Medication first, and then a whole-health approach

In remote Ajo, Arizona, the Desert Senita Health Center acts as the region’s on-stop shop health clinic as well as the community's health advocate. From providing medical care to implementing tactics to break the community's involvement with abuse of drugs, alcohol and violence, the Senita Health Center relies on community support, federal funding and a host of outreach programs.

Nationally, the VA has been plagued by reports of long wait times, neglect, and other failures, but clinics in New York's Tompkins County are bucking that trend. The Freeville Clinic, and others in the county, never turn away a veteran, offer specialized teams for each patient, and have tele-health options to ensure that their services are accessible.

North Carolina has expanded a network of peer-run mental health programs, including peer cafes, respite houses, and support hotlines, staffed by people with lived experience of mental health and substance use challenges. These spaces offer free activities, crisis support, and community connection as alternatives to clinical settings. Research found that peer programs reduce emergency department visits by more than 40% over a three year span.

West Virginia University and Monongalia County's intensive, clinically-integrated harm reduction model and Ohio University and Athens County's community-centered, peer-support program offer two distinct approaches to combating the opioid epidemic in Appalachian communities. Both programs leverage harm reduction practices and have seen significant decreases in overdose deaths.

To address overdose deaths, multiple organizations across Athens County and Ohio University have implemented free Narcan distribution and training programs since 2023, including overdose response training sessions and no-barrier access to free Narcan kits through campus cabinets, health departments, and community organizations partnered with Ohio's Project DAWN network. The programs have helped distribute hundreds of Narcan boxes and to normalize overdose response training and reduce stigma around addiction.

The Sierra-Pacific Teen Challenge program supports people in recovery from drug and alcohol abuse with robust skills training, employment, on-site housing, and peer support. Of those who complete the program, about 85% remain clean and sober after 5 years.

Doctors and nurses with the Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria provide free specialized care to over 5,000 people at a local hospital. An annual CT scan monitors patients' risk of stroke, with those who are high-risk getting one every three months. The CT scans are provided at a highly subsidized cost because the machine was donated to the hospital. Patients with leg ulcers, a common ailment, are treated three times a week and given free supplies to clean wounds at home. The foundation does outreach to rural areas, where they have provided education, genetic counseling, and medical services to over 8,000 people.

Legacy of Legends, a nonprofit that helps families overcome traumatic experiences that often stem from poverty, opened the Frayser Clinic to provide free wellness exams to children. The clinic is run out of a local church and is open twice a month to help families access care. At each visit a doctor assesses a child’s physical health, mental and behavioral health and the clinic provides families with information about social services and connects them with a healthcare navigator, who helps families understand their child’s health insurance and reconnect them to a primary care physician.

Volunteers with India’s Meds For More initiative (MFM) collect leftover unused medications from recovered Covid-19 patients by canvassing their apartment buildings, offices, student clubs, schools, and other locations. Once collected, MFM distributes them to NGOs licensed to work in the health sector, who transport the medicines to marginalized communities in urban and rural areas. Medical professionals sort and pack the medicines and give them to local hospitals and health care centers, who distribute them to patients. The success of the program has inspired similar initiatives in several other cities.

Because access to addiction treatment is difficult in rural communities, a state program in Colorado has allowed for RV's to be turned into mobile clinics, which has proved especially useful during the coronavirus pandemic. Not only do the mobile clinics offer services such as testing, but they also provide internet access for patients who need to connect with a doctor.