Recovery Corps Program: Greene County, IL
Published on: June 10, 2025
- Issue Areas
- Health and well-being Justice and public safety
- Outcomes
- Stable and healthy families
At-a-Glance
Summary
In the years leading up to and during the COVID-10 pandemic, Greene County, Illinois—a rural county of about 11,500 people—saw high rates of substance use disorder. Unfortunately, the county lacked adequate substance use prevention and recovery services to address the addiction crisis. The primary behavioral health services provider in the county could not meet demand. And law enforcement and judicial leaders overseeing the county’s jail and drug court were seeing many of the same individuals stuck in downward cycles.
In 2022, key stakeholders in the county–including public health and law enforcement leaders– decided to take action, forming the Greene County Mental Health Coalition. The grassroots coalition spurred the Greene County Health Department (GCHD) to successfully apply for a grant from the State of Illinois to improve coordination of and access to recovery support services. In partnership with the Illinois Department of Human Services and Recovery Corps Illinois, the GCHD in 2023 rolled out a Recovery Oriented System of Care (ROSC) Council. The ROSC Council built out a coordinated network of services and supports for substance use and mental health to better meet individuals’ health, housing, transportation, education and employment needs.
At the same time, GCHD partnered with Recovery Corps to support the recovery of people working to overcome substance use disorders. Recovery Corps is an AmeriCorps program administered by Ampact, a national nonprofit that manages and grows AmeriCorps programs. Working through GCHD, Recovery Corps navigators with lived experience help clients progress on their recovery journey, setting individualized goals and facilitating connections as needed to a wide range of support services.
There were two important ingredients that contributed to the success of Greene County’s Recovery Corps program and related services. One was having peer recovery specialists with lived experience working at the center of the Recovery Corps program. Meeting one-on-one with individuals who have struggled with substance use disorder, these specialists become trusted catalysts for change as they set goals with clients and connect them to appropriate services. The other important ingredient was sustained stakeholder engagement, which created bridges between law enforcement, the county jail and drug court, local nonprofits, schools and businesses.
Since its launch, Recovery Corps has directly supported over 100 individuals in Greene County. Corps members help clients set and make progress toward personalized goals, while accessing the right mix of supportive services. More broadly, Recovery Corps and the strengthened coordination of services—enabled by strong cross-organizational partnerships—has brought needed visibility to the substance use disorder crisis, destigmatizing substance abuse and normalizing harm reduction strategies.
Results and Accomplishments
113
The number of participants who received support from a Recovery Corps Navigator in Greene County, Illinois since 2023 (as of May 2025).
64%
The percentage of participants whose Recovery Capital Score increased during their time in the Recovery Corps program. The scores measure progress individuals make across various dimensions of recovery, including mental and physical health, housing and employment, and social supports.
196
The number of individualized goals set by Recovery Corps participants during the 2024-25 program year. Defined during one-on-one sessions with the program’s Recovery Navigators, these goals can involve comprehensive health and recovery management, accessing benefits, education and housing, transportation and more.
Breaking cycles of substance use and recidivism: With the Recovery Corps program in place, individuals with persistent substance use-related challenges receive targeted support to improve their lives and steer clear of the justice system and jail. Many people who appear in the Greene County Drug Court are referred to Recovery Corps. Access to crucial services—whether Narcotics Anonymous meetings (which Recovery Corps helped launch in the area), training and education, housing or employment—helps people stay sober and move their lives forward. Importantly, Greene County’s expansion of services to address substance use disorder extends into the criminal justice system. County jail inmates as well as people on probation can now access substance use counseling.
Destigmatizing substance use disorders and normalizing harm reduction strategies: With support from a range of community and institutional stakeholders, GCHD distributed naloxone medication (Narcan) to area schools and businesses (i.e., gas stations), as well as the Greene County Jail and local police departments, to help prevent overdose-related deaths. With support from the Greene County Sheriff, GCHD also helped make medication-assisted treatment (e.g., suboxone and buprenorphine) available to inmates.
Challenging employment-related stereotypes and helping individuals with criminal records secure employment. By recruiting people with lived experience, Recovery Corps demonstrates that individuals with a history of substance use (and in some cases criminal record) can be effective in the workforce. Highly visible in the community, Recovery Navigators help challenge old assumptions about employability. They also directly help program participants secure employment. Recovery Navigators review and help polish resumés, and GCHD and the Greene County Drug Court provide letters of support with job applications.
