Face It TOGETHER Model

The Face It TOGETHER® Model is a world-class, private sector-financed system of care that broadens the reach of and builds sustainability into traditional recovery models by delivering value propositions to the private sector and by eliminating psychological barriers.

We are respectful of those in the recovery revolution who have done so much important work to get us to where we are today. Our focus is on extending the traditional model to make the private sector part of the community of recovery.

This revolutionary approach mobilizes people and organizations throughout communities to build a private sector-focused, recovery-oriented system of care (ROSC). The new model is designed to reach more people and provide better recovery support.

Key elements of the Face It TOGETHER model include:

• Engagement of all key stakeholders in the public and private sectors in building out the recovery system;
• A vibrant Recovery Community Organization (RCO) to serve as the hub for the local recovery system. The RCO provides advocacy, awareness and recovery support services.
• A Workplace Initiative that delivers value propositions to the private sector to extend the community of recovery into the workplace and provide a sustainable funding stream.
• A world-class Awareness Program to erase psychological barriers like stigma and shame to empower more individuals and families to get well.
• Committed involvement of the major healthcare providers in the community.

Origins of success
The Sioux Falls, SD area was the pioneering community that put the model into practice. Here, a dynamic recovery community organization called Face It! Sioux Falls (now Face It TOGETHER Sioux Falls) was created in 2008. It serves as the public face and voice for recovery, linking people with resources and providing peer support services. It also launched a groundbreaking public awareness program to draw more people into recovery by eliminating stigma and shame, shifting attitudes and enhancing understanding about recovery and substance use disorder.

Face It TOGETHER® Sioux Falls is based on the successful work of the Connecticut Center for Addiction Recovery, one of the nation’s earliest Recovery Community Organizations.

Face It TOGETHER was also influenced by leaders in the ROSC movement, including:

• William White, the preeminent scholar in the recovery field and partner with Face It TOGETHER;
• Phillip Valentine and Cheryl Pacapelli of the pioneering Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery organization;
• Jim Wuelfing, a nationally recognized facilitator in the recovery advocacy movement;
• Faces & Voices of Recovery, the nation’s leading advocate for recovery:
• Gib Sudbeck, head of South Dakota’s Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse; and
• other advocates in the field

Replicating success
The early success of the Sioux Falls experience served as the catalyst for the creation of Face It TOGETHER®, a national nonprofit with a bold vision: a nation in which substance use disorder is  understood and treated the same as any other chronic disease.

Learn about becoming a Face It TOGETHER® Affiliate Community.