About Us

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Our Values

Something here about the staff as a whole valuing the public good, and how or why they are personally vested to prevent alcoholism and other drug addiction.

About the NCADD

Marty Mann, Founder of NCADD

When Marty Mann founded the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) in 1944, few Americans understood that alcoholism is a disease and that only heart disease and cancer killed more people every year. Because Marty was the first woman to stay sober in Alcoholics Anonymous, she wanted to share the joy of her recovery. She wanted to use knowledge and reason to destroy the stigma that discouraged many people from seeking help. Marty then dedicated her life to educating the public that alcoholism isn't just a weakness of character, but a disease, and that all alcoholics are capable of recovery.

So Marty traveled the United States harboring support for the fight against drug dependence. Her work was supported by men and women she met along the way who were in recovery, and also inspired the support of Brinkley Smithers, one of the founders of the IBM Corporation. With his support Marty was able to expand her travels, giving lectures on alcoholism and organizing NCADD "affiliate" field offices in many communities throughout the country. Marty's direct educational and organizational contributions to these communities helped bring alcoholism out of the shadows of prejudice and into mainstream medicine.

Marty arrived in Alaska during the sixties, and established organizations throughout the state. The Juneau Affiliate was the first nonprofit incorporated affiliate in Alaska, and was founded in 1964. Over the last 45 years, the Juneau Affiliate has been focused and exacting in its core missions to reduce the stigma of drugs and tobacco and to intervene in the disease process of those afflicted by chemical addiction. Funded by government grants, private foundations, and fees from services, the Juneau Affiliate has consistently fought chemical addiction for almost as many years as Alaska has held statehood.

For more information about the national NCADD organization, please visit ncadd.org.