Recovery: Community Programs

Recovery organizations have increasingly been focused on engaging their communities to create recovery supportive environments. This collection features the following resources highlighting community programs:

  • A documentary film and a link to the website of Atlanta’s Recover Out Loud Movement whose mission is to to speak honestly about the experiences of people who have achieved recovery from addiction and bridge the gap between the recovery community and the community at large.
  • Three resources from Faces & Voices of Recovery:
    • A toolkit from  that provides assistance in organizing a community listening forum on the topic of recovery
    • A guide that gives a brief overview of essential recovery support services needed in communities
    • A toolkit to creating a recovery community organization with examples of successful programs
  • A toolkit from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on engaging faith-based and community leaders to create recovery-supportive communities
  • A link to Oregon Recovers, an organization that has taken a leading role in transforming Oregon’s healthcare system to provide world-class prevention, treatment, and recovery support services for Oregonians with a history of addiction
  • An overview of the Recovery Reinvented program in North Dakota and a link to their website
  • Presentation slides on Building a Recovery-Ready Ecosystem in Oregon, with an overview of the central concepts of recovery, Recovery Oriented Systems of Care, and Recovery Ready Communities
  • A 2 page document that explains the evidence-based model Recovery Cafe Network and its process to help communities establish community recovery centers modeled after the Recovery Cafe in Seattle
  • The link to Recovery Cafe Network’s website, which provides support for individuals and organizations who want to replicate the Recovery Cafe model in their communities
  • A link to the website and a brief overview of the Phoenix active support network for people in recovery, which provides peer-to-peer facilitated free physical activity programs

Note: If you know of a resource we can include in this collection of community programs of recovery, please let us know by visiting our call for submissions page.

Policymakers & Community Leaders
Payers & Providers
Patients & Caregivers

Recovery Out Loud: A 2018 Documentary

Source: The Recover Out Loud Movement

The Recover Out Loud movement in Atlanta produced this powerful documentary on the reality of the experience of addiction and recovery. Real people tell their stories of survival, “real, and with no regrets.” For more information, please visit http://recoveroutloud.org/documentary/.

Video
Policymakers & Community Leaders
Payers & Providers
Patients & Caregivers

The Recover Out Loud Movement

Source: The Recover Out Loud Movement

The mission of the Recover Out Loud movement is to speak honestly about the experiences of people who have achieved recovery from addiction and bridge the gap between the recovery community and the community at large. This website details the work of the Movement and highlights the stories of those recovering

External Website
Policymakers & Community Leaders

Community Listening Forum Toolkit: Taking Action to Support Recovery in Your Community

Source: Faces & Voices of Recovery

Between 2010 and 2011, Voices and Faces of Recovery hosted community listening forums in 4 states to identify barriers individuals face in accessing recovery services in their communities.  They produced this toolkit to help others host forums in their own states or communities. It includes a checklist of steps for organizing and promoting the

Document
Policymakers & Community Leaders
Patients & Caregivers

Creating Recovery-Ready Communities: Guide to Recovery Support Services

Source: Faces and Voices of Recovery

This 2 page document from Faces and Voices of Recovery provides a guide to creating recovery-ready communities by listing essential recovery support services to develop as needed in your community.

Document
Policymakers & Community Leaders
Patients & Caregivers

Recovery Community Organization Toolkit

Source: Faces and Voices of Recovery

This toolkit discusses core principles and strategies for creating a recovery community organization, as well as providing examples of the development of existing recovery community organizations.

Document
Policymakers & Community Leaders
Payers & Providers

The Opioid Epidemic Practical Toolkit: Helping Faith-based and Community Leaders Bring hope and Healing to Our Communities

Source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

This toolkit was designed for helping faith-based and community leaders collaborate on solutions to the opioid epidemic including focusing on creating a culture of compassion and healing. The toolkit address 7 key areas including opening doors to support individuals in recovery or support groups, increasing awareness and building community capacity to

Document
Policymakers & Community Leaders
Patients & Caregivers

Oregon Recovers

Source: Oregon Recovers

Oregon Recovers is the online home of Oregon’s statewide coalition of people in recovery with a mission of transforming Oregon’s healthcare system to ensure world-class prevention, treatment, and recovery support services for Oregonians suffering from the disease of addiction.

External Website
Policymakers & Community Leaders

Building a Recovery-Ready Ecosystem in Oregon

Source: Robert D. Ashford

These slides from a presentation on building a recovery-ready ecosystem in Oregon describe central concepts of recovery such as Recovery Oriented Systems of Care and Recovery Ready Communities. Using the example of Oregon, the presentation offers recommendations on creating recovery

Document
Policymakers & Community Leaders
Patients & Caregivers

Spotlight: Recovery Reinvented

Evidence Ranking: Potential

Source: Addiction Policy Forum

First Lady of North Dakota Kathryn Helgaas Burgum created Recovery Reinvented to end the shame and stigma that often accompanies people in recovery from addiction. As a person in long term recovery herself, she saw the need to empower people to seek help by openly talking about addiction and reality of recovery. Recovery Reinvented holds events in North Dakota with the goal of ending shame and stigma and creating recovery supportive communities. This report is part of the Addiction Policy Forum’s Spotlight series which highlights innovative programs to address the opioid crisis.

Document
Policymakers & Community Leaders
Patients & Caregivers

Recovery Reinvented

Source: Recovery Reinvented

Recovery Reinvented is an initiative of the North Dakota Behavioral Health Division led by North Dakota First Lady Kathryn Burgum who herself is in long term recovery for over 18 years. The goal of Recovery Reinvented is to eliminate the shame and stigma of addiction in North Dakota through education and promoting proven prevention, treatment and recovery approaches.

External Website
Policymakers & Community Leaders

What is the Recovery Café Network?

Evidence Ranking: Promising

Source: Recovery Café Network

A 2 page document that explains the Recovery Cafe Network and its process to help communities establish community recovery centers modeled after the Recovery Cafe in Seattle.

Document
Policymakers & Community Leaders

Recovery Café Network

Evidence Ranking: Promising

Source: Recovery Café Network

In 2004, a group of individuals committed to serving individuals affected by homelessness, addiction and other mental health challenges opened the Recovery Cafe in Seattle to provide long term recovery support.

External Website
Policymakers & Community Leaders
Patients & Caregivers

Spotlight: Phoenix Multisport

Evidence Ranking: Potential

Source: Addiction Policy Forum

This brief overview details the work of the Phoenix active support network for people in recovery from addiction. The Phoenix provides peer-to-peer facilitated free physical activity programs including rock climbing, hiking, running, CrossFit, strength training, yoga, road and mountain biking, social events and more. The only requirement to participate is 48 hours of sobriety.

Document
Policymakers & Community Leaders
Patients & Caregivers

The Phoenix

Evidence Ranking: Potential

Source: The Phoenix

The Phoenix is a free sober active community that provides peer-to-peer facilitated programs such as CrossFit training, rock climbing, hiking, running, cycling, yoga and more. The only requirement for participation is 48 hours of sobriety. As of September 2019, Phoenix programs are active in 22 states and over 40 communities and the organization continues to expand.

External Website