New York, March 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Many rural Americans face significant barriers to addiction treatment and recovery services for opioid use disorder (OUD). Compared with those living in suburban or urban communities, rural residents often encounter greater stigma, fewer trained providers, and limited access to non-medical supports.
With the authorization of the $50 billion federal Rural Health Transformation Program, states now have a major opportunity to strengthen rural health systems and expand access to OUD treatment and overdose prevention services.
FORE grantees are finding innovative ways to reach those affected by OUD and overdose in rural communities and are overcoming the barriers that can keep them from getting treatment and recovery services.
Please join us on Thursday, March 26, from 2–3 PM ET for a webinar featuring FORE grantees, state leaders, and other experts discussing the barriers rural communities face—and the opportunities ahead—to expand access to OUD treatment and overdose prevention services.
In this webinar you will learn:
• Key barriers rural communities face in addressing OUD and overdose
• Opportunities created by the Rural Health Transformation Program
• How community-based organizations are expanding treatment and recovery support in rural communities
New Video Highlights Vital Role Community-Based Organizations Play in Rural Opioid Response Efforts
In applications for funding from the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program, nearly all states identified expanding behavioral health and substance use treatment services in rural communities as a priority. As states develop implementation plans, it will be important to recognize the critical role that community-based organizations play in identifying and meeting local needs—particularly in rural and frontier areas where health care providers are often in short supply.
A new video featuring Simply Hope Family Services, a FORE grantee in rural Burley, Idaho, highlights how community-based organizations can serve as the connective tissue linking schools, government agencies, and treatment providers working to prevent and treat opioid use disorder and support families affected by it.
The nonprofit was founded a decade ago by Nancy Winmill and Sheri Allred, two mothers whose sons survived opioid overdoses. Determined to reduce stigma facing families affected by substance use disorders in rural communities, they created a center offering a range of supportive services designed to strengthen families and foster resilience among youth. “We wanted to create the space and center that we needed when our kids were in crisis,” Winmill says.
