St. Mary (Addis) A.M.E. Church

Greetings, I am contacting you on behalf of the Office of Behavioral Health about our Louisiana OBH Faith, Trauma, and Recovery Outreach Initiative. As we are all aware, 2020 was a year full of challenges leaving our community in a state of recovery as we still feel the effects of the pandemic and many other disparities. It is during these trying times we see the need ever so greatly for our faith-based partners, viewing faith-based organizations as staples in the community to promote messages of hope and healing. Former Surgeon General Adams says participation by the faith-based community is critical in national efforts to prevent and treat opioid misuse. Faith Partners have demonstrated a culture of compassion for individuals struggling with addiction and have helped countless Americans overcome their drug dependence. Additionally, faith leaders are in a unique position where people may come to them for help before anyone else. They have built trusted relationships with the individuals they serve, and that trust plays an important role in connecting people to the help they need. We are offering technical assistance and training to the faith community in your region. It’s our desire to identify and engage the faith community in our efforts to help those addictions primarily with Opioids Use Disorder. By partnering in our unified efforts, we would like to accomplish the following: ● Ensure Faith-Based organizations are connected to their local communities' recovery resources. ● In partnership with the, assist Faith-Based organizations in facilitating the recruitment of community members and their families in need of Opioid Use Disorder Prevention. ● Provide training to Faith-Based organizations to help identify the risk factors of addiction, trauma, and current approaches to prevent, intervene, and treat OUD. ● Provide training on our Faith and Recovery Outreach Toolkit and how faith-based organizations can effectively implement the toolkit. ● Provide training on Sober Saturdays for community engagement. ● Provide training on how to start a recovery program in faith organizations. ● Provide training on trauma. I would like to speak to you and/or anyone in your agency who would like to receive assistance in partnering with your local faith community. Please let me know what is a good time to set up a call to talk more in-depth about this exciting outreach initiative. I look forward to hearing from you. Tonja Myles, CPSS 225.288-1044 [email protected] Tonjamyles.com