As this tumultuous year comes to an end, I would like to recognize all of us that have lost loved ones, friends or colleagues. In honor of their suffering and loss, we offer our condolences, our understanding, our compassion and our love. To those that have suffered, strained, and fought endlessly, yet maintained their sobriety we offer our deepest congratulations. But to those who may have succumbed to the demons of addiction and slipped or relapsed, yet survived, we also offer our most heartfelt congratulations! One day at a time you have survived, you have demonstrated your power and resolve. And last but of course not least, for those of us among us that have moved on to a new life, those that we have lost to disease, overdose and any combination of complications, may you be now joined by the higher power of your choosing, and with the love from those that preceded you, as well as those that will miss you here.

In the meantime, our Board of Directors, senior management staff and myself, want to reassure you that despite the multiple supply chain issues, inflationary pressures and uncertain economic environment, we will continue to keep our doors open and provide the critical assistance so many of you seek to help those less fortunate. There no words sufficient to thank you for the work you do, the struggles you engage in to help those less fortunate than ourselves. For that and so many more reasons, we at The SASSI Institute share our thanks!

We will continue doing our best to allow you, our licensees and collaborators to continue to do your jobs, offer the many services you offer and continue to assist those that need us the most, those still suffering through substance use, co-morbidities and in some cases along with COVID and other health issues, tri-morbidities. I am extremely proud of our staff and the non-stop work they have continued to perform. Our Training Department continues to provide state of the art Training services and Interpretative guidelines to assist you in your endeavors. In addition, via The Professional Development Workshops series, our nationally recognized experts continue to provide certified trainings related to substance use disorders, co-occurring disorders and the incorporation of our SASSI tools in assessment packages for specialized populations. Our customer service, clinical and IT teams as always, remain at your disposal and are providing non-stop services to facilitate your administration and interpretation of our many tools. Our research department continues to churn out contemporary, pertinent literature that will assuredly help you in your quests to further assist your patients. And I’d like to remind you that we have ensured that these publications be made available to you free of charge as part of an arrangement via the Creative Commons. So please access these, do so often and feel free to share with your colleagues and friends.

In the meantime, be kind to yourselves and let’s make it our mission to take care of each other, and please accept The SASSI Institute’s best wishes for a healthy, happy New Year and holiday season!