MISSION & HISTORY

The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Juneau Affiliate (NCADD), a 501(c)(3) private nonprofit voluntary health organization, has been providing a wide array of alcohol and other drug education, prevention, intervention, and outreach services since first incorporating in 1965.

Our mission is to provide education, information, help and hope in the fight against alcoholism and other drug addictions.

NCADD Juneau’s goals include:
• Providing information and consultation to all who are involved with the problems of chemical abuse and addictions
• Promoting the common interest in preventing and treating chemical abuse and addictions
• Cooperating and collaborating with agencies interested in community health and welfare
• Promoting education on drug and alcohol issues through all available media
• Eradicating the stigma associated with alcoholism and other addictions
• Advocating for public policy change that will help alleviate Alaska’s alcohol and drug problems

Marty Mann, Pioneer

Marty Mann founded the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) in 1944, a time when few Americans understood alcoholism as a disease, one that was deadlier than all but heart disease and cancer. The first woman to stay sober in Alcoholics Anonymous, Marty wanted to share the joy of her recovery, using knowledge and reason to destroy the stigma that discouraged many people from seeking help. Marty dedicated her life to informing the public that alcoholism was not a weakness of character, but a disease from which every alcoholic could recover.

Marty traveled the United States garnering support for her awareness campaign, earning the support of those in recovery along the way. Brinkley Smithers, one of the founders of the IBM Corporation, took notice of Marty’s efforts and his financial support enabled Marty to expand her travels, providing lectures on alcoholism and organizing NCADD affiliate field offices throughout the country. Marty’s direct educational and organizational contributions to these communities lent credibility to the idea of alcoholism as a disease and cleared the way to treatment options that reflected this new understanding.

NCADD in Alaska

Marty arrived in Alaska during the 1960s and established organizations throughout the state. The Juneau Affiliate, founded in 1965, was the first nonprofit incorporated affiliate in Alaska. For 45 years we have been focused and exacting in our core missions of stigma reduction and intervention in the disease process of those afflicted by chemical addiction. Funded by government grants, private foundations, and fees from services, we have consistently fought chemical addiction for almost as many years as Alaska has held statehood.