The Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health (PRCH) and collaborators have received funding from the John Templeton Foundation for a new three-year initiative focused on strengthening the capacity of churches and faith communities to develop and sustain substance use recovery programming.
PRCH, led by Chyrell D. Bellamy, PhD, MSW, professor of psychiatry, will collaborate with Yale Divinity School, Dr. Donyelle McCray, and Rev. Robyn Anderson of the Ministerial Health Fellowship of Connecticut.
The project, "Strengthening the Core of Churches to Develop and Sustain Faith-Based Substance Use Recovery Programming," builds upon years of collaboration among Yale researchers, faith leaders, community partners, and people with lived and living experience. It recognizes the important role that churches and faith-based organizations can play in supporting recovery, reducing stigma and shame, strengthening social connections, and creating welcoming places where people and families can find support.
Project Leadership and Partnerships
The project is led by Bellamy, with co-investigators McCray, Mark Costa, MD, MPH, research scientist in psychiatry, and Elizabeth Flanagan, PhD, research scientist in psychiatry.
The project was co-developed with Anderson, Drs. Ayana Jordan, Dietra Hawkins, and Peggy Swarbrick, Rev. Dr. Kelcey Steele, and Pastor Hector Caraballo, in partnership with Ministerial Health Fellowship and Both And Partners.
Building Sustainable Church and Community Capacity
The initiative will focus on three interconnected areas:
Training and Equipping
- Pastor training and recovery-focused sermon development
- Facilitator training
Knowledge Mobilization
- Educational programming for church members
- Development and support of church implementation teams
Research and Outreach
- Community-engaged research and evaluation
- Learning directly from churches, community members, and people with lived and living experience about what is needed to develop and sustain recovery supports
Over the next three years, the project will partner with 15 churches and communities across Connecticut, Rhode Island, Louisiana, and Massachusetts to develop, test, and refine three core tools:
- A facilitator curriculum
- A guide for pastors on recovery-focused sermons and messaging
- A capacity-building process to support program development, leadership development, implementation, and long-term sustainability
Together, these tools will inform the development of Strengthening the Core, an intervention that churches and faith-based organizations can use to build and sustain substance use recovery and health programming within their communities.
Rooted in Shared Values and Imani Breakthrough
Grounded in principles of spirituality, gratitude, forgiveness, wellness, community citizenship, recovery, and belonging, this work builds upon the success and lessons learned through the Imani Breakthrough Recovery Program (Bellamy & Jordan).
Imani has shown the importance of bringing recovery supports into trusted community environments and involving pastors, facilitators, community members, people with lived and living experience, researchers, and other partners in the recovery process. Strengthening the Core takes the next step by focusing on what churches and communities need to develop, implement, strengthen, and sustain this work over time.
Project Period: April 1, 2026 – March 31, 2029
Partners: Yale School of Medicine; Yale Divinity School; Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health (PRCH); Ministerial Health Fellowship; Both And Partners; Metropolitan Human Services District; and the John Templeton Foundation.