Local Nonprofit Awarded Grant to Help Veterans With Substance Use Disorders

(KNSI) – A local nonprofit that provides recovery services for people with substance use disorders has earned a big grant from the state of Minnesota, and it intends to focus those funds on veterans.

The state has awarded the Recovery Community Network with a $143,000 grant that will be used to fund a full-time position centered on helping veterans and their family members who are living with a substance use disorder. The person hired into that role will also help RCN partner with other agencies like the VA and the Central Minnesota Mental Health Center.

“The majority of our troops return home from a deployment with very few adjustment problems,” said RCN’s director Maj. John Donovan, Ret., who is also an Army veteran. “However, some do return with adjustment issues and often those issues will manifest themselves in problems like divorce, depression, substance abuse and suicide. This funding from the state will allow us to better and more fully serve those who have served.”

The organization, located in the Midtown Square mall in St. Cloud, offers its services to veterans and other residents of Central Minnesota free of charge.

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