THURS-011 - Raising Awareness, Reducing Stigma: “axe Handle Advocacy” for Persons with Substance Use Disorder
Thursday, April 23, 2026
11:45 AM - 12:45 PM PST
Location: Plaza Foyer, Plaza Level
Area of Responsibility: Area V: Advocacy Keywords: Advocacy@@@Alcohol and Substance Abuse, Subcompetencies: 5.2.4 Educate stakeholders on the health issue and the proposed policy, system, or environmental change., 5.3.2 Use traditional, social, and emerging technologies and methods to mobilize support for policy, system, or environmental change. Research or Practice: Practice
Teaching Assistant Professor University of Tennessee Knoxville Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this session, participants will be able to:
Describe at least two ways stigma can negatively affect persons with substance use disorder.
Identify at least two described benefits of the “Axe Handle Advocacy” project approach for substance use disorder advocacy.
Recognize ways to better advocate for substance use disorder awareness.
Brief Abstract Summary: Discover “Axe Handle Advocacy” project components, learn how the “Axe Handle Advocacy” project was implemented to advocate for persons with a substance use disorder, hear the experiences of project participants, and explore potential project adaptation for advocacy efforts benefitting other disadvantaged populations.
Detailed abstract description: In the United Sates, approximately 5 million people annually experience a substance use disorder (SUD). Innovative strategies are needed to raise SUD awareness, and reduce stigma negatively impacting persons with SUD. Towards these ends, we developed and implemented a SUD support/remembrance tag project at a mid-sized university in the U.S. South. Students in a substance prevention education course printed small metal/wooden tags with personal messages of remembrance (e.g. “love always”) or support (e.g. “you’ve got this”) for individuals in their own lives affected by SUD. Each tag was printed twice: students received one tag to keep or give away; all duplicate tags were assembled on a single presentation axe handle. Several project participants presented the completed axe handle assembly to a local Alcohol & Drug Awareness Council agency as a symbol of support for persons with SUD, and as an advocacy tool to 1) increase SUD awareness among policymakers, and 2) help secure public funding to address SUD and SUD stigma in the community. In post-project written reflection papers, students considered ways in which stigma may limit SUD service seeking and utilization, and suggested future “Axe Handle Advocacy” project undertakings to advocate for SUD prevention and service delivery locally, regionally, and nationally. This presentation describes key “Axe Handle Advocacy” project components, shares project participant reflections and lessons learned, and explores potential project adaptations for advocacy efforts benefitting other disadvantaged populations.
