Community Resilience and Recovery Initiative: Final Evaluation Report

In 2010, in response to the recession and the slow recovery process, the Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) launched the Community Resilience and Recovery
Initiative (CRRI). CRRI was a multi-level, place-based demonstration project aimed at helping grantee
communities cope with the ongoing behavioral health effects of the Great Recession. SAMHSA
funded three grants based on applications submitted in response to its Request for Applications: Union
City, New Jersey; Fall River, Massachusetts; and Lorain, Ohio. Each applicant was awarded up to
$1.4 million a year for up to 4 years to improve the coordination and availability of behavioral health
services in their respective communities. This report summarizes the CRRI evaluation findings,
provides an overview of the program, and provides a brief description of each of the grantee
communities.