‘Here, We Talk About God’
Across R.I., Black Churches Offer a Faith-Based Approach to Opioid Recovery
by Kristine Yang
Embedded Files
Homer Lee-Walker felt he should have been dead a long time ago from his addiction.
After dropping out of high school, he had jumped from job to job – first making belt buckles, then working at the RMV, and later in jewelry production. He says he fell in with the wrong crowd as a teen, and soon after, his drinking escalated. Before long, he was using cocaine, pills, and anything else he could get his hands on.
By 22, Lee-Walker had been arrested on drug-related charges. For the next thirty years, he was in and out of jail “a hell of a lot” – he estimates around twenty-five times. Hiding from his family, he ran between shelters, often sleeping on the streets or in U-Hauls. He stole ladders, car batteries, anything of value, just to get his next fix.
“As long as I could sell it, I could take it,” he says. All the money went towards drugs. “That’s what I woke up for, to do it all again.”
With a failing kidney and deteriorating health, he slowly grew weary of his drug usage. He knew he needed help.
One night, he found himself caught in the pouring rain, lost in an unfamiliar alleyway with nowhere to go. Sobbing and praying, he remembers falling to his knees and begging God, “Just take it away from me, and I will never do it again.”
The next day, he says, he was looking for help to get sober, an act he credits to God.
The graduation of the pilot Imani program in RI at the Bethel AME Church. Photo courtesy of Ericka Mack-Andrew.
In 2021, 435 people died from accidental overdoses in Rhode Island, placing the state 15th in the nation for drug overdose fatality rates.
The opioid epidemic, which once disproportionately affected white individuals, is now having a greater impact on people of color, says Josiah Rich, expert advisor to RI Governor McKee’s Opioid Prevention Task Force and addiction medicine specialist at Miriam Hospital. “The Black and brown communities are being hammered here in Rhode Island.”
In recent years, Black residents — of whom Lee-Walker is one —have had the highest opioid-related death rate compared to any other racial group. Yet they were participating in recovery programs at the lowest rates, the state’s Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals found.
Stigma surrounding addiction is often a major barrier to substance use treatment for people of color. Lee-Walker says he was initially hesitant to seek recovery help because the treatment program was in his neighborhood. “I felt kind of embarrassed if everyone knew my problems,” he says.
Linda Mahoney, State Opioid Treatment Authority for Rhode Island, was searching for a targeted intervention to address the sharply increasing opioid-related death rate among Black residents, when she came across a webinar on a Connecticut program called the Imani Community Recovery Program.
The Imani program offers an unconventional solution to the persisting racial disparities in opioid recovery: funding the churches.
"There is this historical expectation that if all else fails,
you come to the church."
Black Americans attend church more frequently than any other racial group, with 47% reporting they attend at least once a week, a recent Pew Research survey found. From slavery through the Civil Rights Movement, the Black Church has served as a center for spiritual, social, and political life.
“There is this historical expectation that if all else fails, you come to the church,” says Ericka Mack-Andrew, Rhode Island’s Imani Project Program Liaison. “That culture persists.”
Imani means ‘faith’ in Swahili. The program was first conceptualized in New Haven in 2017 by Yale University physicians Ayana Jordan and Chyrell Bellamy. It is a 22-week faith-based opioid recovery program hosted at local churches and is specifically designed to provide community-centered care to Black and Latine individuals.
“It was exactly what we were looking for,” says Mahoney. After the idea gained enough traction, the program was piloted in Rhode Island at the Bethel AME Church, a historic Black church in Providence, in summer 2023.
Each host church chooses two facilitators to undergo program-specific training to lead their cohort. One of the facilitators is required to have had lived experience with substance use and the other to be a member of the host church. It is not required that faith leaders or medical professionals directly facilitate the program.
The Imani program curriculum emphasizes holistic and person-centered care. It is modeled after the 8 Dimensions of Wellness: emotional, physical, occupational, intellectual, financial, social, environmental, and spiritual, as well as the 5 R’s of Citizenship: Rights, Responsibilities, Resources, Roles and Relationships.
