Scholarship Program Aims to Improve Treatment Access for Communities of Color

Ashley Addiction Treatment has partnered with the Release Recovery Foundation, a not-for-profit co-founded by former reality TV star Zac Clark and Justin Gurland, to create a scholarship program aimed at improving racial diversity within treatment settings.

Launching with a commitment of more than $500,000, Ashley’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program looks to improve access to addiction treatment for communities of color by removing financial barriers. The program is the latest in a series of moves by the company to foster a more inclusive environment for treatment. Last year, the organization created a DEI committee that meets biweekly to discuss current events and issues around race.

“As a non-profit, our mandate is to serve the entire community,” Ashley Addiction Treatment co-CEO Alex Denstman says. “We didn’t feel we were doing that effectively, and we knew it was important for our workforce to represent our patient population.”

Clark and Gurland formed Release Recovery, a private-pay addiction treatment program for men and women in New York, in 2017. Last year, the duo launched the Release Recovery Foundation to connect individuals with treatment options and provide financial assistance to those struggling to afford care.

Prior to the launch of the scholarship program, Ashley and Release leaders had established a professional relationship through client referrals and additional discussions. Denstman says Ashley executives were already having internal talks about earmarking funds to provide scholarships for patients of color when the possibility of collaborating with Release on the new initiative arose.

In its release announcing the scholarship program, Ashley noted studies showing that despite experiencing similar rates of substance use disorder, people of color—which includes Black, Hispanic, Latinx, