GOLDSBORO, NC — U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. met with leaders from Christian Recovery Centers Inc. (CRCI) and other Bridge to 100 Network partners during a visit to Hope Center Ministries’ Goldsboro campus, where federal officials reviewed new research on faith‑based addiction recovery programs operating across North Carolina.
CRCI, which serves Brunswick County through its Shallotte‑area campuses, is one of the Network’s pilot programs participating in an 18‑month research project conducted with the University of North Carolina and supported by the North Carolina Collaboratory.
Early findings show that pairing faith‑based residential care with clinical support cut client dropout rates from more than 40% to roughly 20%. More than 80 percent of participants showed measurable improvement across all six dimensions of well‑being tracked by the study.
The visit followed earlier outreach from HHS officials, including Dr. Monty Burks, Director of the HHS Center for Faith‑Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, who toured CRCI’s Brunswick County campuses ahead of the Secretary’s arrival.
Josh Torbich, President of the Bridge to 100 Network and CEO of CRCI, said the data reinforces what faith‑based ministries have long observed.
“Helping individuals recover and find overall well‑being has been the goal from day one. We have always known the work from faith‑based recovery programs is effective — we can see it through thousands of individuals who have reached a place of great success. Now the data is proving what faith already knew,” Torbich said.
The meeting brought together Bridge to 100 Network partners including CRCI, Hope Center Ministries, Southeastern Integrated Care, and leaders from the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, underscoring growing federal interest in evidence‑backed, faith‑centered recovery models.
Dr. Burks said the Network demonstrates how faith communities can support long‑term healing.
“Recovery happens in community, and they are a powerful example of what can happen when faith, compassion, and opportunity come together,” he said.
Christian Recovery Centers Inc. operates more than 250 no‑cost residential treatment, recovery, and re‑entry beds across the Carolinas, including its Shallotte‑area campuses serving Brunswick County.
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