Addressing Substance Use and Social Needs of People of Color with Substance Use Disorders

Key Points: In this brief, we highlight the experiences and practices of substance use treatment providers
and their human services partners when serving people of color. We selected providers who
focused on serving people of color, and this study was not intended to assess outcomes or
effectiveness of any of the practices highlighted.

• Treatment providers highlighted several practices that promoted active and positive
  participation in their programs by people of color:
  • Incorporate the community’s cultural values into organizational structures and
    treatment models.
  • Engage the community in designing programs and services and hire staff that
    reflect the community.
  • Address the comprehensive health, social, and economic needs of
    participants.
  • Incorporate harm reduction services and healing-centered approaches in the
    continuum of care.
• Providers described several constraints when serving communities of color:
  • Structural barriers such as poverty, racism, and differential access significantly
    impede meeting clients’ social and economic needs.
  • Challenges retaining program staff with the appropriate language and cultural
    skills.
  • A complex patchwork of funding streams.
  • A lack of data and limited internal capacity for data analysis and program
    evaluation.
• Providers emphasized that success required working with the strengths of the
  communities they serve and that every community has protective factors. More
  research is needed to understand how federal, state, and local policies and programs
  can maximize the strengths of communities of varied backgrounds, while also
  implementing evidence-based practices.

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