The Work of GRI

GRI, a community foundation, is a valued convenor with connections to leaders working on recovery in the research community, the federal government, associations of nonprofits in the recovery field, and the pop culture world.

GRI seeks to:

Convene researchers and other thought leaders in recovery and identify issues from our gatherings that will progress thinking and knowledge about actions that advance the field of recovery.

Engage large institutional, corporate, and major donors to raise money to match the public funding of an AmeriCorps deployment of Recovery Corps members to grow the infrastructure and service capacity of local non-profits doing recovery work.

Build an endowment, and support donor-advised funds to increase private funding of innovative and science-based recovery services through a General Support Grants Program that will fund community-based organizations providing recovery support services.

Why We Do This Work

Support for early recovery, sustaining recovery, and building personal recovery capital lowers re-use rates, and is the least costly of the spectrum of services addressing SUD. It benefits employers and families, reduces stigma, and rebuilds lives that contribute to society. GRI is a leading organization with this focus; we hope others will join us.

How We Do Our Work

We convene recovery thought leaders among researchers, direct service providers, recovery movement leaders, philanthropists, elected officials, and government agency leaders to identify key priorities and funding needs, and innovative service models and initiatives that can measure impact and increase access to recovery—and those that break the stigma around SUD.
We engage leaders to encourage development and support for impactful public policy that creates greater access to science-based recovery services.
We worked with AmeriCorps to create a model Recovery Corps program, to enhance recovery services and improve organizations’ infrastructures, as well as encourage people in recovery to serve in Recovery Corps. The model has been tested and evaluated and is ready to deploy.
We engage private and pop culture leaders to raise awareness through educational campaigns and cultural vehicles.

The Problem

The problem GRI is addressing is complex.

Far too many people suffer from SUD in our society and rates of SUD have exploded due to COVID-19.

There is a stigma around SUD, and thus around recovery from SUD.

Although treatment for SUD is funded, recovery has lacked resources.

The recovery field is nascent and fragmented, and there is not enough data and research about the recovery phase of SUD.