2025 Coming Together Conference

Day 1: 2025 Coming Together

Join us October 28th from 5:30-8:00pm at Delta Hotels Conference Center in Kalamazoo, as we kick off Coming Together with our accredited evening reception! This event will feature two one-hour sessions, networking, and heavy appetizers.

This event is free and open to the public, with parking on site. Registration is appreciated.

Day 2: 2025 Coming Together Conference

Join us for the annual Coming Together Conference on October 29th, at Delta Hotels Conference Center in Kalamazooo. This in-person event is a fantastic opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals and expand your network in the field of substance use and recovery!

Here, you'll have the chance to attend insightful workshops, engaging panel discussions, and inspiring keynote speeches. Our lineup of speakers includes industry experts, thought leaders, and successful individuals in recovery who will share their experiences and knowledge.

Whether you're looking to gain new insights, find tools and methods relevant to your work, or simply connect with others in your field, this conference is the perfect platform to do so. You'll have ample opportunity to network, exchange ideas, and forge valuable connections.

Don't miss out on this impactful event that promises to highlight the latest tools and trends related to the disease of addiction while also breaking the stigma that surrounds it. Mark your calendars and join us at the Coming Together Conference in Kalamazoo, MI!

For further details, please visit www.comingtogetherkalamazoo.com.

Info: Substance Use Disorder is a chronic medical condition that affects 1 in 6 Americans. Unlike other common health conditions, like asthma or heart disease, stigma around substance use is very high. This is particularly true when people who use substances become pregnant. Pregnant people with a substance use disorder often face the highest levels of stigma and judgment, even when they ask for help. Substance use during pregnancy also comes with many health risks for the parent and child that are important to address. For these reasons, it’s crucial to provide compassionate, supportive, respectful care for birthing people who are also experiencing a substance use disorder. As a community, it is imperative that we resist judging pregnant people and instead help them as they begin their journey towards recovery. This public keynote will discuss best practices—centering empathy and the very best research—for caring for birthing people with substance use disorders.

Info: This presentation explores the evolution of the Recovery Movement as a transformative force in behavioral health. Participants will learn how recovery advocates have shifted public perception, influenced national policy, and built inclusive, community-driven systems of care. Grounded in the Recovery Ecosystem framework, the session highlights both local innovation in Detroit and national momentum to replace stigma with empowerment and isolation with connection.

Info: A conversation about the spread of synthetic drugs nationwide, how they change everything we've thought about addiction, overdose, treatment and much more. And how solutions reside in the small, local, community building efforts, so often unnoticed yet crucial in building durable solutions.

Info: This break-out session will discuss the epidemiology of OUD/SUD among perinatal population, and the effects of substance use in pregnancy and postpartum on birthing people and their children. We will discuss barriers to care, stigma, and social drivers of health and recovery. We will discuss how to provide state-of-the art, effective patient-centered, trauma-informed perinatal care that addresses obstetrical, addiction, mental health and social aspects of care and recovery.

Info: Treating substance use disorder is challenging in any setting—but ensuring access to treatment for those who are unsheltered, unhoused or precariously housed requires creativity, persistence, and trust. This session shares Street Medicine Kalamazoo’s experience providing addiction care to unsheltered and precariously housed individuals. We’ll discuss how we engage patients outside traditional settings and utilize a harm reduction approach to meet patients where they are at. We’ll offer practical, street-tested strategies that can enhance addiction care in both clinical and outreach environments.

Info: As part of an integrative care model, acupuncture can provide meaningful support for individuals navigating the challenges of substance use disorders and mental health recovery. Research shows acupuncture may help regulate the autonomic nervous system, reduce cravings, ease withdrawal symptoms, and improve sleep and emotional stability. This session will explore both the physiological mechanisms and practical applications of acupuncture, including a demonstration of the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA) protocol, to show how acupuncture can be incorporated into collaborative treatment plans to support long-term recovery outcomes.

Info: In recognizing that individuals are best served by honoring a person-centered approach towards substance use recovery, it is important to value one’s autonomy to choose what pathway resonates with them the most. Traditionally, twelve-step fellowships like AA or NA have been the mainstay as far as providing vital tools, connection, and building one’s recovery capital. Yet, other groups and programs do exist. This break-out session and panel will explore the concept of multiple pathways and preview a few community-based recovery support groups that may be a possibility for individuals preferring an alternative resource for support.

Info: Prevention services are something that most people participate in at some point during their lives. D.A.R.E. – a popular universal program – incorporates scare tactics and police involvement, but recently, the field of prevention has been reexamined and given new focus. In this session, participants will learn what participation in services can look like for youth in all stages of use, how to engage with them effectively, how prevention and harm reduction go hand in hand, and how selective and indicated prevention services differ from universal services.

Info: The Recovery Ecosystem is a holistic, person-centered framework that supports sustained recovery by addressing the full spectrum of an individual’s needs—emotional, physical, social, and spiritual. It recognizes that recovery does not happen in isolation, but through a connected network of relationships, services, and opportunities. Rooted in the principles of empowerment, equity, and community, the model integrates evidence-based treatment, peer support, harm reduction, housing, employment, education, and spirituality. By aligning internal motivation with external support systems, the Recovery Ecosystem transforms recovery from a clinical event into a lifelong journey of healing, purpose, and reintegration into community life.

Info: This presentation seeks to provide the audience with a brief overview of Substance Use and Behavioral addictions and their relationship with co-occurring mental health disorders within the Veteran population. Current evidence-based approaches, limitations within the field of substance use disorder treatment, and directions for new and progressive treatment approaches will be discussed.

Info: This session will highlight the ongoing work of Helping Other People Exceed (HOPE) thru Navigation's work in navigating returning citizens to Housing, Recovery Services, Education, and Self-Sufficiency. We will showcase the Continuum of Care we have created with intentionality, compassion, and most importantly hope. Join us in learning the best practices we have developed, Tiny Houses of HOPE Updates, and our newest big deal!

Info: This presentation will explore both quantitative and qualitative research at both the national and local levels on the short and long-term neurodevelopment and functioning impacts of prenatal alcohol/substance exposure on children/youth/adults. It will provide interventions to build resiliency in children prenatally exposed focused on building relatedness through realistic expectations and a belief that everyone is doing the best they can.

Info: The question of why/how language is important to the work that is done within treatment courts and the larger criminal legal system is an emerging area of focus. Sociologists, linguists, and others have examined the role of language within our society and the influence it has on thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors. This presentation will begin with an overview of this work and answer the question of “what is language?” Second, the goals of both the criminal legal system and treatment courts will be outlined. Next, an overview of how language can serve as a vehicle by which we do/do not achieve these goals will be provided. Finally, a historical account of how language has changed over time will be reviewed. Specific attention will be paid to terminology practitioners and researchers should avoid using, as well as alternative words/phrases that promote recovery, healing, and wellness.

Info: Adolescents in the pre-contemplative stage of substance use treatment often enter services with low motivation and high skepticism—cue the classic “Why am I here?” This skills-based session explores developmentally appropriate strategies for connecting with youth who aren’t yet considering change. Participants will learn how to build rapport, introduce harm reduction, and define realistic treatment goals. Designed for interdisciplinary professionals—treatment providers, legal staff, educators, and medical personnel—this workshop offers practical tools for engaging “resistant” teens. Attendees will leave with fresh insights and more confidence in meeting adolescents where they are (even when where they are is “this is sus”). Chandelle Johnson, Outpatient Clinical Supervisor, Community Healing Centers

Host or Publisher Community Healing Centers