Advancing the Science on Recovery Community Centers

Mission

Through this project (R24DA051988; M-PI: John Kelly and Bettina Hoeppner), we are building a research infrastructure that enhances the study of recovery community centers with a focus on their utility for persons who were or who are being maintained on medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder.

Evidence indicates that OUD (opioid use disorder) is a chronic condition best managed with long-term use of medications. While medications for OUD (MOUD) save lives and reduces related harms, individuals suffering from OUD tend to be in need of additional services. Thus, even among those with OUD who are able to access life-saving medications, there is a need for additional recovery support services to enhance functioning and quality of life.

Among professional and non-professional services for substance use disorder, recovery community centers are the “new kids on the block”. They are often located in the heart of their respective communities and provide a variety of services including recovery coaching, relapse prevention skills-building, employment and job training linkages, recreational activities, civic participation, and a host of other services designed to help people in, or seeking, recovery from substance use disorder.

To advance the development of efficacy and/or effectiveness research on RCCs for persons who were or who are being maintained on medications for the treatment of OUD (P-MOUD), we are orchestrating activities on a national level to engage multiple stakeholders.

GOALS:

Engage RCC stakeholders in research-advancing activities.
Disseminate tools and products that support the building of a cumulative RCC P-MOUD science.

On the menu to the right, you can find links to the various activities we are organizing for this project. Please use the menu to navigate to the pages that interest you.

STEERING COMMITTEE:

MEET THE RCCS:

In case you’re not familiar with what an RCC is, or want to learn more about RCCs, please check out the following videos. They will give you an idea of what happens when you walk through the door of an RCC.

Lost Dreams Awakening

New Kensington, PA
Video
Website

4D Recovery

Portland, OR and Hillsboro, OR
Video
Website

Northampton Recovery Center

Northampton, MA
Video
Website

The attached slides are a brief introduction to the project:

Advancing the Science on RCCs – Introduction Slides

Seminar Series

We are collaborating with stakeholders on a seminar series about topics related to recovery community centers and the use of medication to treat opioid use disorder. and the distribution of tools, products, and research materials that will support the building of a cumulative RCC science.

Please see the list below for an overview of the seminars. Click on the title of the seminar to open a PDF document containing more information about the seminar.

UPCOMING SEMINARS:

Seminar 31

Title: New studies on RCCs: Introducing our newly funded pilot study projects
Information TBA!

Seminar Attendees

PAST SEMINARS:

Seminar 30

Title: Science That is Needed to Support Unlocking the Potential of Recovery Community Centers
Presenter: Dr. Kenneth D. Smith (University of Tennessee)
Discussant: Dr. Sarah Duffy (National Institute on Drug Abuse)
RCC Live Feature: Brian J. Robbins, Recovery Community Centers Program Manager of CT Community for Addiction Recovery
Date: Friday, December 1, 2023, at 12:00 PM ET
Recording
Slides
Materials:

Seminar 29

Title: Outcome presentation for pilot project #5: Examining Sexual Minority Engagement in Recovery Community Centers
Presenter: Dr. Abigail Batchelder (Massachusetts General Hospital)
Discussants: Dr. Lara Weinstein (Thomas Jefferson University)
RCC Live Feature: Ty Bechel, MNM, CPRS, Executive Director & Business Development of Amare NFP
Date: Friday, November 3, 2023, at 12:00 PM ET
Recording
Slides
Additional Materials:
- APA language guidelines

Seminar 28

Title: Outcome presentation for pilot project #4: A Socio-Ecological Examination of the Use of Recovery Community Centers by Persons Taking Medications for Opioid Use Disorder
Presenter: Roxanne Newman (Brown University School of Public Health)
Discussants: Cathy Shultz (Rhode Island’s governor’s overdose taskforce), Dr. Amanda Von Horn (Tufts Medical Center & Tufts University School of Medicine), Dr. Felecia Pullen (Pillars – Holistic Recovery Support)
RCC Live Feature: Felecia Pullen, Ph.D., Founder and CEO of Pillars – Holistic Recovery Support
Date: Friday, October 6, 2023, at 12:00 PM ET
Recording
Slides

