Creating an Ecosystem of Recovery upon Re-Entry: Expanding Peer Recovery Specialist & Housing Services across Minnesota

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is applying for Category 2 funds in the amount of

$6,000,000 to support the “Creating an Ecosystem of Recovery upon Re-Entry: Expanding Peer Recovery Specialist & Housing Services across Minnesota” project. MDH will utilize the Recovery Ready Ecosystem Model to uplift Peer Recovery Support Services, Recovery Community Organizations (RCOs), and housing support organizations as primary agents of change. Together, the work of these organizations can break the cycle of recidivism, homelessness, and overdose while providing justice-involved Minnesotans a pathway to long- term recovery. MDH is proposing to:

Train currently incarcerated people as Peer Recovery Specialists;
Expand the statewide culturally specific Certified Peer Recovery Specialist workforce;
Expand release planning and Peer Recovery Support Services within the Department of Corrections; and
Increase the availability of housing and housing support services in areas with high rates of overdose.

The proposed activities align with the following allowable activities: 1) Evidence-based substance use disorder treatment related to opioids, stimulants, and other illicit drugs, such as MAT, as well as harm reduction activities and recovery support services (50% of budget); 2) Transitional or recovery housing and peer recovery support services (21% of budget); and 3) Embedding social workers, peers, and/or persons with lived experience at any intercept of the Sequential Intercept Model (10%). The remaining 19% of funds will support MDH staff time, travel, and administrative functions.

MDH proposes to fund a total of 11 sites: Minnesota Recovery Connection, the Department of Corrections, seven RCOs located in geographically diverse regions, and two housing support organizations to be selected via request for proposal within six months of award. All sites were selected based on public health surveillance data highlighting geographic areas of the worst disparities in overdose and populations at greatest risk for overdose. None of the proposed sites are current BJA COSSAP funded sites.

MDH is seeking both priority considerations 1(A) and 1(B). MDH proposes to fund Minnesota Recovery Connection, the leading culturally specific recovery community organization in Minnesota, with 50% of the annual award ($1,000,000) to expand the Certified Peer Recovery Specialist workforce across the state with a particular focus on increasing the number of people with lived experience of incarceration and that identify as non-White that become Certified Peer Recovery Specialists. Documentation of the proposed activities that meet requirements of Priority 1(A) and 1(B) is available on pages 5-12 and 17-18 of the MDH proposal narrative.