United Way Partner Program:
Nurturing, Recovery, and Safety
Life Align is a vital community organization dedicated to harm reduction, with a focus on lower-income areas. Their initiative aims at overdose prevention through education and naloxone training, alongside distributing Nasal Naloxone, support kits, and safety test strips. At the heart of Life Align’s efforts is a non-judgmental stance towards active drug users, prioritizing engagement over abstinence and fostering an inclusive environment for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities. This approach is key in their street and homeless outreach, distributing harm reduction supplies and emphasizing evidence-based practices for broader community engagement.
The organization's goals include enhancing overdose prevention education, increasing accessibility to harm reduction supplies for marginalized groups, and strengthening connections to healthcare, employment, and housing resources. Life Align’s comprehensive strategy addresses substance use with education, practical support, and community engagement, aligning closely with United Way’s Healthy Families funding priorities, particularly in Access to Care and Mental Health.
Life Align’s proposal identifies a critical need for services that resonate with the cultural and personal experiences of Black and Latinx communities, which face higher rates of drug use complications, and the LGBTQ+ group, which encounters additional discrimination layers. The funding opportunity seeks to bridge these gaps through:
- Expansion of culturally and linguistically tailored outreach programs.
- Provision of diverse peer support groups and individual recovery coaching.
- To enhance overdose prevention and naloxone education, especially in lower-income communities.
- To increase the distribution and accessibility of harm reduction supplies, focusing on marginalized
- groups through street and homeless outreach.
- To strengthen connections to healthcare, employment, and housing resources, ensuring a holistic approach to harm reduction.
This approach aims to enhance Life Align’s capacity to deliver equitable, effective substance use disorder recovery services and harm reduction services and improve health outcomes and well-being for underserved populations.
About Life Align:
Mission Statement: Life Align's mission is to foster hope, healing, and lasting recovery for individuals battling addiction. Committed to creating an inclusive and supportive community, we provide evidence-based programs and peer-led services that empower individuals on their journey to recovery.
Life Align has emerged as a community-driven initiative in Muskegon dedicated to serving as a beacon of support for individuals navigating the challenging journey of recovery from addiction. The organization was envisioned as a dynamic, community-driven initiative committed to supporting individuals on their path to recovery from addiction. Life Align serves as the only recovery community organization in Muskegon, and all staff are MDHHS-certified recovery coaches. Life Align is committed to fostering a nurturing environment where individuals find solace in sharing their experiences, accessing valuable resources, and receiving genuine encouragement. Recognizing the power of community, the organization actively engages within its community, promoting a profound sense of belonging and empowerment among its participants. Life Align plays a pivotal role in dismantling the stigma associated with addiction, striving to create an environment that fosters sustainable recovery. Through its approach, Life Align has swiftly become an instrumental force not only in providing support to those in recovery but also in shaping a community that embraces understanding, empathy, and resilience.