Seminar 27

Title: Taking a closer look at the Recovery Data Platform (RDP)
Presenter: Phil Rutherford , Jonathan Picard (Faces and Voices of Recovery)
Discussants: Cory O’Brien (Turning Point Recovery Support Center)
RCC Live Feature: Oliver A. T. Birchwood-Glover, LICSW, SAP, Program Director of Trilogy Recovery Community
Date: Friday, September 22, 2023, at 12:00 PM ET
Recording
Slides

Seminar 26

Title: Community engaged research – what is it, why do we need it, and how can we do more of it in the recovery community center (RCC) space?
Presenters:  Dr. Devin Banks (University of Missouri-St. Louis), Dr. Ashli Sheidow (Oregon Social Learning Center), and Dr. Chyrell Bellamy and Rev. Robyn Anderson (Yale School of Medicine), Dr. Terrence S. McTier Jr. (HEAL Initiative)
RCC Live Feature: Elizabeth Burke Beaty, CPRS, CPLC (she/her/hers), Founding Executive Director and CEO of www.SeaChangeRCO.org (NJ) & the National Sea Change Coalition
Date: Friday, June 2, 2023, at 12:00 PM ET
Recording
Slides
Additional Materials:
- Online micro-training in community-engaged research
- A paper describing different ways of community engagement in research, and highlighting key issues regarding equity (e.g., ownership, decision-making, resource-sharing) and contextual factors (e.g., trust, transparency, relationship building):
  - Key, K. D., Furr-Holden, D., Lewis, E. Y., Cunningham, R., Zimmerman, M. A., Johnson-Lawrence, V., & Selig, S. (2019). The continuum of community engagement in research: A roadmap for understanding and assessing progress. Progress in community health partnerships: research, education, and action, 13(4), 427-434.
- Concrete examples of the work of community advisory boards (as implemented by the JEAP Initiative):
  - Description of the panels and what the ‘ask’ is
  - An example of the results a community advisory board generated (in this case, generating research ideas)
- Concrete example of a community-academia partnership, the Imani Breakthrough Project:
  - Description of the project in an academic, peer-reviewed paper:
    - Bellamy, C. D., Costa, M., Wyatt, J., Mathis, M., Sloan, A., Budge, M., … & Jordan, A. (2021). A collaborative culturally-centered and community-driven faith-based opioid recovery initiative: the Imani Breakthrough project. Social Work in Mental Health, 19(6), 558-567.
  - Description of the project as featured online by the Policy Research Associates

Seminar 25

Title: Outcome presentation for pilot project #3: Understanding how recovery community centers impact members’ wellbeing: A pilot study using daily diary assessments
Presenter:  Dr. H. Harrington “Bo” Cleveland (The Pennsylvania State University)
Discussants: Drs. Stephanie Wemm (Yale Stress Center) and Jon Soske (Rhode Island Communities for Addiction Recovery Efforts)
RCC Live Feature: Javier H Alegre, BScB, CPSS, Executive Director of Latino Behavioral Health Services
Date: Friday, May 5, 2023, at 12:00 PM ET
Recording
Slides

Seminar 24

Title: Outcome presentation for pilot project #2: Feedback on a mobile application intervention to support pregnant and postpartum women and people (PPWP) in recovery
Presenters: Drs. Hannah S. Szlyk and Patricia Cavazos-Rehg (Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis)
Discussants: Dr. Davida Schiff (Massachusetts General Hospital), Dr. Roger Vilardaga (Duke University), Pastor Marsha Hourd (Director of CAFE & LIFE Recovery Center) and Ty Bechel (Executive director of Amare Recovery)
RCC Live Feature: Chris Rosewarne-Sudduth, BA, CPRC, Program Manager and Recovery Coach at Washtenaw Recovery Advocacy Project (WRAP)
- Video 1
- Video 2
Date: Friday, April 7, 2023, at 12:00 PM ET
Recording
Slides
Information about the mobile application and intervention:
- Medication Assisted Treatment can facilitate Recovery (uMAT-R)
- Delivering information about medication assisted treatment to individuals who misuse opioids through a mobile app: a pilot study

