The Wolfe Street Foundation has come a long way since its humble beginnings in an old funeral home and chapel on Wolfe Street in 1982. Its name may have stuck, despite a location change, but its mission and outreach has grown exponentially over four decades.
The foundation began as a place to host Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, but evolved into the first Recovery Community Organization in the state. In 2007, it moved to its current location in downtown Little Rock. While the foundation still hosts 12-step tradition meetings, faith-based meetings and many other recovery pathways, its vision began to expand beyond just being a hosting space.
Executive director Justin Buck joined the foundation in 2021 after COVID-19 left the organization with an indefinite future.
“After the pandemic, we were in this identity crisis,” Buck says. “We didn’t know how to continue, frankly. But when we got clear about our mission and we aligned our identity behind it, things really took off.”
The WSF mission was divided into three flagship programs: peer support, recovery residences and youth empowerment.
“I like to think of Wolfe Street as a hub,” says Laura Monteverdi, WSF board member and emcee of this month’s Red Carpet Recovery Gala. “It’s a place where people and families seeking recovery can find connections to all the resources they need to thrive.”
The key, Monteverdi says, is that resources come from people who have navigated the same challenges as those seeking help.
Peer Support
“I believe the most integral facet of WSF’s mission in the recovery process is our commitment to peer support and community engagement,” says Monte Payne, WSF’s lived experience and outreach manager. “Lived experience is at the heart of our approach, recognizing that individuals who have walked the path of recovery can offer the most powerful insights, guidance and empathy to those currently in the process. This peer-driven model fosters trust, accountability and a sense of shared understanding that is essential in building hope and motivation for recovery.”
Peer recovery support specialists are certified through the State Department of Human Services and complete extensive training, continuing education and supervised work. They guide their mentee through the entire process, even preparing them for obstacles to recovery like navigating insurance and health care systems, workforce readiness and finding a place to live. They reach people where they are, whether that’s discharging from residential programs, inpatient or outpatient treatment programs or even exiting incarceration.
“We prioritize ongoing outreach,” Payne says. “We want to ensure that individuals in the early stages of recovery are supported as they navigate the complex journey toward long-term wellness.”
Partnerships with other local organizations have created a “robust network of resources” that extends support beyond WSF’s direct services.
“The Wolfe Street Foundation finds strength in community,” Monteverdi says. “We’re not in competition with therapists, treatment centers or other recovery organizations — we bring them together.”
Recovery Residences
Because finding safe, sober, supportive housing is a hurdle for those in recovery, WSF now operates recovery residences for men and women. It’s a temporary, transitional resource for people as they get assistance with permanent housing and employment resources, housing 46 beds.
According to Buck,WSF is leading the way in Arkansas in ensuring standards are met regarding square footage and amenities per resident.
“A person who goes for inpatient treatment and has no follow-up support has a 15% chance of remaining in recovery for a year,” he says. “If you follow that up with support like our program participants receive, that chance goes up to 57%. When you layer on recovery housing, the chances rise to 72%. The longer a person engages with support, the better off they are.”
Housing units are within walking distance of WSF’s Recovery Community Center so traveling to group meetings and catching up with peer support specialists is streamlined for residents, aiding in support consistency.
Youth Empowerment
“I’m most proud of our Youth Empowerment Project,” WSF board chair Mike Moore says. “It helps kids develop coping skills so they can have better mental health and less of a chance of substance abuse disorder.”
Buck says YEP operates at the intersection of prevention and recovery. Rather than the fear-based tactics of many programs in the 1980s and ’90s, it’s about empowering young people to make wise choices.
In structured group time, participants work through topics like identifying their values, creating a personal mission statement and finding purpose in daily life.
“I don’t just say ‘don’t do drugs’ because that’s not our focus,” Buck says. “Our focus is about living your best, healthiest life without substance abuse.”
YEP does put on school assemblies, but the real connections take place in after-school programs where peer specialists can check in with students during unstructured time while they read or play video games to see if they need support or advice.
In August, WSF will launch Camp Thrive where students can build beneficial social relationships in a traditional camp setting, but also explore planning for their futures and preparing for stress and transitions in a healthy way.
A Fashionable Future
WSF will host its 26th annual Red Carpet Recovery Gala this month to raise funds supporting the downtown recovery center. Following recent tradition, the event will again be alcohol-free, a perfect opportunity, according to Buck, to “live out our mission.”
Along with fine dining, signature mocktails, auctions and entertainment, Emmy-winning Fox 16 News anchor Kevin Kelly will share his own recovery story publicly for the first time, and Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin will receive the 2025 Recovery Leadership Award for his efforts to halt the opioid crisis.
For WSF, the future is about continued development of programs in Little Rock and across the state, as well as opening more recovery residences. Programs are already popping up in Hot Springs, Rogers, Jonesboro, Texarkana and other cities in Arkansas. With the federal funding landscape facing uncertainty, Buck says advocacy will be vital in the next three to five years to make sure these programs stay in place.
“I think one of the most important things we can remind the community is that recovery has a face,” Buck says. “It looks like me, it looks like you, it looks like your neighbor, it looks like your child. Addiction happens everywhere, and there’s no one that isn’t impacted by it. If we can quit acting like it’s a family secret or like it’s airing dirty laundry, maybe we can finally get clean.”
“WSF is all about breaking barriers and helping people find the right pathway for them,” Monteverdi says. “Recovery looks different for everyone, but I truly believe we can only really find recovery when we do it together.”
Red Carpet Recovery Gala
Benefiting the Wolfe Street Foundation
May 29, 6 p.m. | The Venue at Westwind
Info: wolfestreet.org/redcarpet