Equipping and empowering communities across Illinois to build healthier, more resilient, and supportive systems of prevention, intervention, and recovery.
The Center for Community Engagement is funded in full or in part through a State Opioid Response Grant (T1085769) to the Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Initially funded as a Regional Leadership Center serving the counties designated as Region 4 by IDHS, we conducted comprehensive assessments of 14 low access counties to determine available resources and gaps in service related to substance use prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery. Our findings, shared with both our funders and community members, indicated similar needs across all 14 rural counties.
These included high rates of stigma, low access to transportation, low access to recovery housing, and low access to comprehensive prevention services for youth.
It was clear that communities needed support, and our role shifted to providing mentorship, training, and resources to help community groups seeking to effect change in their communities as it relates to substance use prevention and recovery supports. This is the beginning of the Center for Community Engagement.
Our goal is to help communities find local solutions to local issues, through education, mentorship, support, and access to resources as well as evidence-based programs and strategies.
Collaboration and connectedness
Evidence-based practices
Local solutions to local issues
Comprehensive community approaches
Fairness, accessibility, and integrity
Mentoring and skill-building
Education and awareness
Peer leadership development
Access to resources and support
Specialized sector engagement and capacity building
Provided 86 webinar based and in-person trainings, with 3,441 individuals trained.
Awarded 2,139 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for training attendance.
Distributed 7 newsletters to 7,380 unique recipients.
Provided 72 in-person trainings through the Faith and Recovery Collaborative, with 709 individuals trained.
Provided mentorship to 227 community organizations and individuals working on creating change in their communities.
Conducted 278 outreach meetings to expand our network throughout Illinois.
To date, 51 faith communities have achieved designation as a Certified Recovery Congregation.