Seminar 23

Title: The role a state’s department of public health can play in the creation and thriving of RCCs
Presenter: Ms. Danielle O’Brien of the Bureau of Substance Addiction Services, Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH)
Discussant: Jesse Crum, Recovery Services Specialist at the Missouri Department of Public Health
RCC Live Feature: Angela Burton of the Detroit Recovery Project
Date: Friday, March 3rd, 2023, at 12:00 PM EST
Recording
Slides

Seminar 22:

Title: Outcome presentation for pilot project #1: Cost-effectiveness calculators for RCCs: A pilot of peer recovery support services and bystander Naloxone distribution
Presenters: Ms. Sierra Castedo de Martell, Ms. Margaret B. Moore, and Dr. H. Shelton Brown
Discussants: Ms. Patty McCarthy and Mr. Phil Rutherford, Faces & Voices of Recovery
RCC Live Feature: Ms. Anita Bradley, CEO and Founder of the Northern Ohio Recovery Association
Date: Friday, February 3, 2023, at 12:00 PM ET
Recording
Slides
Additional Materials:

Seminar 21:

Title: Delving deeper into nationwide findings on Recovery Community Centers (RCCs): Medications, connections with services, and agents of social change
Presenters: Drs. Bettina B. Hoeppner and John F. Kelly
RCC Live Feature: RCC Co-Founder Dr. Alex Elswick of Voices of Hope – Lexington, Inc.
Date: Friday, December 2nd, 2022, at 12:00 PM ET
Recording
Slides
Additional Materials:
- Breakout room discussion questions
- Notes from breakout sessions

Seminar 20:

Title: The promise of RCCs to support Latino and Hispanic communities in recovery: The importance of cultural elements in RCCs
Presenters: Leaders of the Cultural Compliance Alliance: Yamila Rollan Escalona (founder of Yaya Por Vida), Angelo Lagares (founder of Latino Recovery Advocacy), Thomas Guerra (founder of Miami Recovery Project); Dr. Miguel Pinedo (University of Texas at Austin)
RCC Live Feature: (This time we have three video links instead of a live presentation) Latino Recovery Advocacy, Miami Recovery Project, Ya Ya Por Vida
Date: Friday, November 4th, 2022, at 12:00 PM ET
Recording
Slides
Additional Materials:
- Poll Results
- Materials: Spanish translation of harm reduction materials
- Word Cloud Generated During Seminar (click here for larger graphic file):

Seminar 19:

Title: Results of our nationwide survey of RCCs (Part 2): Feedback from RCC leadership about potential outcome measures that could be used to capture the positive impact of RCCs
Presenters: Drs. Bettina B. Hoeppner and John F. Kelly
RCC Live Feature: RCC Program Director, Cory O’Brien of Turning Point Recovery Support Center
Date: Friday, October 7th, 2022, at 12:00 PM ET
Recording
Slides

Seminar 18:

Title: Results of our nationwide survey of RCCs (Part 1): Description of currently operating RCCs, their services, and the communities they serve
Presenters: Drs. Bettina B. Hoeppner and John F. Kelly
RCC Live Feature: RCO director Samantha Brawley and Drop-in Center Coordinator Mark Palinski of Sunrise Community for Recovery and Wellness
Date: Friday, September 9th, 2022, at 12:00 PM ET
Recording
Slides

Seminar 17:

Title: Recovery processes and milestones: An updated conceptual model and fit with the mission of RCCs
Presenter: Dr. John F. Kelly of Massachusetts General Hospital and the Recovery Research Institute
RCC Live Feature: RCC director Leslie Clark of Portland Recovery Community Center
Date: Friday, June 17th, 2022, at 12:00 PM ET
Recording
Slides:
- Introduction
- Dr. John Kelly’s slides

Seminar 16

Title: Self-care, wellness, and recovery in the RCC setting: Approaches taken and complexities faced
Presenters: Dr. Mary-Ellen Brown (Arizona State University) and Catherine Lovvorn (director of Living Proof Recovery) and Dorothy West (director of Center of Recovery Resources and Wellness Resources)
RCC Live Feature: RCC director Catherine Lovvorn of Living Proof Recovery
Date: Friday, May 6th, 2022, at 12:00 PM ET
Recording
Slides

