April 29, 2026
6 steps (and resources) for getting the treatment you deserve sooner rather than later.
Franklin Primary Health Center (FPHC) was founded in 1975 by a group of committed citizens aiming to address the critical healthcare needs of underserved communities in Mobile, Alabama. Named in honor of Dr. James Alexander Franklin, a compassionate physician and community leader, the organization embodies his spirit of service. It has delivered healthcare to those in need for nearly 50 years.
What began as a small clinic with five employees has grown into a robust healthcare system with over 230 staff members and an annual budget exceeding $32 million. Under the leadership of CEO Charles White, FPHC operates as a not-for-profit Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) with Patient-Centered Medical Home accreditation.
Today, FPHC serves six counties in Alabama—Mobile, Baldwin, Conecuh, Choctaw, Monroe, and Escambia—with a network of 20 service locations. They have grown rapidly to meet evolving community needs, often establishing new service sites at the request of hospitals and public health agencies. In 2023 alone, FPHC provided healthcare services to 35,393 patients, accounting for 116,240 encounters, with over 30% being uninsured.
Franklin Primary Health Center offers appropriate opioid treatment, one-on-one counseling, peer recovery coaching from people who’ve walked this road, and overdose prevention with naloxone + training. The mobile/outreach team comes to shelters, churches, and community sites. FPHC also provides prevention education for families and connects your care through secure referrals, so clients are not doing this alone or starting over each time.
Franklin Primary Health Center serves historically underserved populations in Mobile, focusing on low-income, minority, and homeless populations across Mobile’s medically underserved areas. Its program specifically targets those disproportionately affected by the opioid epidemic, including:
FPHC anticipates serving 25-50 individuals per treatment cycle (6-12 months), representing 10-20% of its patient population currently receiving substance abuse services.
The Street Outreach Services (SOS) program, launched in 2022 with City of Mobile funding from the American Rescue Plan, has already demonstrated the power of meeting people where they are. As the only FQHC in the region with a dedicated street medicine program, FPHC provides medical care, mental health services, and substance use treatment directly to individuals in encampments, parks, and abandoned spaces.
The SOS program has reached over 1,500 homeless individuals, addressing urgent health needs and connecting them to housing, social services, and recovery programs. Through more than 6,000 hours of outreach, our team has built trusting relationships with individuals experiencing homelessness and fostered partnerships with shelters, public agencies, and nonprofits to ensure continuity of care. The program’s success has significantly reduced emergency room visits and improved health outcomes, strengthening Mobile’s safety net for vulnerable populations.
Transportation is often reported as a barrier to treatment, especially for individuals identified as underserved and high risk. A dedicated outreach vehicle brings services directly to those in places such as shelters, community centers, and other public spaces not easily accessible to public transportation. On-site screenings, follow-ups, and naloxone distribution ensure individuals receive the care they need, even if they are unable to visit traditional clinics—removing one of the most significant obstacles to recovery.
6 steps (and resources) for getting the treatment you deserve sooner rather than later.
Ten Things to Know About Opioids that might save your life, or the life of someone you love.
While it may seem new, incorporating mindfulness and yoga practices into recovery has been on the rise since these ancient practices were brought to the West from India during ‘60s and ‘70s. Even the 12-step, faith-based program Alcoholics Anonymous began including spiritual reflection and contemplative practices in recovery around that time. Cut to the present day, and you’ll find a range of faith- and nondenominational-based addiction treatment and services available to individuals seeking recovery, including those that incorporate holistic care such as yoga and meditation. Additionally, there is compelling evidence to support that mind-body interventions like yoga and meditation can be powerful complements to conventional care for various substance use disorders, including opioid misuse.
According to a clinical trial published in January of this year on the National Institute of Health’s National Library of Medicine’s PubMed site, a treatment center in Bengaluru, India, found that people withdrawing from opioids recovered from acute symptoms nearly twice as fast when traditional medication was paired with structured yoga practice. Participants practicing yoga on top of standard treatment with buprenorphine (a medication used to treat opioid use disorder and pain) stabilized within five days, compared with nine days among those receiving medication alone. The yoga group also reported markedly reduced anxiety, improved sleep quality, and better autonomic regulation (a physiological marker of stress resilience).
The Journal of the American Medical Association notes that opioid use disorder is not simply a matter of physical dependence; rather, it’s a multi-system dysregulation affecting brain reward pathways, stress systems, emotional processing and behavioral habits. Standard care often combines medication-assisted treatment with counseling and support groups, an approach that has saved countless lives. But relapse rates and treatment drop-outs remain high, leaving clinicians searching for additional tools to improve long-term success. This is where yoga and meditation enter, not as alternative treatments that replace evidence-based care, but as complements to reinforce physiological balance and emotional resilience.
Yoga engages breathing, posture and awareness, elements that tap into the autonomic nervous system, which governs stress responses. The Bengaluru trial’s findings that yoga enhanced heart-rate variability (a measure of parasympathetic “rest and digest” activity) suggest that these practices may ease the intensity of withdrawal and emotional agitation. Beyond withdrawal, research suggests that yoga and similar mind-body practices can improve outcomes across substance use disorders.
A systematic review published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine found that among randomized controlled trials (some involving opioid users) yoga was associated with improvements in anxiety, pain and craving when used alongside traditional therapies.
Meditation practices, whether focused attention, breath awareness or guided imagery, are increasingly studied as tools to rewire reward circuitry disrupted by addiction. These practices bolster emotional regulation and reduce stress sensitivity, which are factors that often trigger relapse long after detoxification ends. Studies show that people receiving group mindfulness sessions (including remote or virtual varieties) alongside medication treatment reported significantly lower opioid craving compared with those receiving only standard care.
For people emerging from the acute phase of opioid withdrawal, long-term recovery hinges not just on avoiding substances but on rebuilding life with purpose, resilience and balance. Yoga and meditation do not replace medication-assisted therapies, counseling or peer support, but evidence increasingly suggests they can enhance those pillars by addressing underlying physiological stress responses and emotional triggers. As research continues to grow, clinics, therapists and recovery communities alike are watching closely: bridging neuroscience with ancient practices may offer a new frontier in healing from one of the most challenging public health crises of our time.
In Mobile County, Alabama, there is a broad range of treatment options, many of which are listed on the Project Persevere website’s Treatment Programs page. Below, find the list of a few that incorporate holistic practices with traditional therapies. Remember, recovery is not one-size-fits-all, and not every center explicitly lists yoga or meditation on its roster of services. Still, many coordinate with community partners or wellness professionals to help clients explore these practices as part of holistic aftercare or ongoing relapse prevention.
Discover how Project Persevere’s initiatives are creating real impact across treatment, prevention, recovery, and community support. Explore our programs below to see how each one contributes to lasting change in the fight against opioid addiction.
Team Wellborn Strategies + CiviConnections develops and executes a multi-platform communications and paid media campaign that reduces stigma, raises awareness of treatment options, and strives to prevent new cases of opioid use disorder. The program includes polling and audience research, creative production, strategic media placement across digital and traditional channels, public relations, grantee coordination, and real-time campaign optimization.
Waterfront Rescue Mission’s Recovery Readiness, the first of three phases in its LifeBuilder Recovery Program, addresses opioid issues in Mobile through a holistic, faith-based approach. By addressing the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of addiction, they help individuals build a strong foundation for long-term recovery and sustainable life change.