The approach is similar to the 12-Step program developed by Alcoholics Anonymous. Participants in the Imani program are encouraged to share their own journeys with opioid recovery, and facilitators often bring in outside experts to discuss topics including naloxone and medication-based treatments.
While faith is not a requirement of the program, “Spiritual tools are tools, and they are something that we do not deny the power of,” says Mack-Andrew. Sobriety is also not required for participation.
Of the twenty initial participants, seven completed the 22-week pilot program in January 2024. Soon after, state authorities supported the expansion of the Imani program to three host churches across Providence and Woonsocket. This second cohort began in April 2024.
Homer Lee-Walker at the Providence Public Library.
At first, Stephanie Jones-Pringle told her pastor she was not interested in becoming a facilitator for the upcoming Imani program at the Allen AME Church.
A financial coach at the Amos House, a homeless services nonprofit in Providence, Jones-Pringle had an extensive background in social services and a kind heart that led many in the community to call her ‘Ms. Stephanie.’ But she was nearing retirement and busy juggling other responsibilities, so she declined the opportunity.
Yet Jones-Pringle soon found herself at the new facilitator training program, a turn she felt could only have been the result of divine intervention. It was during that training that she felt inspired to make an impact at her church. She began calling people to spread the news about the Imani program. One of the people she called was Lee-Walker.
Now 65, Lee-Walker has been sober for twelve years, never once relapsing since that fateful day in the alleyway, he says. He credits two others with his sobriety: “God saved me, and Ms. Stephanie saved me.”
He first met Jones-Pringle when he arrived at the Amos House seeking recovery support. Over the years, she kept an eye out for him, she says, calling him multiple times a week to check in and provide support through his recovery journey. He remembers being hesitant about participating in the Imani program but agreed because he felt that he owed so much to Jones-Pringle.
Having been sober for over a decade, he admits that temptation still surfaces, and he fights to keep it in check. “If it overpowers my thinking, I’ll be at the liquor store or the drug guy’s house,” he says. “I know I won’t quit.”
Opioids are highly addictive and rank among the drugs with the highest relapse rates, with approximately 65 to 70% of users experiencing a return to substance use, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Lee-Walker had hoped that the Imani program could help him relieve the temptation to use again.
At the beginning of each weekly Imani program meeting, Jones-Pringle started with a prayer.
“It felt comfortable because it’s one of the few times you can talk about faith and not feel that you’re going to be beat down for it,” she says. “Here, we talk about God.”
Following the prayer, participants took turns introducing themselves and talking about their weeks. Though the program provides facilitators with a curriculum, Jones-Pringle soon learned that each session needed to be tailored towards the interest of her group. She took the issues raised and turned it into the lesson for the day.
The focus often revolved around making healthy lifestyle choices. During one session, a participant shared that he had switched his medications and was struggling to sleep. He also talked about his family and how no one had ever told him he was worth anything, Jones-Pringle recalled.
“So, we talked about: how do we sleep? How do we feel good about ourselves?” she says.
Another time, before the July 4th holiday, a participant was concerned about socializing with alcohol around. “When I go to my cousin’s house, they’re going to celebrate with a drink. How do I stay away from that?” a participant asked. In response she talked about socializing and setting healthy boundaries.
Lee-Walker says he enjoyed the small-group setup of the program and listening to other participants talk about their recovery journeys. “I have met some amazing people who had the same problems I had,” he says. “I take a little piece from everybody to help me stay sober.”
He says he enjoys shopping for sneakers and clothing, a new hobby that also helps him stay sober. “I find things to spend my money on instead of the drugs and alcohol,” he says.
He wears a cap emblazoned with ‘KING’ in bold lettering, but his demeanor is soft spoken. He’s always been shy, but he appreciates that the Imani program helped him to open up. “It hurts sometimes when you get by yourself,” he says. “You got to talk about what’s going on inside.”
Through the Imani program, Lee-Walker also reconnected with his faith. At church, he found solace knowing he was in a safe area with safe people. “It eases the soul when you go there,” he says.
At the end of every weekly session, the Imani program provided participants with sandwiches and ten-dollar gift cards to incentivize further participation. Jones-Pringle also called every participant before each session to ask if they were coming and if they had a planned mode of transportation to the church. Sometimes, she drove around Providence, picking up the participants herself.