Seminar 15

Title: Let’s talk about faith – How does it intersect with RCCs?
Presenters: Ms. Akosua Dankwah, Lynn Ferro (director of Northampton Recovery Center), Michael Earielo (director of Everyday Miracles Recovery Center), and Tarusa Stewart (director of iHOPE Inc.)
RCC Live Feature: RCC executive director Devin Lyall of Wilkes Recovery Revolution
Date: Friday, April 1st, 2022, at 12:00 PM ET
Recording
Slides

Seminar 14

Title: Unique challenges encountered by rural RCCs
Presenters: Carrie Oser (University of Kentucky), Joey Supina (director of Sandusky Artisans Recovery Community Center), and Jennifer Langston (director of REBOOT Jackson)
RCC Live Features: RCC Director Brandon George and manager Heather Rodriguez of Indiana Addictions Issue Coalition
Date: Friday, March 4th, 2022, at 12:00 PM ET
Recording
Slides

Seminar 13

Title: Digital recovery support services, telerecovery, and RCCs: Colliding worlds or augmenting each other?
Presenters: Dr. Robert Ashford (Unity Recovery), Brenda Maks (president of Live Rite Structured Recovery Corp), and Marcie Gray (program manager of Utah Support Advocates for Recovery Awareness)
RCC Live Feature: Dr. Mark Lassiter of Will’s Place
Date: Friday, February 4th, 2022, at 12:00 PM ET
Recording
Slides
Additional Materials:
- Systematic review of digital recovery support services

Seminar 12

Title: New studies on RCCs: An overview of the new studies funded by our network
Presenters: The awardees of the first round of funding (Abigail Batchelder; Bo Cleveland and Kyler Knapp; Marc Johnigan, Mark Thomas, Sheila Speckter, and Mark McGuire; Roxxanne Newman and Alexandra Collins; H. Shelton Brown and Sierra Castedo de Martell)
Date: Friday, December 3rd, 2021, 12:00 PM ET
Recording
Additional Recording:
- Roxxanne Newman on An Examination into the use of Recovery Community Centers by People on MOUD
Slides

Seminar 11

Title: How do medications for opioid use disorder ‘fit’ into the mission of RCCs?
Presenters: Dr. Roger Weiss (Harvard Medical School), Dr. Lauren Hoffman (Recovery Research Institute), Jan Brown (director of Spiritworks Foundation) and Wendy Jones (director of Minnesota Recovery Connection)
Date: Friday, November 5th, 2021, 12:00 PM ET
Recording
Slides

Seminar 10

Title: Addressing racism and harm reduction through RCCs: Findings and experiences
Presenters: Dr. Monica Skewes (Montana State University) and RCC leaders Laurie Johnson-Wade (Lost Dreams Awakening) and David Whiters (African American Federation of Recovery Organizations)
Date: Friday, October 1st, 2021, 12:00 PM ET
Recording
Slides

Seminar 9

Title: RCCs in context: The importance of engaging the recovery community
Presenters: Director of Programs Joseph Hogan Sanchez and Chief Operating Officer, Phillip Rutherford of Faces & Voices of Recovery
RCC Live Feature: RCC leader Nick Demott of Lifeboat Recovery
Date: Friday, July 16th, 2021, 12:00 PM ET
Recording
Slides

Seminar 8

Title: RCCs in context: The importance and challenges of RCC community engagement
Presenters: Dr. Amy A. Mericle, Research scientist in the Alcohol Research Group at the Public Health Institute, Chad Sabora (director of MoNetwork) and Marc Johnigan (director of Twin Cities Recovery Project)
RCC Live Feature: RCC executive director Tony Venzina of 4D Recovery
Date: Friday, June 11th, 2021, 12:00 PM ET
Recording
Slides

Seminar 7

Title: One stop shopping for recovery: Preliminary results from the first systematic study of New England recovery community centers
Presenter: Dr. John F. Kelly of Massachusetts General Hospital and the Recovery Research Institute
RCC Live Feature: Donna Woods, Timothie Smith, and Brandi Vore of Oklahoma Citizen Advocates for Recovery and Transformation Association (OCARTA)
Date: Friday, May 14th, 2021, 12:00 PM ET
Recording
Slides
- Introduction
- Dr. John Kelly’s Slides
Additional Materials:

