Reviving the Human Spirit is a collaborative effort of the Faith Community and Prevention & Treatment Professionals that aids congreations in developing ministries of Substance Abuse prevention and support of persons in recovery.

We support congregations of all faiths in the area where Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio converge.

Collaborates to build capacity of faith communities to effectively prevent and reduce alcohol and other drug problems in ways that can be integrated within their spiritual beliefs.

Every faith community is engaged in combating substance abuse.

• believes that faith communities are uniquely positioned to effectively prevent and reduce substance abuse and addition.
• understands that our goal is to help faith communities create programs and network to be more effective in achieving their missions.
• respects the values and traditions of faith communities.
• nurtures collaboration between faith communities and professionals in the substance abuse field.
• recognizes that substance abuse professionals are also people of faith.
• provides the opportunity for faith-based communities to realize their vision for addressing alcohol and other drug issues within their congregations.

• Provide educational opportunities for faith leaders, including the Faith Leader Academy, which provides information and skills that can be used immediately. This is done by offering current information about addiction and its impact on individuals and on their families, presenting guidelines for sharing concerns and making appropriate referrals, familiarizing faith leaders with prevention, treatment, and recovery resources and how to access them, and giving them strategies for mobilizing congregations for effective prevention ministries and compassionate recovery support.
• Providing training and to help faith communities develop and maintain substance abuse team ministries. We offer training including leadership training, team training, and annual skills training and technical assistance, using the Faith Partners' model. Please contact Annette Bell at 513-381-3858 or by email mcwellness@mercycon.org For more informaition about Faith Partners, please click on the logo below.
  
• Provide opportunities for networking and sharing/support--Faith symposium and networking meetings
• Serve as the central connector between individual faith communities and resources and funding, locally and nationally.

Reviving the Human Spirit was born in the summer of 2000 when representatives from ASAP (Assistance for Substance Abuse Prevention), the Coalition for a Drug Free Greater Cincinnati, League Ministry Consultants, and UMADAOP (Urban Minority Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Outreach Program) came together to talk. All had been working on their own to engage the faith community, and while, each had presented successful programs, there was little follow-through by participants. Something different was needed. Several had heard about Faith Partners, which had had success in developing effective congregational team ministries, and so these groups decided to work together and try the Faith Partners approach.

In March of 2001, the collaborative, now Reviving the Human Spirit, presented its first program which included Trish Merrill and the Faith Partners model. The program was well received and seemed to be filling a need, so further team and skills trainings were offered. Thus began a long partnership with Faith Partners leading to 30 congregational teams and a cadre of our own trainers.

Progress was being made, but there was still more to be done. In order to be responsive to the needs of the faith community and to further build their capacities in substance abuse prevention and recovery ministries, the team explored other ideas. Bishop Dwight Wilkins of the Faith Community Alliance proposed the first "Addictions Summint--Setting the Captives Free, which was held in 2001. The Alcoholism Council of Greater Cincinnati and NorthKey joined the collaboration in 2002. That same year the Alcoholism Council of Greater Cincinnati joined the collaborative. NorthKey became a partner in 2003.

While many people with problems with alcohol and drugs often go first to their pastor for help, few clergy have had any training to deal with this issue. To meet this need, the first Faith Leader Academy, based on the model developed by the Committed Caring Faith Community in Missouri, was offered in 2003. It provides information about alcoholism and drug addiction, its impact on the family, effective ways to intervene and make referrals, prevention tools, and developing a congregational team ministry.

Through its trainings, support of congregational teams, networking and openness to meet the needs and requests of the faith community, Reviving the Human Spirit continues to grow and evolve. It currently has active teams in the Greater Cincinnati area and is working with congregations in Northern Kentucky and Butler and Warren counties to form new teams.

• Alcoholism Council of the Cincinnati Area, NCADD—513-281-7880
• Assistance for Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP) Center—513-458-6640
• Coalition for a Drug-Free Greater Cincinnati—513-751-8000
• Faith Community Alliance—513-671-1480
• Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance—513-671-1481
• NorthKey Regional Prevention Center—859-283-0952
• Urban Minority Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Outreach Program of Cincinnati, Inc. (UMADAOP)—513-541-7099

Angela Anno
Annette Bell, R.D., L.D.
Vicki Culler
Ron Ewell
Cameron Foster
Nan Franks-Richardson
Mary Haag
Michael Langford
Amy Weber
Bishop Dwight Wilkins