Overview
What was the challenge?
High rates of substance use disorders and overdoses: In 2019, Greene County had a nonfatal overdose rate of 19.89 (per 100,000 residents), one of the highest across the state. It also had high rates of opioid use and hard drug use in subsequent years. A Greene County community survey conducted by the Greene County Health Department identified substance use and mental health as high priorities to improve public health.
Limited capacity in local institutions to help those struggling with substance use disorder. In 2020 and 2021, the Greene County Health Department conducted a local assessment of needs, which involved a series of focus groups. The department’s assessment identified barriers to substance abuse prevention including lack of long-term funding, lack of treatment options and lack of access to care (including transportation challenges). At that time, the Greene County Drug Court did not refer people to peer support services, substance use disorder counseling services were inconvenient to many, and the Greene County Jail did not offer such counseling. There were no Narcotics Anonymous meetings held regularly in the county. Locust Street Resource Center, the primary nonprofit agency offering behavioral health services in the county, did not have the capacity to meet demand.
Limited community awareness of the addiction crisis and potential solutions to it. In a 2021 assessment of the county’s public health needs, the GCHD noted another barrier to helping those with a substance use disorder: stigma and social norms. There was also a lack of awareness of the role harm reduction methods such as suboxone and Narcan can play in preventing drug-related deaths. To address all these challenges, the GCHD established substance abuse prevention as one of its four public health priorities in its 2022-2026 Illinois Project for Local Assessment of Needs (IPLAN).
What was the solution?
Ramping up peer-to-peer support resources with Recovery Corps: In 2023, GCHD partnered with Recovery Corps Illinois to help those struggling with substance use remain sober and rebuild their lives. Recovery Corps members have lived experience that helps them support program participants through recovery goal-setting, counseling and facilitating the provision of a variety of services spanning housing, transportation, health and employment needs. They receive a living stipend that is funded by grants from AmeriCorps and Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS).
Structured, evidence-based training: All Recovery Corps Navigators are trained in a number of meaningful coaching and navigation skills, including motivational interviewing and goal-setting frameworks rooted in psychological research. Navigators also use a structured data system to document needs, track progress and adjust support based on real-time changes in health, housing, employment, and social needs.
Cultivating community-wide partnerships for rehabilitative responses to substance abuse: Many Recovery Corps participants are referred to GCHD by police officers, the sheriff’s office and the judge overseeing Greene County’s drug court. (Individuals also directly seek help.) This underscores cross-institutional commitment to a rehabilitative, rather than punitive, orientation toward those struggling with addiction.
Normalizing access to Narcan and medication-assisted treatment to prevent addiction-related fatalities and destigmatize substance abuse. After public advocacy by key champions and targeted stakeholder engagement by GCHD, Narcan has become widely available in Greene County. Medication-assisted treatment (e.g., suboxone and buprenorphine) is also more widely available, including in the Greene County Jail. GCHD also began organizing regular Narcotics Anonymous meetings.
Who were the key stakeholders?
Greene County Health Department: For more than 50 years, the GCHD has supported the health of county residents through a range of services and resources. The agency partners with Recovery Corps and operates the Recovery Council help line, connecting callers to the Corps’ Recovery Navigators. GCHD received a grant from the Illinois Department of Human Services to build a coordinated network of services and supports for residents struggling with substance use and related mental and physical health challenges.
Greene County Mental Health Coalition: This ad hoc coalition was formed in 2022 to improve services in the area that could address the substance use disorder crisis. Coalition members included leaders from law enforcement (police and sheriff’s departments), public health and the Greene County Courthouse, as well as concerned residents with lived experience. The coalition played a key catalyzing role by successfully applying for the grant from the Illinois Department of Human Services, which was awarded to the Greene County Health Department. The coalition set the stage for a service delivery model grounded in cross-institutional partnerships and referrals.
Recovery Corps Illinois: Created by Ampact and powered through AmeriCorps, Recovery Corps Illinois works with communities across the state to address the substance use crisis. Since partnering with GCHD, Recovery Corps has hired and trained the program’s Recovery Navigators and evaluated program outcomes.
