Center City, Minnesota--(Newsfile Corp. - June 27, 2025) - The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation expresses deep sorrow at the passing of Bill Moyers, a revered journalist, documentarian, and advocate for public health and social justice.
While his exploits as a journalist, public commentator and press secretary to President Lyndon Johnson are well-known across America's cultural landscape, Bill Moyers leaves another legacy that was even more personal and perhaps just as impactful: as an advocate for families affected by addiction.
Moyers — who passed away on June 26, 2025, at age 91 — spent more than 35 years shedding public light on the challenge of addiction and the promise of recovery alongside wife Judith — also an acclaimed journalist — and son William C. Moyers. Inspired by the family's shared experience of William's addiction and recovery, and their collective healing, Bill and Judith Moyers joined William's cause as he became a bestselling author and prominent national recovery advocate for Hazelden (now Hazelden Betty Ford), America's leader in addiction treatment and related education, research, and publishing.
Bill hosted and co-produced (with Judith) a groundbreaking and award-winning national TV series on addiction and recovery, which he later described as the most poignant work of his career. He testified to Congress on the topic; spoke frequently at events and to the media; and, along with Judith, supported Hazelden's fundraising and public advocacy efforts as the nonprofit grew in influence and helped galvanize an emerging grassroots recovery movement.
"Bill Moyers — like Betty Ford — stood up courageously to change the conversation for millions of families affected by addiction," said Dr. Joseph Lee, president and CEO of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. "Bill's advocacy with Judith and William, and his support of Hazelden Betty Ford's mission and the cause of recovery, enlightened America and saved lives."
"Bill Moyers' advocacy for addiction treatment and recovery is one of his greatest contributions to the world," added John Power, who chairs Hazelden Betty Ford's Board of Trustees. "Not only did he and his family put a face on recovery but they used their incredible journalistic skills to educate the public about the science of addiction, the benefits of care for the entire family, and the hope of recovery."
"From the moment in 1989 when I stumbled out of the hopeless despair of a crack house in Harlem — through five tough years of treatments and relapses and then 31 years of sustained recovery and advocacy, my father stood by me and walked with me in my journey," said William C. Moyers. "His shadow was big, and so too was his love. I will miss him dearly and forever cherish the work we did together as a family."
"Butler. Ford. Moyers. That's the Mount Rushmore of families that have propelled Hazelden Betty Ford's mission the most over 76 years," added Dr. Lee. "Bill, Judith and William Moyers; former First Lady Betty Ford and her family, and the founding family of Patrick Butler lent their skills, resources and voices to a global cause that needed them, replacing shame and isolation with healing and hope. Addiction affects the whole family, which may also explain why families in recovery continue to be such a strong force of healing and hope."
Read more on Moyers' advocacy efforts for addiction recovery on Medium.
About the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation
The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is a force of healing and hope for individuals, families and communities affected by addiction to alcohol and other drugs. As the nation's leading nonprofit provider of comprehensive inpatient and outpatient addiction and mental health care for adults and youth, the Foundation has treatment centers and telehealth services nationwide as well as a network of collaborators throughout health care. Through charitable support and a commitment to innovation, the Foundation is able to continually enhance care, research, programs and services, and help more people. With a legacy that began in 1949 and includes the 1982 founding of the Betty Ford Center, the Foundation today is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion in its services and throughout the organization, which also encompasses a graduate school of addiction studies, a publishing division, an addiction research center, recovery advocacy and thought leadership, professional and medical education programs, school-based prevention resources and a specialized program for children who grow up in families with addiction.
Ginger Plumbo
newsroom@hazeldenbettyford.org
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/257073
