America Honors Recovery Awards
Nominations now being accepted for the 2010 America Honors Recovery Awards! Learn more...
The Recovery Bill of Rights
is a statement of the principle that all Americans have a right to recover from addiction to alcohol and other drugs. Learn more…
The Joel Hernandez Voice of the Recovery Community Award Reception
About Joel Hernandez
This award is in honor of Joel Hernandez, who passed away from cancer in February 2006. Joel’s fight to get his job back under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) went all of the way to the US Supreme Court. In October 2004, a settlement was reached before the case was ever brought before a jury—a pivotal moment in history for the recovery movement.
“Joel Hernandez, father, grandfather, brother, husband, is remembered for his humility, courage and strength. Through faith in Jesus Christ, he became free from his past and proclaimed recovery’s promise and reality. While advocating for his rights, an outpouring of support and hope from the recovery community encircled him. As his daughters, we are enormously proud of him and his contributions to this exemplary movement . Today, many greatly miss and remember him.”
-Denise Hernandez Juvera and Stefanie Hernandez Gamez
Read more about Joel Hernandez's fight against job discrimination and the ADA
Read an interview with Joel Hernandez in our Summer 2005 issue of Rising! Recovery in Action