THE RECOVERY ROAD
Where help doesn't exist. Yet.
A 1,776 mile walk around the entire state - uncovering gaps at every corner.
Collecting the data.
Building the case.
Funding the solutions.
Teens struggling with substance use had a mental health diagnosis first.
2 OUT OF 3
Of adults with substance use disorder began
as adolescents.
90%
Adolescent mental health programs in many rural counties.
ZERO
Minnesota has a youth mental health crisis that is under-counted, under-mapped, and under-funded — and no one has ever gone to every corner of the state to prove it.
We're going to change that.
What is The Recovery Road?
The Recovery Road is a walking movement built on a simple belief: the communities that need help the most are often the ones hardest to reach.
We walk. We listen. We document what's missing. We raise money for the programs that fill the gaps. And we take what we find to the people with the power to change it.
The idea came to life in July 2025. By September 29th, we were on the road. Four weeks later we had walked 500 miles across six states - West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama - going directly into communities where behavioral health resources are scarce or nonexistent.
That was round one.
On June 29, 2026, we launch round two. This time we're walking the perimeter of Minnesota - 1,776 miles - with a focused lens on youth mental health. Because every kid in this state should be able to get care. And right now, too many can't.
Each year we walk with a purpose. The route changes. The theme changes. The need doesn't.
We go where help doesn't exist. Yet.
Join The Recovery Road Updates
Want to keep up on the journey as we take to the road?
Sign up to receive the newsletters on The Recovery Road 2026.
WHY
We are walking for youth mental health to collect the data and raise money to fund the solutions.
WHEN
Summer through Fall 2026. Key moments: National Recovery + National Suicide Prevention Month (September), World Mental Health Day (October 10), America’s 250th.
HOW
Sponsors fund the mission. Partners amplify it. Locals bring community to it. WALK. GIVE. TELL.
WHY NOW?
Because each day we wait, more lives are lost. And economic stability falls. In 2020, suicide and self-harm cost the U.S. over $500 billion. Substance use—alcohol, nicotine, and other drugs cost more than $700 billion each year in health care, lost productivity, and crime. Investing now produces an outsized return—anywhere from 2 to 10 times the benefit—and prevents losses that are simply too great to ignore.
The Recovery Road isn’t just a campaign—it’s a call to action. Hope truly can’t wait, and the returns—both human and economic—are immediate and profound.
THE JOURNEY
Walk: 1,776 miles around the perimeter of Minnesota.
Collect: Standardized data from all 87 counties. On the record. The quantitative spine.
Capture: Stories, faces, testimony. Documentary-quality content from day one.
Raise: Funds that flow directly to what the walk finds.
Build: A gap report, a policy brief, and a case file
delivered to St. Paul and DC.
Create: Community where it didn’t exist. A road people keep walking long after we finish.
SO WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?
Proceeds go to the One Arrow Foundation, a 501c3 organization, which backs behavioral health programs—particularly in high-need, under-resourced areas—offering prevention, treatment, crisis intervention, suicide prevention, and recovery support.
Money raised yields societal savings with reduced health-care costs,
criminal justice costs, and regained economic productivity.
30% — Funds the Road
The infrastructure that makes the data gathering possible.
Logistics, safety, storytelling, and community engagement.
70% — Funds the Gaps
Community grants ($2,500–$10,000) — fast, direct to organizations and navigators already filling gaps without resources.
Program grants ($10,000–$50,000) — tied to gaps the map identifies. Every grant is traceable to a story.
Systems change ($50,000+) — Year two and beyond. Co-funded with state and federal dollars the policy work unlocks.
