April 29, 2026
6 steps (and resources) for getting the treatment you deserve sooner rather than later.
For over 45 years, the Mobile Area Interfaith Conference (MAIC) has united local faith communities to empower marginalized neighbors through advocacy, education, and hands-on services. What began as a coalition of compassion has grown into an anchor for people seeking dignity, stability, and a true second chance.
In 2002, MAIC launched the Metro Chaplaincy Program at the Mobile County Metro Jail, offering pastoral counseling, tutoring, GED instruction, library access, life-skills and job-readiness classes that help people prepare for reentry. Building on that foundation, MAIC developed The Neighbor Center in 2013 (opened 2016) to provide trauma-informed case management, emergency basics like food, shelter, medication, transportation, clothing, and transitional housing—meeting urgent needs the moment someone returns home.
When the workforce barrier became urgent, MAIC expanded again in 2020—adding job readiness and education (including inside the jail through a DOJ grant) and serving hundreds with placement support. Today, MAIC and The Neighbor Center pair faith-rooted care with practical recovery and reentry help—overdose prevention, counseling, employment and housing assistance, and stigma-reducing education with and through local congregations—so neighbors can recover, rebuild, and belong.
The Neighbor Center serves individuals during and after incarceration, offering housing and employment assistance, counseling, education, and spiritual guidance. This initiative focuses on overdose prevention, recovery support, reentry services, and community education to combat stigma—helping each person find hope and stability as they rejoin the community.
Current and formerly incarcerated individuals—citizens who face systemic barriers to housing, employment, and healthcare—especially those struggling with addiction and seeking a second chance.
Mr. Powell’s Story
Jonathon Powell, age 47, was released from a state facility in June 2025 after serving nine years of incarceration. Immediately upon release, he began pursuing training as a shipfitter, building on the AIDT instruction he started prior to incarceration and the welding education he received at Ingram State Technical College. Mr. Powell entered reentry with a clear goal, to gain the skills and certifications required to enter a high-demand, high-wage career pathway in the Gulf Coast’s maritime industry.
At a time when Mr. Powell had limited resources and was working to regain stability, our agency played an essential role in supporting both his reentry and workforce trajectory. Through our reentry program, he received comprehensive supportive case management designed to reduce barriers to employment, assistance with identifying training opportunities, scheduling, transportation, and alignment with state workforce requirements. He was also paired with a peer mentor who had successfully navigated the reentry process, providing guidance, accountability, and real-world insight into maintaining employment and advancing professionally.
Recognizing that work-readiness begins with meeting basic needs, our agency also provided Mr. Powell with essential clothing and equipment necessary for job interviews and training participation. This practical support ensured he could fully engage in the shipfitting training process and meet the expectations of the Mobile Day Reporting Center with the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles. With these foundational needs met, he was able to focus on building skills, earning certifications, and preparing for long-term employment.
In September 2025, Mr. Powell successfully completed his shipfitting exam, an important milestone in the region’s priority workforce sector and he has since secured gainful employment as a Second Class Shipfitter. He remains actively engaged in his recovery through regular NA meetings and continues to build the stability necessary for sustained employment and advancement in the maritime field.
Mr. Powell’s success demonstrates the impact of coordinated workforce development, skill-building, and reentry support. His progress illustrates how targeted interventions, training access, employment-focused case management, peer support, and barrier reduction, create clear pathways from incarceration to meaningful employment. His journey reflects both his determination and the effectiveness of workforce-focused reentry services in preparing individuals for productive careers and long-term economic independence.
Mr. King’s Story
Mr. King, age 46, has spent his entire life navigating significant barriers, growing up in foster care, entering adulthood without stable housing, and enduring years of homelessness and substance dependence. When he joined our program in February 2025, he faced multiple challenges that traditionally hinder workforce entry such as lack of housing, limited transportation, no recent work history, and minimal exposure to formal job training or career pathways.
Through our workforce-aligned reentry program, Mr. King was able to begin addressing these barriers with structured, employment-focused support. Our team provided case management, which included job readiness coaching, goal setting, support in navigating employer expectations, and connection to training programs designed to strengthen long-term employability. He also benefited from peer mentorship, which helped build confidence and provided real-life modeling of workforce success after system involvement.
With this support, Mr. King connected with an employment opportunity in the hospitality industry, an in-demand sector with clear advancement pathways. He quickly excelled, becoming a standout team member known for his consistency, professionalism, and strong work ethic. Employment not only provided income but also opened the door to stability: shortly after securing his position, he was able to obtain transitional housing after living in a tent for an extended period. This stabilized environment has allowed him to maintain employment, continue training, and remain focused on his recovery.
In addition to working full-time, Mr. King has taken proactive steps to advance his career by enrolling in Goodwill Easterseals Technology Career Pathway Courses. These courses will equip him with foundational technology and computer literacy skills, critical competencies that will increase his mobility within the hospitality field. His goal is to advance to a Front desk or Night Auditor position, a role that requires both customer service experience and technology proficiency. Through ongoing skill development, he is preparing himself for more specialized, higher-wage opportunities.
Mr. King is also on track to complete Drug Court on December 19th, a milestone that demonstrates discipline, personal accountability, long-term commitment, traits that align directly with workforce readiness and retention.
Throughout his time with us, Mr. King has shown unwavering dedication to his recovery, financial stability, and personal development. His progress illustrates the powerful impact of integrating workforce development, case management, peer support, and wraparound services within the reentry process. His achievements highlight how early exposure to structured employment, combined with training and barrier-reduction assistance, can create real and sustained pathways for individuals with extensive histories of homelessness, trauma, and instability.
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.