{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Swimming Against the Legislative Tides","description":" Sarah Levin is the founder of Secular Strategies.  She is also a lobbyist and coalition builder.  Sarah has made it her life\u2019s work to fight for legislation protecting secular points of view.   Gerardo (Gee) Matamoros is president of the SMART NYC Board, and self-described newfound activist.  He is impacting his community through his passion and dedication to ensuring SMART is an option for everyone in recovery.  In this podcast, they talk about:  Sarah growing up in a political family that loved to talk about religion and politics at the kitchen table  Sarah being introduced to SMART when she worked for the Secular Coalition for America  Being the engine of the secular movement   Gee grew up in different countries and came to the US for college  Gee\u2019s stint with \u201cnaughty\u201d substances and finding SMART  What brought Sarah and Gee together  Advocating for separation of church and state and evidence-based policy  Explaining to law makers why Medically Assisted Treatment (MAT) should be supported in recovery  Ending the stigma of addiction for people in recovery  The First Amendment cases that protect choice in recovery pathways  Shifting the burden to the courts to ensure secular recovery options are given to people   Gee\u2019s outreach and awareness efforts in NYC   Newfound energy in rallying people to get involved in SMART\u2019s legislative changes  Why it\u2019s important to learn the ecosystem of decision makers in your community and make SMART known  Telling your story because your voice matters to lawmakers at all levels  ","author_name":"SMART Recovery\u00ae Podcast","author_url":"https:\/\/www.smartrecovery.org","html":"