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The overall purpose of Project Recovery Texas is to support and enhance recovery-focused community efforts by delivering direct peer-to-peer services for individuals with substance use disorders and through the provision of community-wide training and outreach to promote and educate the community about recovery, and remove negative attitudes and stigma against individuals struggling with the disease of addiction. Project Recovery Texas will mobilize recovery education within and outside of the recovery community in an effort to expand connections between local, regional and statewide recovery networks, recovery community organizations (RCOs), and with other recovery support services (RSS). Another purpose of this project is to promote and educate the community about recovery, and remove negative attitudes and stigma against individuals struggling with the disease of addiction. The San Antonio Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (SACADA) will be the lead organization on this project. Why does Texas need a collaborative project when there are already several existing associations, communities and systems engaging in PRSS? Because the state’s recovery landscape is scattered and fragmented by geography, funding, and focus. That means many community service providers and consumers do not receive adequate tools and resources to bolster their RSS. Project Recovery Texas utilizes a peer model to capitalize on the expertise of persons with lived experience. Project Recovery Texas services will be delivered by people in recovery, such as Peer Recovery Coaches (PRCs), who can convey resiliency skills across different economic, gender and age categories, and understand the role of culture, religion, ethnic identity, and family to provide peer support and education. PRCs will provide direct peer recovery support to primarily minority, low income adults in the general population and provide education training to community service providers and consumers who have been previously underserved due to various geographical, personal, and structural barriers. Project Recovery Texas will enroll 160 underserved clients with substance use disorders in need of peer-led recovery support services over the course of three years. First year of program will serve 50 persons; year two will serve 60, and year three will serve 50. Staff and PRCs will use Peer Coaching Recovery Services, Seeking Safety Curriculum to address Trauma, Motivational Interviewing (MI) and the Texas Peer Recovery Coach Institute Curriculum to provide comprehensive case management services. Project Recovery Texas will utilize a recovery web portal as a resource-sharing platform to disseminate trainings and tools on best practices to provide to existing ROSCs and other recovery organizations. It will facilitate recovery symposiums and host several recovery events, including the Big Texas Rally for National Recovery in the month in September. It will also partner with the Partnership Alliance (www.drugfree.org ) and other media outlets to conduct public education through media as well as submit editorials and develop blog content to promote recovery and remove stigma.

In response to SAMHSA funding opportunity titled Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act: Building Communities of Recovery (TI-17-015) Open Aid Alliance is proposing a program called Building Recovery Intentionally Through Experience (BRITE). BRITE is a peer support recovery support program based in a non-clinical harm reduction setting in western Montana. Peer Recovery Support Services (PRSS) is evidence based and has been shown to help people become and stay engaged in the recovery process and reduce the likelihood of relapse. This program is designed and delivered by people who have experienced both substance use disorder and recovery. Open Aid Alliance is focused on reaching these priority populations with PRSS; people living with HIV, people who use injection drugs, people reentering the community after incarceration, people with dependents in the home and people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Goals include increased feelings of hope and connectedness and overall well-being and a greater sense of connection and prolonged periods of recovery with reduced likelihood of relapse. Peer Mentors will provide Recovery Support Services (RSS) to actively help individuals and families recover from addiction and may include; connecting clients to child care providers, medical care, Medicaid, employment and SNAP benefits. In addition, Peer Mentors will actively engage in community planning groups to increase communication and collaboration between addiction treatment resources in the community. We anticipate engaging 360 people during the three year grant period in PRSS, RSS and long term recovery support. We anticipate this program will be a synergistic component of current programs and future endeavors including the Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS, the Early Intervention Services for HIV Prevention and the Montana Opioid STR Grant.

Recovery Lighthouse and its partners across the state of Missouri are uniquely positioned to build the capacity of a statewide network of recovery community organizations through the assistance of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act: Building Communities of Recovery grant. The movement for peer recovery support services in Missouri was enabled by the Access To Recovery (ATR) grant awarded to the Division of Behavioral Health, Missouri Department of Mental Health. During the course of the last four grant cycles, the ATR program supported community service agencies, including peer and faith-based organizations, to reach out to individuals and families struggling with substance use disorders and provided the tools needed for long-term recovery. Due to funding challenges, many of these organization across the state have established the Missouri Coalition for Recovery Support Providers in order to educate and advocate policymakers and other potential funders to attempt to secure sustainability for recovery support services in Missouri. Our purpose is to strengthen the grassroots organizations, develop a culture of RCOs, train and certify individuals in recovery as Missouri Recovery Support Specialists, mobilize and unite provider organizations into a statewide network that will be representative of the whole and be their voice at the local, state and national level. This grant, if awarded, may enable these organizations to strengthen the statewide network of recovery organizations and increase capacity for future sustainability of services in Missouri.