Seminar 6

Title: Measuring recovery in RCCs: Can the SURE tool help?
Presenters: Dr. Joanne Neale (King’s College London) and Ms. Hannah Carlon (University of New Mexico)
RCC Live Feature: RCC manager Aaron Comeaux of Foundation for Recovery
Date: Friday, April 16th, 2021, 12:00 PM ET
Recording
Slides:
Additional Materials:
- SURE Measure

Seminar 5

Title: Bridging the divide between healthcare systems and RCCs: A moderated panel discussion
Presenters: Dr. Sarah Wakeman and a team of panelists (Dr. Gene Lambert, Christopher Shaw, Dr. Davida Schiff, Dr. Marti Kane, and Windia Rodriguez) of Massachusetts General Hospital
Date: Friday, March 19th, 2021, 12:00 PM ET
Recording
Slides

Seminar 4

Title: The active ingredients of recovery community centers
Presenters: Mr. Phil Valentine and his team (Rebecca Allen, Brian Robbins) of Connecticut Community of Addiction Recovery
Date: Friday, February 19th, 2021, 12:00 PM ET
Recording
Slides
Additional Materials:
- CCAR Recovery Storytelling Series

Seminar 3

Title: RCCs and accreditation: A national perspective
Presenter: Ms. Patty McCarthy of Faces & Voices of Recovery
Date: Friday, January 15th, 2021, 12:00 PM ET
Recording
Slides
Additional Materials:

Seminar 2

Title: The origins of recovery community centers: Context and history
Presenter: Tom Hill, MSW of the National Council for Behavioral Health
Date: Friday, December 18th, 2020, 12:00 PM ET
Recording
Slides
Additional Materials:
- Can recovery community centers help support recovery? – Slides
- Report of findings from a systematic review on recovery support services – Document

Seminar 1

Title: Rationale and role of recovery community centers: A bio-psycho-social perspective
Presenter: Dr. John F. Kelly of Massachusetts General Hospital and the Recovery Research Institute
Date: Friday, November 20th, 2020, 12:00 PM ET
Recordings:
- Part 1
- Part 2
Slides

PDF documents containing more information about each seminar:

Seminar 10 Details and Materials

Seminar 9 Details and Materials

Seminar 8 Details and Materials

Seminar 7 Details and Materials

Seminar 6 Details and Materials

Seminar 5 Details and Materials

Seminar 4 Details and Materials

Seminar 3 Details and Materials

Seminar 2 Details and Materials

Seminar 1 Details and Materials

Funding for Pilot Studies

This pilot study mechanism is funded by an R24 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R24DA051988).

The goal of this pilot study mechanism is to stimulate and support new research on delivering recovery support to persons seeking or in recovery from a substance use disorder via recovery community centers and research that advances the science to that end.

THE AWARD:

Amount:
- Internal applicants (MGH applicants): $30,000 per award for direct costs
- External applicants (non-MGH applicants): $45,000 per award inclusive of direct plus indirect costs
Approximately 3 awarded per year
Covers direct costs of the study (e.g., data collection activities, equipment, research assistant support) + indirect costs (total costs not to exceed award amount listed above)

ELEGIBILITY:

Your proposed project must address the role of recovery community centers in supporting persons who were or who are in or seeking recovery from a substance use disorder or advance the science to this end (including but not limited to: perceptions around MOUDs, linkages from clinical sites to RCCs, etc.). Studies focusing on persons who are or have been maintained on medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) are particularly encouraged.
You may be a faculty member, research scientist, post-doctoral research scholar or graduate student from any academic or health care institution in the United States. Black, indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) are especially encouraged to apply.
You must document how you will share your findings (e.g., conference presentations, clinicaltrials.gov registration, published papers, etc.) and allow the findings from your pilot work to be shared by the funding agency through the Recovery Research Institute website at recoveryanswers.org

PROCESS:

Letter of Intent:

