CENTER CITY (Dec. 22, 2020)—The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation announced today it is collaborating with the Sports Video Group to provide sports production professionals and their families across the nation, as well as other SVG members and sponsors, better access to quality addiction and mental health care resources.
"We are very honored and excited to forge this new relationship with SVG, which supports people throughout the sports world, and to be a center of excellence for their members who are looking for behavioral health services," said Bob Poznanovich, vice president of business development for the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, the nation's largest nonprofit provider of addiction treatment, co-occurring mental health care, recovery resources and related prevention and education services.
"Certain professionals, due to intense deadlines and the pressures of their jobs, are more vulnerable to developing substance use and mental health concerns," Poznanovich added. "It's important that members of these communities have an easy way to seek help, if needed, and that's precisely what this partnership offers. The support of employers and associations like SVG also reduces the stigma and fears that might otherwise prevent people from getting the help they need."
When SVG members call or email Hazelden Betty Ford, they will be able to talk with a dedicated team member who will work with them to determine the best course of action with respect to treatment, consultations or mental health services.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has put many more members of the sports production community and their families in a more vulnerable place emotionally and financially," said Ken Kerschbaumer, SVG co-executive director. "And for many, the hardest part is knowing where to go for help."
"Based on SVG's impressive success coordinating a meaningful response to the many challenges presented to its members by the COVID-19 pandemic, it occurred to me that the natural outgrowth of that effort would be to continue to address the many ancillary issues which have surfaced since," added Geoffrey Mason, former ABC Sports executive producer, longtime Hazelden Betty Ford supporter and former board member, and 2010 inductee of the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame. "Hazelden Betty Ford was the obvious place to go for that support."
About Sports Video Group (SVG)
The Sports Video Group was formed in 2006 to support the professional community that relies on video, audio, and broadband technologies to produce and distribute sports content. Leagues, owners, teams, players, broadcasters, webcasters, and consumer technology providers have joined the SVG to learn from each other, turn vision into reality, implement new innovations, while sharing experiences that will lead to advancements in the sports production/distribution process and the overall consumer sports experience.