Washington County, Minnesota Uses Settlement Funds to Support Recovery in Faith Communities

By Hannah Fitzmaurice 

Washington County, MN recently allocated $112,440 of its opioid settlement dollars towards a partnership and pilot program with the Center of Addiction & Faith, a nonprofit organization that provides faith leaders with the knowledge and tools needed to address addiction within their congregations. This funding will be supporting the Center’s Mobilizing Community Resources program, which provides learning tools for faith leaders and trains ministry teams to support community members struggling with substance use. The goal is for faith-based organizations to expand access to naloxone and treatment that includes medications for opioid use disorder, including methadone and buprenorphine. Training faith leaders to understand issues related to addiction and recovery is critical, as studies show that religious communities are often the first place where individuals look for support with their substance use concerns. 

The Center prepares spiritual leaders to effectively support community members dealing with problematic substance use with a mix of in-person trainings and virtual educational resources. This includes evidence-based trainings that raise awareness about substance use disorder, promote stigma reduction, and equip faith leaders to effectively minister to those in both active addiction and recovery. The program also teaches faith leaders how to recognize the signs of addiction and connect individuals to needed resources.  A practical guidebook developed for this project outlines the application of strategies covered in these trainings. 

This program aligns with Principle 1 (Spend Money to Save Lives) and Principle 2 (Use Evidence to Guide Spending). It enables spiritual leaders to adopt evidence-based approaches to support individuals through both active addiction and recovery. In so doing, they help to reduce problematic substance use and create healthy, resilient communities.  

Washington County has received numerous awards for their opioid settlement work. For more information on the county’s settlement work, click here.  

Hannah Fitzmaurice is a master’s student in Addiction Policy and Practice at Georgetown University. Additionally, she is a Health and Human Services intern at the National Association of Counties as well as a policy intern at the U.S. Alcohol Policy Alliance. Drawing from both professional and lived experience, Hannah is committed to advancing equitable, evidence-based programs and policies that strengthen systems of care and improve outcomes for individuals, families, and communities affected by substance use and addiction.