First, please submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) that includes the following information:
- Title
- Name of investigator, email, phone, position title, department/division, and school/institution
- Abstract (350 words max)
- Brief timeline summary (150 words max)
- Brief budget summary (150 words max)
- Explanation of how the proposal addresses the role of recovery community centers in supporting persons who were or who are in or seeking recovery from a substance use disorder or advance the science to this end (200 words max)
Please download the LOI template found here.
LOIs will be undergoing a competitive peer review process to determine if a full application can be invited. Invitation to submit a full application does not guarantee funding.
You will be notified via email when a decision is made regarding your LOI application. We expect to notify you one month after the application deadline.
There are two LOI application deadlines per year (please click here for a detailed timeline):
- Cycle 3: May 16, 2023 at 5:00 PM ET
- Cycle 4: October 1, 2023 at 5:00 PM ET
Please submit applications to:
Diadora Finley-Abboud
Post-Bachelor Research Fellow
Recovery Research Institute
recoveryseminars@mgh.harvard.edu

Full Application (By Invitation):

If your Letter of Intent is approved, you will be invited to submit a full proposal that contains the following information (maximum of five pages):
- Title of proposed project
- Name of investigator(s), degrees, position titles, mailing addresses, and department/school
- Phone number and email
- Statement on Human Subjects / IRB
  - You will need to submit the following additional forms for Human Subjects Information:
- Detailed and clear project proposal that addresses the following points:
  - Aims / goals of the project
  - Why this work is important
  - Relevant background information
  - Methods and target population
  - Expected results
- Timeline of proposed project (figure + 200 words max)
- Type of deliverable product to come out of project (e.g., presentation of findings at national conferences, publication of manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, preparation of larger grant proposals)
  - Note: you must document how you will share your findings with the field and agree to share your findings with us in some capacity through our website.
- Please include the following information as appendices (this does not contribute to the 5-page limit):
  - Key personnel/collaborators: NIH biosketch
  - Bibliography: complete list of cited literature
  - Detailed budget and justification
Please submit all of the above information in a single PDF.
You will be notified via email when a decision is made regarding your application. We expect to notify you two months after the application deadline.
There are two application deadlines for the final proposal per year (please click here for a detailed timeline):
- Cycle 3: July 1, 2023 at 5:00 PM ET
- Cycle 4: December 1, 2023 at 5:00 PM ET
Please submit applications to:
Diadora Finley-Abboud
Post-Bachelor Research Fellow
Recovery Research Institute
recoveryseminars@mgh.harvard.edu

DETAILED TIMELINE:

Application Cycle 3, 2023

Week 1 (May 16^th, 2023): LOI due from applicant
Week 4 (June 1^st): Decisions on LOI due from reviewers
Week 8 (July 1^st): Full application due from applicant
Week 14 (August 15^th): Decisions on full application due from reviewers
Week 17 (September 5^th): Paperwork due from applicant
- Project start date: December 1^st (Please note it can take up to 120 days from date of paperwork submission for MGH grants and contracts to finalize pilot study subcontracts)

Application Cycle 4, 2023

Week 1 (October 1^st, 2023): LOI due from applicant
Week 4 (November 1^st): Decisions on LOI due from reviewers
Week 8 (December 1^st): Full application due from applicant
Week 14 (January 15^th): Decisions on full application due from reviewers
Week 17 (February 5^th): Paperwork due from applicant
- Project start date: May 1^st (R24 project year start. Please note it can take up to 120 days from date of paperwork submission for MGH grants and contracts to finalize pilot study subcontracts)

Please find submission information and templates below:

Application Guidelines and Information

Letter of Intent Template

Full Application Submission Checklist

Pilot Funding Timeline

R.500.2.3. Age Limits and Inclusion of Individuals Across the Lifespan

R.500.2.4. Inclusion of Women, Minorities, and Children

R.500.2.5. Recruitment and Retention Plan

R.500.2.7. Study Timeline

Funding for Conference Travel

These scientific conference travel awards are funded by an R24 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R24DA051988) to help defray costs of conference registration, travel, and attendance.