Greene County Court:The court, overseen by Circuit Court Judge Zachary Schmidt, operates a drug court that sees many repeat nonviolent offenders dealing with substance use challenges. It refers individuals to Recovery Navigators to receive targeted supports.
Community advocates: Local residents with lived experience—including the loss of family members to overdose—shared their stories to build support for expansion of addiction-related services. One resident served on the Greene County Mental Health Coalition.
Local law enforcement: Both the Greene County Sheriff’s Department and local police departments play a key role by referring individuals (including prisoners) to Recovery Navigators and GCHD to receive supportive services. The Greene County State's Attorney office was also supportive of the Recovery Corps’ rehabilitative approach.
Local schools: Educators in local schools helped raise awareness about the value of harm reduction approaches and medication-assisted treatment, including by installing Narcan in schools.
What factors drove success?
- Growing community awareness of the substance use crisis: In the years leading up to Recovery Corps’ launch in Greene County, substance use challenges (alcohol, opioids and other drugs) had reached new heights. Residents in communities across the county could see the negative effects, including the deteriorating physical and mental health of friends and family members. Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, which heightened awareness of mental health challenges in many parts of the country, many Greene County residents were ready for change. This helped build political and civic support for new approaches.
- Putting people with lived experience at the center: The Recovery Corps model is built around peer support. People with lived experience and at a year or more of sustained recovery are trained to serve as Recovery Navigators. Navigators work one-on-one with clients to understand individuals’ unique needs, set goals and coordinate the services that will assist them in recovery.
- An ecosystem approach built through cross-institutional partnerships: From its inception, the effort to improve supportive services for substance use disorder in Greene County brought together concerned individuals from across institutions. With leaders from local law enforcement, corrections, the courts and the health department (as well as others) all at the same table, momentum quickly built. The coalition-oriented approach set the stage for the seamless coordination of referrals and services across a broader ecosystem of area stakeholders once funding had been secured.
- Strong support from law enforcement and local court: Strong support for changing the status quo from Greene County Judge Zachary Schmidt (who oversees the county’s drug court) and the County Sheriff and other law enforcement leaders was crucial for implementing change and breaking cycles of substance use and incarceration. With drug court regularly referring individuals to Recovery Navigators, the sheriff welcoming addiction support services for prisoners, and police officers carrying Narcan, help can better reach individuals with urgent needs.
- Working with an established statewide organization: While Greene County Health Department received funding to expand substance use prevention and recovery services, it chose to partner with Recovery Corps Illinois to bolster that expansion and ensure its success. Operated by Ampact, Recovery Corps Illinois hired and trained Recovery Corps Navigators, and the program also evaluates participants’ progress and program outcomes. Expertise built by Recovery Corps Illinois in other partner communities in the state has helped make Greene County’s coordination of services successful. GCHD would not have been able to pay the living stipends of Recovery Navigators on its own.
What were the major obstacles?
- Behavioral health workforce challenges: Like many organizations across Illinois, GCHD experiences pervasive workforce shortages, facing challenges in recruiting and retaining qualified staff to meet unmet behavioral health needs in the community. These challenges limit GCHD's capacity to provide peer recovery support. Recovery Corps not only increases GCHD's capacity to provide peer recovery services, the program also offers its members the education and practical experience required to earn a Certified Recovery Support Specialist (CRSS) or Certified Peer Recovery Specialist (CPRS) credential, as well as resources to pay for application and exam fees.
Timeline
Greene County Health Department completes the I-PLAN (Illinois Project for Local Assessment of Needs), a required community health assessment and planning process, for the Illinois Department of Public Health. The assessment sets substance abuse prevention and mental health services as key public health priorities for 2022-2026 in the county.
Alarmed by the substance use disorder crisis and lack of adequate services to address it, key stakeholders in Greene County come together to form the Mental Health Coalition of Greene County.
Greene County Health Department applies for a Recovery Oriented Systems of Care (ROSC) grant from the Illinois Department of Human Services’ Division of Substance Use Prevention and Recovery for FY2023.
GCHD receives a $120,000 Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) grant to increase its capacity to address the substance use crisis. Supporting two staff positions and administrative costs, the grant allows GCHD to launch and lead a peer-led Recovery Council that addresses substance use disorder support and prevention needs.
