recovery.
EPISODE SHOWNOTES: Read more.
BE AFFIRMED. Get the Good Words email series.
WHAT’S YOUR CAUSE? Take our quiz.
STUDY SCRIPTURE. Get inside the collection.
BE INSPIRED. Follow us on Instagram.
FIGHT FOR GOOD. Give to The Salvation Army.

It's said when an individual is rehabilitated from their addiction, some 50 people around them are positively affected. 
For The Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center program across the western U.S., that equates to some 50,000 people a year. 
And more than only addressing issues of substance abuse, these centers offer life rehabilitation for those who need it, according to Major Mark Nelson, ARC Commander in the West. 
It's a story that goes back to William Booth telling his son in Victorian England to "do something" to help the men living under the bridge. 
Now, for more than 100 years, The Salvation Army has operated rehabilitation facilities across the U.S. that provide help and hope to those with a variety of problems, including issues relating to substance abuse. These residential programs offer spiritual, emotional and social assistance in an environment designed to help participants live healthy, fulfilling lives.
But it doesn't stop with them. That ripple effect is helping restore families.
EPISODE SHOWNOTES: Read more.
BE AFFIRMED. Get the Good Words email series.
WHAT’S YOUR CAUSE? Take our quiz.
STUDY SCRIPTURE. Get inside the collection.
BE INSPIRED. Follow us on Instagram.
FIGHT FOR GOOD. Give to The Salvation Army.

One in 7 Americans reports experiencing a substance use disorder, according to the CDC. 
Some people may use drugs to help cope with stress or trauma. Others may use them to deal with mental health issues. Others still may even develop opioid use disorder after misusing opioids they are prescribed by their doctors for ailments like back pain. 
In any case, using drugs over time makes it easier to become addicted.
Yet for those that become addicted, just one in 10 people will receive treatment. The reasons for this low rate range from stigma to difficulty actually accessing treatment services. 
It’s something Steve Adami is keeping a close watch on. 
Steve spent two decades in and out of jails and prison. Today, he is Executive Director of The Way Out, a recovery-focused homeless initiative of The Salvation Army.
Ultimately, Steve wants to make sure it’s easy for anyone who wants to get treatment to get treatment. And he's on the show to share more about the effort to do just that.
EPISODE SHOWNOTES: Read more.
BE AFFIRMED. Get the Good Words email series.
WHAT’S YOUR CAUSE? Take our quiz.
STUDY SCRIPTURE. Get inside the collection.
BE INSPIRED. Follow us on Instagram.
FIGHT FOR GOOD. Give to The Salvation Army.
 

We’ve heard church attendance is down globally in the wake of the pandemic.
Per Gallup, in the United States, just 22% of people say they attend church every week.
That’s down from 32% in 2000.
We talked last week to General Lyndon Buckingham, the international leader of The Salvation Army, about this trend and what he makes of it.
And while The Salvation Army hasn’t been wholly immune to this—there are locations where we're seeing the opposite.
And we want to take you to one of them today.
The Ray and Joan Kroc Corps and Community Center in Phoenix saw a 112% increase in Sunday morning meeting attendance from 2019 to 2023.
So what’s going on at the Kroc?
Captains Dustin and Caroline Rowe are the corps officers, or pastors, of the Phoenix Kroc Center. They’re on the show today to share more about their community, their congregation and their perspective on growing a church.
EPISODE SHOWNOTES: Read more.
BE AFFIRMED. Get the Good Words email series.
WHAT’S YOUR CAUSE? Take our quiz.
STUDY SCRIPTURE. Get inside the collection.
BE INSPIRED. Follow us on Instagram.
FIGHT FOR GOOD. Give to The Salvation Army.