The goal of these conference travel awards is to support presentations at national conferences that inform the scientific field about recovery community centers (RCCs) and how they may support persons seeking or in recovery from substance use disorder. We hope that by presenting more information on RCCs to the scientific community, we can stimulate research interest in them. Presentations in diverse scientific fields are encouraged (e.g., psychology, public health, addiction, social work, epidemiology, etc.). Of particular interest are presentations that focus on persons who were or who are being maintained on medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder.

THE AWARD:

$1000 award (per presentation, with up to four presentations within a single symposium)
16 awarded per year
~4 awarded per quarter
Award can be used to cover the cost of conference registration, travel, attendance, or peripherals associated with presenting virtually

ELEGIBILITY:

Your conference proposal must address the role of recovery community centers in supporting persons who were or who are being maintained on medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder or advance the science to this end (including but not limited to: perceptions around MOUDs, linkages from clinical sites to RCCs, etc…).
Faculty members, research scientists, post-doctoral research scholars or graduate students from any academic or health care institution in the United States are eligible to apply. Black, indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) are especially encouraged to apply.
Proposals that are part of a symposia (i.e., oral presentation) on the topic of recovery community centers for individuals with opioid use disorders are preferred but not required. Multiple individuals within the same symposia are encouraged to apply. Individuals with poster abstract proposals in the area are also eligible.
You may apply at any time of year for any conference.

PROCESS:

Please apply after your presentation has been accepted for presentation.
To apply, please fill out the form here
You will need to submit the following materials:
- Conference proposal as submitted to the conference
- Confirmation that the symposium or other proposal has been selected for presentation
- A link to the conference’s call for proposals
- A brief description of the conference and the audience it reaches
The committee will meet every two months to review applications.
You will be notified via email when a decision is made regarding your application.

Apply here!

Please find a document containing the application information below:

Conference Travel Award Application

Post-Doc Funded Projects

Postdoctoral Addiction Fellowship in Recovery Research

Connecting the Multiple Stakeholders

List of RCCs Interested in Research:

This list contains the contact information of recovery community centers who are interested in collaborating with scientists on research studies.
The list contains the following information:
- RCC Name
- Location
- Brief Description
- Website
- Contact name, role, email, and phone
If you plan to contact any RCCs on this list, please let them know where you found their contact information.
If you would like your RCC to be added to the list, please email recoveryseminars@mgh.harvard.edu

List of Studies That Are Looking for Study Participation From RCCs:

Through our ongoing conversations for this research advancing initiative, we are aware of several ongoing research studies that would love to include RCC participants. Some of these studies are directly about the RCC experience; others are relevant for RCC participants without a specific emphasis on RCCs. All of these studies compensate study participants for their time. To help connect RCCs with scientists, and vice versa, we are listing these studies here for your consideration:

“Alcohol Recovery Research Study” – a study by the University of New Mexico to find out more about recovery from alcohol use disorder.
“Defining Recovery Capital” – a NIAAA-funded study to develop a new measure of recovery capital—the social, financial, human, and cultural resources that support recovery from alcohol and other drug problems.

Curated List of Studies related to Substance Use: We have also become aware of a great resource that Dr. Joe Riggs put together. He created a curated list of studies that are looking for research participants. All of these studies are addressing substance use. Please check out his map and listing here: “Clinical Trials Map”

Scientists, if you’d like your study listed here, please email us: recoveryseminars@mgh.harvard.edu

Hands-On Support:

Our R24 team is ready and excited to lend a helping hand, and/or to simply connect and discuss issues pertaining to advancing the science on recovery community centers. Please reach out to us (recoveryseminars@mgh.harvard.edu) to schedule a meeting with Dr. Bettina Hoeppner via Zoom to:

Ask questions about ways to measure the impact of your RCC
Get hands-on support designing online surveys for your RCC
Get feedback regarding an application you want to submit for our pilot study funding mechanism
Follow-up on discussions we have started during our seminar series
Provide feedback to us on things you think we should be talking about within our seminar series
Explore opportunities for collaboration – e.g., for scientists to connect with RCCs; for RCCs to connect with scientists
… and more!

We would love to hear from you and connect with you.

