2023 Annual Report

Faces & Voices of Recovery is dedicated to advancing peer support services and recovery efforts everywhere.

From Recovery Capital Popups and technical assistance to national conferences and educational campaigns, we keep ourselves moving toward progress.

A Message from the CEO

Patty McCarthy

We are proud to share the transformative work Faces & Voices of Recovery did in 2023.

Our dedicated board, staff, and Alliance members worked hard to advance our mission. From spearheading advocacy initiatives to featuring voices of recovery with our podcast series Recovery Stories Have Power, we have focused on ways we can make positive change.

Recovery Data Platform^TM, our innovative data capture technology, broadened its reach and made recovery community resources even more accessible with a new user-friendly app. (RecoveryNet is currently in beta testing and will be widely available later in 2024.)

Through strategic alliances and partnerships, we led peer recovery-focused events and made educational opportunities available to thousands of individuals eager to do more in their communities across the nation.

We also remained committed to making diversity, equity, and inclusivity a foundational piece of our organization’s ethos. We continue to be teachable and intentional in how we show up for DEI, acknowledging that there will always be chances to learn and grow.

Responding to a request for higher inclusivity of diverse recovery-focused organizations, the Alliance for Recovery-Centered Organizations, formerly known as the Association of Recovery Community Organizations (ARCO), was launched.

Faces & Voices also created a first-of-its-kind national RCO certification. This new certification, along with our Council on Accreditation of Peer Recovery Support Services (CAPRSS), cements our already-high standards for peer support service delivery.

We are thrilled to see our membership grow as we adapt to the changing landscape of recovery advocacy and peer support services.

Looking ahead, we renew our commitment to promoting hope, healing, and health in the recovery community.

Thank you for your continued support.

Warmly,

Advocacy

Data tells our story

Regulatory Influence:

We shaped 6 key regulations, including:

Protecting patient privacy (42 CFR Part 2).
Ensuring Medicaid and CHIP comply with mental health parity.

Legislative Advocacy:

We contributed to 20 bills, influencing:

Removal of the drug felony ban from SNAP/TANF benefits.
Support for the Second Chance Act and the Modernizing Opioid Treatment Access Act (MOTAA).
Endorsement of acts like TREATS, CARE, and other supportive policies.

Major Communications

Authored 8 significant public messages.

Harm Reduction Strategy

Contributed to SAMHSA’s harm reduction framework, integrating ONDCP’s first-year recommendations.

Peer Recovery Standards

Advocated for national standards for Peer Recovery Support Certifications through SAMHSA.

Press Release

Issued a press release warning against cuts to crucial health services if funding reverts to FY 22 levels.

Policy Briefing: Co-hosted a Congressional Briefing with the American Society of AddictionMedicine (ASAM), the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), the American Psychological Association (APA), and the American Psychiatric Association to present and endorse four key principles that bolster effective addiction health policy:

Prioritizing prevention, health, wellness, and equity
Establishing universal access to addiction medications as standard of care
Ensuring appropriate coverage of, and reimbursement for, effective addiction care
Strengthening the addiction care workforce.

Extensive Participation

Represented our commitment to addressing addiction with 353 participants from 40 states.

Congressional Districts Engaged

Engaged 157 House districts and 78 Senate districts.

Productive Meetings

Held 235 meetings with policymakers.
37 meetings with elected Members of Congress.
70 meetings with Senior-level staff.

Bipartisan Outreach

Met with 97 Republican, 134 Democrat, and 3 Independent offices.

Your Voice Counts

Community Outreach & Engagement

We facilitated September’s Recovery Month Luncheon.
We co-hosted the Walk for Recovery in Washington, D.C. with SAMHSA.
We spoke transparently about mental health and substance use disorders.
We supported actionable change toward a more effective and empathetic healthcare system.

Faces & Voices of Recovery partnered with Recovery Community Organizations (RCOs) across the nation to host a series of Recovery Capital Popups.
In 2023, we partnered with 6 Recovery Community Organizations (RCOs) to host a series of Recovery Capital Pop-Up event, giving communities the chance to connect and discuss health policies.

Location	Attendee
West Palm Beach	25
Volusia County	35
Panama City	11
Tallahassee	7
Orlando	12

I really appreciate Faces & Voices and the amazing work you do, and the leaps and bounds we’ve seen when it comes to the discussion of peer support and the need for preventative measures when it comes to substance use. Please keep fighting with Faces & Voices of Recovery.
Donald Whitehead
National Coalition for the Homeless
2023 Recovery Month Kick-off Luncheon

Contracts & Revenue

Financials

Contract & Revenue

Historical Operating Revenue

Fun Fact:

When Faces & Voices won its first contract with the State of Florida in 2018, there were only 5 Recovery Community Organizations (RCOs) across the entire state. As a direct result of the grassroots organizing, training, and resources we’ve provided since that time, Florida now has 38 RCOs.

Information Technology

Your Voice Counts

Public Voices

The Recovery Data Platform (RDP) is the key to unlocking the transformative power of data in recovery, empowering organizations and professionals to make informed decisions, showcase their impact, and drive positive change in the lives of individuals on the path to recovery.
RDP analyzes data to identify specific vital signs and hallmarks of systemic recovery on local, regional, and national scales. The platform’s reports provide valuable insight and analytics required for funding and growth.