“If you believe in God, and I do, she is such an angel,” Lee-Walker says.
Seeing the growth of her group brought her joy, says Jones-Pringle. “I wanted these people to walk away every single time feeling that something had been accomplished.”
Many participants were able to turn their lives around through the program, she says. Success stories included participants finding jobs, securing permanent housing, regaining child custody, and even getting a girlfriend.
“I don’t have a special code for how to do it successfully,” she says. “But I do know that love helps a lot – love and dedication.”
The graduation of the second cohort of the Imani program in RI at the Bethel AME Church. Photo courtesy of Ericka Mack-Andrew.
At the end of the 22 week-curriculum, the program’s facilitators and members of the Allen AME Church organized a graduation ceremony to celebrate the participants’ completion.
With a Kirk Franklin song playing, the participants made their way down the aisle of the church, singing, clapping, and snapping. “That was my favorite part,” Jones-Pringle says. “You would’ve thought it was a college graduation!”
Then, the participants all got together and hugged. “They fell in love with each other too, because we promoted love,” Jones-Pringle says.
Families and friends, members of the church, and local officials gathered at the ceremony. One by one, each participant was called to the stage to receive a certificate of completion. Church members who were involved in setting up and supporting the weekly meetings also received certificates of appreciation.
The celebration was especially meaningful to Lee-Walker. He says it was his first-ever graduation, and he’s planning to frame his certificate and hang it on the wall of his new apartment.
Following the ceremony, Jones-Pringle organized a graduation dinner in the parking lot of the church, where congregants donated dinner and gift cards.
“God smiled on us. My heart was overwhelmed that day, and it still is,” Jones-Pringle says. “I’m just amazed at how God kept us all together, and everybody stayed. I’m always worried about somebody relapsing.”
Across all three host churches for the second cohort of Rhode Island's Imani program, thirty-seven people finished. Of the host churches, the Bethel AME Church and the Allen AME Church were predominantly Black congregations while the Vida Church had an even mix between Black, Latine, and white congregants, says Mack-Andrew, the state’s Imani program liaison.
A third cohort of the program is scheduled to start in early 2025, and Mack-Andrew says her department is currently taking applications from interested host churches.
With each new cohort, Mahoney, the State Opioid Treatment Authority, hopes to expand to more churches and reach more individuals struggling with opioid addiction across Rhode Island.
Faith-based opioid recovery programs offer significant economic benefits, too. In 2020, the United States spent an estimated $1.5 trillion on the opioid epidemic, a Congressional Joint Economic Committee report found. A comparable faith-based recovery program in Baltimore saved the Maryland government over $14,000 per participant each year, according to a study published in the Public Health Nursing Journal.
“This is a once in a hundred-year epidemic type issue,” says Rich, expert advisor to the RI Opioid Prevention Task Force and physician at The Miriam Hospital.
In 2023, overdose deaths decreased by 7% in Rhode Island, the first decrease in four years. Rich says that this represents a step in the right direction but there is still a long way to go. “We really need to double down on treatment,” he says. He says that while methadone and medication-based treatments are still the most effective recovery options, he believes the Imani program is a good supplement.
In 2020, the United States spent an estimated $1.5 trillion on the opioid epidemic.
The 2024 program ended in October, but the participants all remain in frequent contact, Lee-Walker says.
The Allen AME Church recently hosted a reunion for its Imani program participants. “When somebody’s getting clean and trying to stay clean, it is a life decision,” says Janine Dailey, pastor at Allen. “They need ongoing support. Twenty two weeks is not enough.”
Lee-Walker says one of the most meaningful outcomes of the program was gaining a community he could rely on. He says participants frequently call each other to check in. He recalls the relief of receiving a phone call from one of his fellow participants one night when he was alone and getting in his own head.
“We think we can fix ourselves but there’s no way we can,” he says. “You gotta have someone to talk to.” He feels that communication is an undervalued tool in opioid recovery care.
He now has a job and an apartment and recently got his driver’s license at the age of 64. “I keep learning how to fight this disease I had,” he says.