The health department learns about Recovery Corps model and program from DHS, connects with Recovery Corps Illinois regional coordinators, and gains understanding of contract and other processes involved with becoming a site partner.
The program is housed within the Greene County Health Department and rolled out as part of the new GCHD-led Recovery Council. The program offers residents access to a coordinated network of supportive services relative to substance use and mental health.
Grant funding for GCHD is renewed by DHS for FY2024. With continued support from Recovery Corps Illinois, Recovery Navigators sign up for an additional year of service.
After operating for 20 months, GCHD’s Recovery Navigators have directly supported 100 individuals navigating substance use challenges.
GCHD seeks a grant from the Illinois Department of Public Health
GCHD received a grant from the Illinois Department of Public Health to create an Overdose Fatality Review team focused on the impacts of overdoses and interventions that could prevent them. The team will consist of law enforcement and judicial leaders, Greene County’s coroner and State’s Attorney, hospital partners and others.
Implementation process
What were the key components of the program’s design?
- Providing one-on-one support from recovery specialists with lived experience: The lived experience Recovery Navigators bring is an essential component of what makes the program effective. Recovery Navigators’ personal experience with substance use disorder (and co-occurring disorders) and recovery, as well as the criminal justice system, makes them empathetic and effective as they work closely with program participants, whom navigators call “peers.” Recovery Corps members understand the isolation and stigma that can accompany substance use disorder. Working one-on-one with 15-20 participants at a time, they are credible messengers, drawing on their own experiences to build trusted relationships with participants and support personal transformations. They set goals with each individual, in tune with each person’s unique challenges and needs.
- Offering a comprehensive and customizable range of recovery support services: Recovery Corps members facilitate the provision of a wide array of support services for program participants. Navigators offer ad hoc counseling, helping participants handle cravings and triggers, and develop coping skills. The program helps connect people to in-patient treatment, and secures transportation to make it to behavioral health and job application appointments and recovery meetings. It helps people, including those leaving jail, get new clothing and hygiene supplies, access laundry services and secure housing. Recovery Navigators also facilitates connections to broader health supports, including discounted gym memberships and healthy eating courses. Members also help participants pursue educational and employment goals, enrolling in courses, reviewing resumés, applying for jobs and helping with business attire.
- Accessible to all: Recovery Corps and the array of support services provided and coordinated by the Greene County Health Department are accessible to all. Referrals to recovery navigators come from the Green County drug court, police officers, the Greene County Sheriff’s Office and local nonprofits, as well as concerned friends and family members. GCHD launched a “Help Line,” which anyone struggling with addiction can call 24/7 to connect with a recovery navigator.
- Forging partnerships between organizations to facilitate coordination of services: Strong partnerships across institutions and service providers in Greene County sets the stage for Recovery Corps’ effectiveness. Key organizations, such as Greene County’s drug court, jail, and probation department, have referred individuals to Recovery Navigators and been fully supportive of GCHD efforts to expand addiction support services. The sheriff understood the value of providing inmates with addiction counseling services. Greene County Transit (the region’s public transportation agency) has stepped up to provide rides for those in need. Police officers contact Recovery Navigators when they find someone struggling with substance use.
- Taking a harm-reduction approach: Providing access to Narcan and medication-assisted treatment have been an integral part of the Greene County Health Department’s strategy for addressing the area’s substance use and addiction crisis. With support from the Illinois Department of Human Services’ Recovery Oriented Systems of Care (ROSC) grant, and in partnership with businesses, schools and law enforcement organizations, GCHD has made Narcan widely available. Narcan is now in Greene County schools and gas stations, carried by police officers and available in the county courthouse and jail. All of this has reduced stigma and helped normalize the idea that substance use disorder is a treatable disease.
How were key stakeholders engaged?
- Convening a new local ad hoc body to address the crisis: Leaders and concerned residents in the area came together in early 2022 to form the Mental Health Coalition of Greene County. The Coalition helped build awareness of the substance use disorder crisis and engage key stakeholders across the realms of public health, law enforcement and the county drug court, with the goal of expanding resources for mental health and substance use.
- Building public awareness and support through advocacy by key champions: Parents who lost children to overdoses championed the need to address the addiction crisis, building broad community support for expanding substance use support and recovery services in Greene County. The Mental Health Coalition also advocated for expanded services, noting limited capacity to meet demand in the area.
