AmeriCorps supports programs that enhance the physical and mental well-being of Americans. AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers focus on access to care, aging in place, food security, substance use disorder, homelessness, and more through their service, supporting health outcomes for communities and themselves, too.
More than 66,000 AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers supported health needs across the nation last year, especially in communities where the need is greatest. Substance use disorder is one of the nation’s challenges to healthy futures that national service programs support.
AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers serve across the country to provide drug abuse education, serve as recovery coaches, build capacity for anti-drug organizations, provide screening and assessments, establish state and local coalitions, prevent relapse and recidivism, and more. Last year, more than 270,000 individuals were served through AmeriCorps opioid and substance abuse programming.
Supporting Recovery
AmeriCorps members serve across the country to provide recovery coaching, help individuals navigate to appropriate resources, and offer support and project management to help expand capacity and make recovery possible for more Americans. AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers serve in organizations to combat the substance use disorder crisis through a variety of program models to expand the reach and impact of education, prevention, and recovery efforts.
Recovery coaching, the process in which a non-clinical professional provides guidance to individuals with substance use disorder by helping them access care and supporting them in the removal of barriers to recovery, has been proven to help fight this crisis. In one AmeriCorps’ study, recovery coaches with lived experience with substance use disorders were generally believed to be important for building rapport and increasing client engagement, which can improve treatment outcomes. AmeriCorps members serving with State and National and VISTA programs provide direct services, and in some cases, they also contribute to organizational activities as recovery coaches to serve challenging-to-treat target populations.
Recovery coaches provide four key types of support:
- Emotional, through deep listening and showing empathy, recovery coaches with lived experiences can share about the challenges they faced.
- Informational, by connecting participants to knowledge and resources.
- Instrumentally, it can be done through referrals to a holistic range of services or help navigating forms.
- Affiliation through community supports, activities, and events such as Alcoholics Anonymous.
“I looked for ways that I could help other people, because I noticed that it was hard for people who haven’t been through recovery to talk about recovery, even if they’re professionals,” said AmeriCorps member Christian, a recovery coach with lived experience in Wisconsin. “I think without our program [the community would] be in a much darker place than we are currently.”
National service programs like these have transformed the lives of not only the participants but also the recovery coaches serving. In the study, AmeriCorps found that 66 percent of those who participated in the study and received recovery coaching found their lives more fulfilling, while 75 percent of those serving in these programs said that it greatly increased their ability to stay in recovery.
Girl Scouts Volunteers Support Troops Through Healthy Futures Training
AmeriCorps also supports partners, like Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts, who leverage volunteerism and national service to provide needed services. In Massachusetts, AmeriCorps partnered with GSEMA to assist in meeting their volunteers' needs. These volunteers help provide unique experiences for the troops and support Girl Scouts' mission of helping girls build confidence, courage, and character so they can make the world a better place.
Per Girl Scout safety policies, volunteers are required to be certified in pediatric first aid and adult, child, and infant cardiopulmonary resuscitation and automated external defibrillator use. Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts offers in-house classes with volunteers and staff instructors validated through the Health and Safety Institute. Through AmeriCorps’ Volunteer Generation Fund, the organization increased the number of CPR manikins and expanded special materials and equipment needed for hands-on, in-person classes. The funding significantly impacted their ability to make this necessary course available throughout their eastern Massachusetts footprint, expanded the number of people able to take the training by nearly 50 percent, in more locations, and increased the number of trainers who can help provide more courses, which in turn, results in expanding Girl Scout opportunities for participants.
National Service Continues to Address Needs
Apart from addressing our country’s challenges, such as substance use disorders and access to care, AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers serve across the nation to promote healthy futures for all Americans.
We thank these hundreds of thousands of members, AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers, and the millions of alumni who demonstrate America’s greatness comes from the extraordinary acts of ordinary citizens during AmeriCorps Week.