Every Sunday, he attends services at the Allen AME Church where the program was hosted. He says Jones-Pringle still phones participants to check in and invite them to attend Sunday service each week.
He is hopeful of the future of the Imani program. “I got a lot from that program,” he says.
Occasionally, he visits his friends who are still living on the streets and struggling with substance use. Each time, he tries to convince them to join him at church and seek help, just as he did. He hopes that one of them will eventually agree.
“I know for a fact each and every addict out there, they’re crying inside,” he says. “All they need is for somebody to care.”
Commentary:
Religion, particularly Christianity, plays a dominant role in American society, though its influence is often understated in New England. In a time of rising conservatism, the Church is often perceived as a restrictive authority on healthcare, imposing limits on what forms of care are acceptable. This perception holds true in many ways. But since its inception, there have been countless expressions and interpretations of Christianity. Are there ways that churches are objectively improving healthcare in this modern age?
This question inspired my initial interest in reporting on Black churches and healthcare. By mid-October, I had narrowed my focus to the Imani program. I was incredibly fortunate to have had great access to people involved in every role of this program, and I appreciate their enthusiasm and generosity to help connect me with others and to speak with me. The second cohort of the program in Rhode Island ended in early October, so I was unable to sit in and observe a session. However, this pushed me to think about scene reconstruction and the importance of interviewing for specific details, which I learned a lot from.
To say opioid recovery is challenging hardly captures the depth of its complexities and the courage required. I was and still am in awe of Homer Lee-Walker’s persistence, and I’m grateful he chose to share his story with me. Highlighting the significance of a faith-based recovery program like Imani, while also acknowledging contributions of other programs, was initially challenging for me, but I hope this piece shows the importance of community and friendship that made the program a success. I am thankful for the generous feedback from my professor and classmates, whose support made this project possible.
Audio:
Interviews:
Linda Mahoney - 10/10/24
Ericka-Mack Andrew - 10/10/24
Devin Cromartie-Bodrick* – 10/11/24
Sandra Barnes* – 10/16/24
Stephanie Jones-Pringle - 10/18/24
Janine Dailey - 11/11/2024
Homer Lee-Walker - 11/22/2024
Josiah Rich - 12/09/24
* is not quoted in the article
Document Sources:
“Creating a Healthier Life: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO WELLNESS.” Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, store.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/sma16-4958.pdf. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.
“Drug Overdose Mortality by State.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 Mar. 2022, www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/drug_poisoning_mortality/drug_poisoning.htm.
Dunn, Jessilyn. “Developing Risk Prediction Engine for Relapse in Opioid Use Disorder.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, 8 Sept. 2023, www.fda.gov/science-research/advancing-regulatory-science/developing-risk-prediction-engine-relapse-opioid-use-disorder.
“The Five R’s of Citizenship.” The Five R’s of Citizenship | Citizens Community Collaborative, Yale University Citizens Community Collaborative, 2024, citizens.collaborative.yale.edu/about/five-rs-citizenship.
Lashley, Mary. “Economic impact of faith‐based residential addiction recovery for the homeless.” Public Health Nursing, vol. 37, no. 5, 27 July 2020, pp. 722–728, https://doi.org/10.1111/phn.12779.
“Religious Landscape Study.” Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project, Pew Research Center, 12 May 2015, www.pewresearch.org/religious-landscape-study/database/racial-and-ethnic-composition/.
“Rhode Island 2022 Fatal Drug Overdose Data Released.” RI.Gov: Rhode Island Government, 14 June 2023, www.ri.gov/press/view/45859#:~:text=However%2C%20after%20increasing%20for%20years,435%20accidental%20overdose%20deaths%20occurred).
United States Joint Economic. “The Economic Toll of the Opioid Crisis Reached Nearly $1.5 Trillion in 2020.” The Economic Toll of the Opioid Crisis Reached Nearly $1.5 Trillion in 2020 - The Economic Toll of the Opioid Crisis Reached Nearly $1.5 Trillion in 2020 - United States Joint Economic Committee, Joint Economic Committee, 28 Sept. 2022, www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/democrats/issue-briefs?ID=CE55E977-B473-414F-8B88-53EB55EB7C7C.
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