Casa’s Crossroads: The Intersection of Person-centered Recovery and Community project will enhance and strengthen a Latino community of recovery in the Greater Boston area and beyond, by: developing and launching a culturally focused, trauma-informed, integrated Recovery Center for Latino/as with co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders (CODs); delivering culturally focused, trauma-informed, integrated recovery support services (RSS), including peer recovery support services (PRSS); and conducting public education, advocacy, and community outreach. The Recovery Center will be the first bilingual Spanish/English Recovery Center in the Greater Boston area serving individuals with CODs and will be connected with Casa’s bilingual continuum of care in Roxbury and the Merrimack Valley. Over three years, Crossroads will serve 220 individuals. Crossroads will (1) Develop and launch the Recovery Center model by partnering with Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery (MOAR) and the Transformation Center to strengthen connections between substance use and mental health recovery communities, while offering our unique cultural focus; (2) Address the stigma, discrimination, and barriers to culturally and linguistically proficient treatment and recovery support services by: providing education and resources at community events; supporting clients in advocacy activities; facilitating presentations to Latino serving organizations regarding CODs and risks of substance use (including neonatal abstinence syndrome, HIV, VH, and overdose); and, developing partnerships with community service providers to strengthen the connection between treatment and recovery support services, including employment agencies, housing providers; educational providers; family support services; and legal advocacy support; and (3) engage individuals services and supports in the domains of health, home, purpose and community, including developing individual recovery plans, referrals and support to access Recovery Support Services, including health insurance, connection to treatment, housing, employment, transportation, legal, childcare, etc.; individual peer recovery coaching and routine recovery check-ups; and providing leadership-building activities, including leadership roles in Recovery Center activities, participation in MOAR meetings and activities, Peer Leadership training, and involvement in Casa’s Peer Leadership Council, to build the pipeline of Latino/a recovery leadership and strengthen a Latino/a community of recovery.

Through SAMHSA BCOR funding, Georgia Council on Substance Abuse will provide training and technical assistance to six recovery community organizations (RCO) in Georgia over the three year funding period. GCSA will integrate current community symposium work with the following BCOR funded community development project with each RCO: Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) Environmental Scan and Data Collection Training October-December 2017 (3 months) • Review what an ABCD is, and why it is an important first step • Review data gathered through previously conducted community focus groups • Training in data collection process and measurable outcomes • What services are currently being provided • What education the given community would benefit from most • How to tailor these educational trainings to best reach the given audience Building and Implementing Community Partnerships Training January-March 2018 (3 months) Cohort 1 will be provided training on how to improve and maintain long standing relationships with stakeholders identified in the ABCD activity. Part of this training requires Cohort leaders to conduct self-assessment proficiency scales in order to identify strengths in community relationship building and what areas they need to improve on, i.e. more cultural competency training, more appreciative inquiry training, etc. One required measurable objective here is that community involvement aligns with community demographics. Continue Building Relationships and Event Publicizing Training April-June (3 months) The stakeholder relationships will evolve over time. For example, an RCO may not have the credibility and reputation to provide education to agencies such as the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) or DFCS during its first couple years of operation but as data is collected and results are demonstrated, relationships may develop over time. The idea is to “catch the low hanging fruit” first and then expand to partnerships identified in the ABCD that may not have been possible in the beginning. By building these relationships over time, RCOs will be able to provide more services to typically underserved and underrepresented populations that often times need the most help. Cohort 1 will be expected to have these connections by year 3 of BCOR funding. Community Workshops July 2018-March 2019 (9 months) Community workshops will be conducted by the cohorts for a nine month period. During this nine months, cohorts will choose 4-6 workshops to conduct for their community. They will choose from the following: o Science of Addiction Recovery (SOAR); o recovery messaging/language o advocacy; o recovery oriented systems of care (ROSC) o cultural competency o Additional training based on ABCD o Additional training based on ABCD o Additional training based on ABCD Cohort 1 Provides Training Assistance June 2018- September 2020 (27 months) Cohort 1 will use their experience in the trainings and community workshops to provide support to Cohorts 2 and 3. Cohorts 2 and 3 will be identified through symposium work contracted to GCSA by Georgia's Department of Behavioral Health a Developmental Disabilities. GCSA will contract with Dr. Amanda Abraham, UGA, to provide training and technical assistance to RCOs in data collection. Dr. Abraham is well known in her field and has more than 10 years of experience in federal grant writing and data collection. With this collected data over time, RCOs will be able to measure the success of their programs. They will be able to use this information as a tool to garner more financial support as well as make necessary adjustments to reach desired outcomes. Just as peers use their lived experience in recovery to help others, RCOs will use their lived experience in long term sustainability to help other up and coming RCOs. Cohorts will be required to attend monthly calls in which they will report data and discuss ideas for process improvement.