By the Numbers:

Category	Total
Support requests completed	1,933
Demonstrations provided	124
New organizations added	28
Recovery Data Platform active users	1,141

Category	2020	2021	2022	2023
Recovery capital assessments completed by year	825	2,694	5,470	8,845
Participants created by year	20,081	27,211	37,883	50,588
Recovery Coaching sessions completed by year	67,731	69,099	81,351	112,767

The RecoveryNet app was developed to help the peer workforce connect, learn, and grow nationwide.

Ultimately, RecoveryNet will integrate with Recovery Data Platform (RDP), creating a one-stop-shop for PRSS to log participant interactions seamlessly and track outcomes.

RecoveryNet will also allow PRSS programs to support their Peer Specialists through regular assessments like the BARC-10.

The app is currently in beta and we expect it to launch fully in 2025.

Justice, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (J-DEI)

Your Voice Counts

Public Voices

Faces & Voices actively increased J-DEI practices in its work. We have partnered with BothAnd Partners to increase our J-DEI Impact and growth.

As an organization, we:

Recruited new board members to focus on J-DEI.
Created a standard process for orientation and onboarding.
Developed interview questions to address J-DEI and recovery for new staff.
Provided opportunities for all staff to train in the six-part series on Foundations of Racial Equity.
Made the J-DEI Task Group an official J-DEI Board Committee with co-chairs.
Started a bi-annual board and staff meeting series.
Completed an Organizational Culture Assessment Process with staff and board members.
Conducted 12 monthly internal J-DEI trainings facilitated by BothAnd Partners.
Partnered with BothAnd Partners to provide racial equity facilitation training for over 30 staff, board members, and external stakeholders.
Sold out the Equity Dinner event.

Media

Podcast

Recovery Stories Have Power

The Recovery Stories Have Power podcast, hosted and produced by Oliver Books, features authentic, down-to-earth conversations with recovery experts, advocates, and allies.

Our pilot season had impressive reach, touching peer support specialists, treatment professionals, people working at Recovery Community Organizations (RCOs), individuals in recovery, family and friends impacted by addiction, and more.

Listen to Episodes

By The Numbers

Social Media

Followers

up 154% from 2022

Posts Reach

up 89.2% from 2022

Page and Profile Reach

up 91.2% from 2022

Signature Events

Your Voice Counts

Community Outreach & Engagement

Who attends RLS?

This event celebrates an important recovery advocacy milestone. Faces & Voices is honored to carry the innovative spirit of the 2001 St. Paul Summit forward more than 20 years later.

Recovery Leadership Summit attendees come from all across the nation. They represent advocacy groups, recovery community organizations, recovery housing, high school and collegiate recovery programs, universities, State and Federal government, prevention organizations, national alliances, the healthcare industry, and mental health and substance use treatment agencies.

Year	Attendee
2023	427
2022	344
2021	322
2020	306
2019	2017

Learn More: RLS

View RLS Photos

This dinner honors change-makers and leaders in addiction recovery from all over the country for their trailblazing efforts.

Learn More: AHR

This luncheon launches Recovery Month and is held to honor the strides and progress the recovery community has made. It is typically followed immediately by SAMHSA’s Walk for Recovery.

Year	Attendee
2023	126

Learn More: Kick-off Luncheon

Join the recovery nation for a free day full of live music and entertainment, recovery and community resources, national speakers and breakout panels, recovery-centered education and community awareness., and food and activities for all ages!

Learn More: National rally for Recovery

On International Recovery Day, the last day of Recovery Month, a virtual fireworks display serves as a hopeful reminder that overcoming addiction is possible. Communities are encouraged to light local structures in purple in a show of collective support for addiction recovery.

Learn more: International Recovery Day

Trainings & Programs

Your Voice Counts

Community Outreach & Engagement

Faces & Voices of Recovery made a pivotal change in transforming its membership program from the Association of Recovery Community Organizations into the Alliance for Recovery-Centered Organizations. ARCO’s reach and impact has expanded, broadened, and become more inclusive.

By the Numbers:

Category	Total
Membership applications received	55
New members, including 3 culturally-specific members focused on LGBTQIA2S+	22
Recovery leadership support group meetings	30+
All-member calls	12
Total Members at end of year	205
Virtual Learning Community (VLC) Webinar Attendees	207
Organizations in the Pipeline	75
Total Organizations Accredited or Reaccredited	26
New Organizations in the Pipeline	9
Total States Represented	24

The Council on Accreditation of Peer Recovery Support Services (CAPRSS) is the only accrediting body in the US specifically for recovery community organizations (RCOs) and other programs offering addiction peer recovery support services (PRSS).

By the Numbers:

Category	Total
States with CAPRSS accreditation	24
Total organizations accredited or reaccredited	26
Virtual Learning Community (VLC) webinar attendees	207
Organizations working toward accreditation	75
New organizations in the pipeline	9

The National Recovery Institute is Faces & Voices of Recovery’s flagship program, offering trainings, technical assistance, professional development, and more.

By the Numbers:

Category	Total
Total attendance	5,228
Total individuals trained in signature programs:	487
Largest compassion fatigue training attendance	173
Largest motivational interviewing training attendance	163
Total trainings	152

Training Ratings

4.9 Average based on 5,000+ Reviews

Trainings & Programs

David Mineta

“It’s an honor to serve on the Faces and Voices Board of Directors because Faces & Voices is one of the most noble endeavors – to support an individual in recovery, to support a community and nation to be recovery ready.

Faces and Voices of Recovery continues vital work supporting recovery across America. This fiscal year was no different. We accomplished so much supporting recovery community organizations and recovery policies thru our advocacy and partnerships.”