THE RECOVERY ROAD
EVERY MILE A MEMORY
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 national annual movement to honor the lives lost to drugs, alcohol, and suicide. In 2024 alone, 307, 000 lives were lost and we launched this campaign to honor each person's story, and their families and communities left to grieve.
The Recovery Road exists to inspire hope for the living, and fund solutions to the behavioral health crisis. It’s about turning grief into action and remembrance into impact.
The Road Back
Recovery is a journey. Youth mental health leads to adult mental health, contributes to substance use, and shapes entire families. We enter the cycle at the earliest, most preventable point.
Youth mental health is where we start. It’s rarely where the story ends.
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.
DURING AMERICA'S 250TH BIRTHDAY YEAR, WE'LL:
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Walk: 1,776 miles around the perimeter of Minnesota.
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Collect: Standardized data from all 87 counties. On the record. The quantitative spine.
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Capture: Stories, faces, testimony. Documentary-quality content from day one.
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Raise: Funds that flow directly to what the walk finds.
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Build:A gap report, a policy brief, and a case file delivered to St. Paul and DC.
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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.
WAYS TO GET INVOLVED
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Walk & Donate
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Spread the word through your social channels
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Partner – Bring your organization, group, or brand into the movement. Click below to see our sponsorship opportunities.
