Our goal is simple yet urgent: to ensure every young person in St. Louis has access to the right care, at the right time, with the right supports for lasting recovery.

Building a Recovery-Oriented System of Care for Youth

There Is Hope: A Conversation About Youth Addiction and Recovery is a public health initiative of Aspire Advocates for Behavioral Health, created to transform how the St. Louis region identifies, treats, and supports young people impacted by substance use disorder (SUD).

Launching in April 2026, There Is Hope will begin with a landmark, day-long summit uniting leaders in research, treatment, education, and community recovery. Over the following year, this public health initiative will engage providers, schools, families, and young people to expand the use of evidence-based approaches—like Twelve-Step Facilitation (TSF)—and strengthen the Recovery-Oriented System of Care (ROSC) available to youth in the St. Louis region.

The summit will feature two of the nation’s foremost experts, Dr. John F. Kelly and Dr. Emily Hennessy of Harvard University’s Youth Recovery Research Program (https://youthrecoveryanswers.org). Their pioneering research on Twelve-Step Facilitation (TSF), Recovery Capital, and Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care (ROSC) forms the foundation for what Aspire Advocates calls The Science of Hope.

Through There Is Hope, Aspire Advocates aims to bridge science and community—bringing together treatment providers, schools, policymakers, and youth to build a coordinated recovery-oriented system of care for young people.

Why This Work Matters

When Aspire Advocates began its mission four years ago, key components of a healthy system of care for youth with substance use disorders were missing in our region. Since then, we’ve made meaningful progress—helping to establish an Alternative Peer Group and advancing plans for a Recovery High School, expected to open in Fall 2026.

Despite progress, significant gaps remain in youth substance use treatment across the St. Louis region. Proven interventions such as Motivational Interviewing, Family-Based Therapies, Contingency Management, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy continue to play a vital role. Yet Twelve-Step Facilitation (TSF), shown in Dr. John Kelly’s research to be the most effective approach for achieving long-term recovery, should be recommended as a core component of a comprehensive, evidence-based approach.

TSF should be implemented, supported, and evaluated as a standard part of care, not merely offered as an optional referral. Expanding access to the full range of evidence-based treatments, with medication-assisted options available when clinically appropriate, is essential to building a coordinated, youth-focused recovery-oriented system of care that promotes lasting recovery and hope.

This reality drives our work forward and is critical because addressing youth substance use disorders improves long-term population health, including mental health, educational attainment, and social well-being. Early intervention and coordinated supports reduce long-term disparities and promote equitable recovery outcomes.

Launch Phase: The There Is Hope Summit (April 2026)

The There Is Hope Youth Substance Use Disorder Summit will bring together local, state, and national leaders to align around one shared vision: creating a coordinated system of care for youth recovery in the St. Louis region.

The Summit will feature sessions led by Dr. Kelly on The Science of Long-Term Remission and Dr. Hennessy on Building Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care and Recovery Capital for Youth.

The day concludes with a community keynote, a youth recovery story, and the Strike Out Stigma celebration—a free bowling event for young people in recovery, families, and allies.

Learn more about the There Is Hope Summit schedule.

Phase Two: Community Engagement and Systems Development (Mid-2026 – 2027)

Following the Summit, Aspire Advocates will lead a year-long outreach and implementation phase embedding The Science of Hope into community practice. This includes partnerships with schools for early identification, collaboration with treatment providers to align recovery supports, and youth engagement to amplify recovery voices.

These efforts will drive systems change and sustain coordination across sectors serving youth.

Anticipated Impact

Through There Is Hope, Aspire seeks to:

• Expand access to all evidence-based interventions for youth with substance use disorders
• Ensure appropriate and timely referral to treatment through stronger coordination among schools, providers, and families
• Strengthen community understanding of recovery science and reduce stigma around youth substance use disorders
• Build a sustainable network of collaboration across public health, education, and behavioral health sectors
• Establish a regional framework for a youth-focused Recovery-Oriented System of Care (ROSC) that supports long-term recovery outcomes

The initiative will make recovery visible, supported, and celebrated throughout the St. Louis region.

Learn more about the Public Health Pathway to Youth Recovery.