South Shore Peer Recovery is a peer recovery support organization serving many communities south of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded by a grassroots effort in 2014, the peer to peer model has offered a variety of peer led and innovative supports to individuals in or seeking recovery from substance use disorder. The funding from the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act will enable us to add much needed supports to help individuals sustain recovery in the community. South Shore Peer Recovery is excited to offer education and support for parents in early recovery through the Sober Parenting Journey program. We will also add evidenced based skills for family members to support a loved one dealing with substance use, through the new Community Reinforcement and Family Training Offering, and a one to one CRAFT Parenting Coaching program. The hallmark of our Building Communities of Recovery grant will be the Telephone Recovery Support Program which will enable our peer volunteers to connect with recoverees each week to check in, offer support, and social connection. We look forward to working with the Massachusetts Organization of Addiction Recovery to bring these best practices to the other recovery community centers, strengthening the recovery network throughout Massachusetts. We know that treatment happens in a treatment center, but recovery happens in the community.

The purpose of this project is to mobilize resources within and outside of the recovery community to increase the prevalence and quality of long-term recovery supports from substance abuse and addiction for emerging adults ages 15-21 in Union County and the surrounding NJ metro region. According to the New Jersey Department of Human Services, in 2015, 1,319 youth under 21 in the NJ metro region received state funded substance abuse treatment. Statewide, 10% of state funded treatment admissions were for the under 21 population. The project is designed to broadly impact all youth entering treatment in the New Jersey metro area. Prevention Links’ Building Communities of Recovery Project seeks to: (1) increase availability and access to recovery support services by emerging adults in the NJ metro area through expansion of the current alternative peer group (APG) infrastructure; (2) to convene a statewide Coalition for Adolescent Recovery Support in order to increase coordination between and among key stakeholders in driving recovery outcomes for emerging adults; and (3) to decrease social stigma associated with addiction and recovery by the general public through the use of public awareness campaigns across a variety of mediums. Prevention Links is a recovery community organization and substance abuse prevention agency based in Union County, New Jersey. Through the Raymond J. Lesniak Experience, Strength, and Hope Recovery High School and the Support for Teen Addiction Recovery (STAR) program, PL has become the state leader in providing and expanding recovery support services for youth and emerging adults both locally and statewide. If awarded, BCOR funding would cultivate, expand, and enhance existing efforts, creating a sustainable infrastructure for adolescent recovery support in the state.

Summary: The Enriching Recovery Project will mobilize resources within and outside of the recovery community to increase the prevalence and quality of long-term recovery support from Substance Use Disorders in Bucks County followed by expansion throughout Pennsylvania. The project will focus on enhancing employment, health and wellness, and telephonic support, and will engage employers, healthcare providers, and other recovery support organizations. Population(s): The project will serve individuals seeking to access and sustain recovery from Substance Use Disorders, focusing on residents of Bucks County then expanding across Pennsylvania. Strategies/Interventions: The program will mobilize, train, and supervise peer and non-peer volunteers to enhance, develop, and implement recovery support services in the areas of employment, health and wellness, and telephonic support. Staff and volunteers will outreach to and educate employers and healthcare providers in Bucks County to help increase their understanding of addiction and recovery, decrease stigma and discrimination, and strengthen community support for recovery. Finally, the project will train recovery community organizations across Pennsylvania to provide one or more of the recovery support services developed in their geographic areas. Goals and Objectives: A total of 500 unique individuals will receive one or more direct recovery support services related to employment, health and wellness, and/or telephonic support, 100 in the first year, and 400 in years 2 and 3 combined. Of these individuals, 200 will receive employment related services; 200 will receive health and wellness services; and 300 will receive telephonic support. The project will deliver education and training on addiction and recovery to 20 employers (at least 100 individuals), and 20 healthcare providers (at least 100 individuals), over the course of the grant period. For both employers and healthcare providers, we anticipate serving 5 employers/providers (25 people total) in year 1; 7 employers/providers (35 people total) in year 2; and 8 employers/providers (40 people total) in year 3. Finally, the project will provide curriculum and training on one or more of the programs developed under this proposal to a minimum of 3 Recovery Community Organizations across the state of Pennsylvania. 75% of participants will report improvements in employment, health and positive health behaviors, increased social connectedness, and reductions in substance use. 100% of employers and healthcare providers will report satisfaction with training, enhancement of skills in addiction and recovery, and usefulness of training. 100% of RCOs receiving training will implement a program in their local area and will report enhanced connection and communication with other RCOs across the state.