Please also find the listed relevant materials below:

RCC Research List

Alcohol Recovery Research Study

Defining Recovery Capital Study

RCC Survey – Study Fact Sheet

Repository of Useful Scales

Here you will find a list of scales and measures that could be useful in measuring outcomes in RCCs and studies. Below, the items have been grouped by the counstructs they measure. You can open a PDF containing the full items and scoring of each measure by clicking on the link in the “Items” column.

Note: This list is still a work in progress, so any blank spaces currently in the tables will be filled in at a later time. We will also be adding more scales and measures over time.

If you would like more information on any of the listed scales, please email recoveryseminars@mgh.harvard.edu

Recovery Specific Constructs

Name	# Items	Items
Substance Use Recovery Evaluator (SURE)	26	(Neale et al., 2016)
Brief Assessment of Recovery Capital (BARC-10)	10	(Vilsaint et al., 2017)
Assessment of Recovery Capital (ARC)	50	(Groshkova et al., 2013)
Recovery Progression Measure (RPM)	36	(Elison et al., 2016)

Evaluation of Services

Name	# Items	Items
Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ)	8	(Larsen, 1979)
Client Evaluation of Self and Treatment (CEST)	130	(Institute of Behavioral Research, 2005)
Social Support Subscale of Client Evaluation of Self and Treatment (CEST-SS)	9	(Institute of Behavioral Research, 2005)
Utilization of Recovery-Oriented Services	4	Recovery-Oriented Service Items
Group Cohesion Measure	11	Group Cohesion Items
Ways in Which RCCs Confer Benefit	17	Ways in Which RCCs Confer Benefit

Quality of Life

Name	# Items	Items
EUROHIS-QOL	8	(Schmidt et al., 2006)
Quality of Life (WHOQOL)-BREF	26	(WHOQOL Group, 1998)

Emotional Well-Being

Name	# Items	Items
Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWL)	5	(Diener et al., 1985)
Single-Item Self-Esteem Scale	1	(Robins et al., 2001)
Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS)	4	(Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999)
Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES)	10	(Rosenberg, 1965)

Flourishing

Name	# Items	Items
Flourishing Measure (FM)	6	(VanderWeele, 2017)
Flourishing Scale (FS)	8	(Diener et al., 2010)
Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS)	14	(Snaith et al., 1995)
State Optimism Measure (SOM)	7	(Millstein et al., 2019)
Brief State Optimism Measure (B-SOM)	2	B-SOM Items

Mechanisms of Behavior Change

Name	# Items	Items
Alcohol Abstinence Self-Efficacy 12-Item (AASE-12)	12	(McKiernan et al., 2011)
Alcohol Abstinence Self-Efficacy 20-Item (AASE-20)	20	(DiClemente et al., 1994)

Resilience

Name	# Items	Items
Brief Resilience Scale (BRS)	5	(Smith et al., 2008)

Anxiety and Depression

Name	# Items	Items
Center of Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D-10)	10	(Andresen et al., 1994)
Generalized Anxiety Disorder Screener (GAD-7)	7	(Spitzer et al., 2006 & Löwe et al., 2008)
Personal Health Questionnaire – 4 items (PHQ-4)	4	(Kroenke et al,. 2009)
Personal Health Questionnaire – 8 items (PHQ-8)	8	(Kroenke et al,. 2009)

Medication-Assisted Treatment

Name	# Items	Items
The Attitudes Toward MAT Scale	36	(Cavazos-Rehg et al., 2018)

Substance Use

Name	# Items	Items
Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test – Consumption (AUDIT-C)	3	(Bradley et al., 2007)
Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test – 10-item measure (AUDIT 10)	10	(Bohn et al., 1995)
Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST-10)	10	(Skinner, 1982)

Physical Health

Name	# Items	Items
Rand Health Survey (SF-36)	36	(Hays et al., 1993)

Stress

Name	# Items	Items
Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10)	10	(Cohen, 1983)
Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-4)	4	(Cohen, 1983)

Additional Scales and Measures

These scales are not directly relevant to RCCs, but are still useful in the study of substance use and recovery.

Name	# Items	Items
Timeline Follow-Back (Form 90)	58	(Miller, 1996)
Barriers to Retention in Substance Use Treatment	19	(Zemore et al., 2021)
Life Goals	1	Life Goals