- Reaching out to local business owners, educators and law enforcement: Greene County Health Department, including Recovery Corps members, directly engaged businesses (i.e., gas station owners), local schools and law enforcement organizations to both distribute harm-reduction resources and raise awareness about both the Recovery Corps program and GCHD’s expanded capacity to coordinate recovery care.
How does the program ensure universal access?
- Accepting participants from any source: Recovery Navigators receive referrals from a wide array of organizations spanning law enforcement, nonprofits, concerned family members and friends. Individuals struggling with substance use disorder can also connect directly with a Recovery Navigator 24/7 through GCHD’s public “Help Line.” More broadly, the peer support model practiced by Recovery Navigators is at its core about inviting all, through deep understanding and care, to begin and sustain their recovery journey.
What were the key activities leading up to and following launch?
- Identifying top public health priorities: Based on a community survey and focus group data, the Greene County Health Department in 2021 identified substance abuse prevention and mental health services as two of four public health priorities detailed in its Illinois Project for Local Assessment of Needs (IPLAN). The IPLAN report, which the GCHD is required to submit to the Illinois Department of Public Health to retain its state certification, presented the county’s 2022-2026 plan for addressing both priorities. The report’s substance use priority plan detailed proven intervention strategies and barriers to progress, helping to set the stage for the work ahead.
- Creating the Mental Health Coalition: Spearheaded by Greene County Health Department leader Molly Peters and Judge Zachary Schmidt (who oversees the county’s drug court), the Coalition formed in 2022 to form strategies for addressing the area’s overdose and substance use disorder crisis. Meeting in the Greene County Courthouse, it brought together other key stakeholders including the county sheriff, the local State’s Attorney, police department leaders and concerned residents.
- Securing funding from the state of Illinois: The GCHD successfully applied for a FY2023 state grant to fund expanded substance use prevention, treatment and recovery services. This grant led to the county to create a Recovery Oriented System of Care (ROSC) Council, which built out a coordinated network of services and supports for substance use and mental health.
- Partnering with Recovery Corps Illinois: The partnership allowed GCHD to further expand its capacities. Recovery Corps Illinois provides all the necessary support to recruit and hire navigators, in addition to coaching them throughout their service. Recovery Corps also supervises members throughout their term of service; supports accurate data collection, resource navigation, time management skills, etc. At the same time, Recovery Navigators are managed within GCHD by a recovery coordinator working directly for GCHD. This program-site partnership and support is what makes the program unique.
- Opening a new recovery support services site: Prior to 2023, GCHD recovery support services were only offered at the department’s main office in Carrollton, the county seat. This presented a few accessibility challenges. Some individuals had to drive relatively far to Carrollton from the county’s northern section. So in early 2023, GCHD opened a satellite recovery services site in the northern part of the county in Roodhouse; the site houses the ROSC Council and offers recovery-related services.
How was the approach funded?
- Securing (and renewing) a state grant: The Greene County Health Department received annual grants from the Illinois Department of Human Services’ Division of Substance Use Prevention and Recovery for FY23 and FY24 to expand substance use disorder treatment services and prevention activities. With state funding support, GCHD serves as the lead agency spearheading the County’s Recovery Council—one of a network of Recovery Oriented System of Care (ROSC) Councils located across Illinois.
- Partnering with Recovery Corps Illinois: GCHD applied to be a site partner of Recovery Corps Illinois, which led the hiring and placement of Recovery Navigators. Not only does Recovery Corps Illinois lead the recruitment process, it also provides training, onboarding and mentorship to GCHD's Recovery Corps members to enable the success of the program."
How was the approach measured and refined?
- Recovery Corps metrics tracking and evaluation: Since Recovery Corps’ launch in Greene County in 2023, Recovery Corps Illinois has collected and evaluated a range of data about program participants. By evaluating 10 different implementation metrics for participants—metrics geared to individualized goal plans—Recovery Corps Illinois produces Recovery Capital Scores that capture progress over time.
- Recovery Council services tracking: GCHD tracks more than two dozen metrics relative to mental health and substance use recovery in its monthly community health activity reports. These metrics include active and new clients, recovery support services appointments, naloxone kits distributed, recovery services transportation, sheriff department visits, as well as the number of people connected to a treatment center and housing.