Bellamy receives grant to study culturally-responsive recovery
Chryrell Bellamy and her colleagues at Yale University have been awarded an NIH grant on Culturally-responsive community-driven substance use recovery for Black and Latinx populations. This research team developed Imani Breakthrough, a faith-based, person-centered, culturally-informed harm reduction recovery program that takes place in churches. This program provides an innovative approach to engaging vulnerable groups into SUD treatment, by focusing on the 8 dimensions of wellness (social determinants of health), 7 domains of citizenship, culturally informed SUD education, and referral to MAT for any FDA-approved pharmacotherapy for treating a SUD. The study will be a multilevel CBPR initiative and a rigorous RCT that incorporates elements of choice in participation for participants interested in medication-assisted treatment (MAT). The researchers will examine whether adding a Church-based telehealth MAT option to Imani will improve outcomes for Black and Latinx people with substance use disorder, compared to Imani plus traditional MAT referral and linkage in the community.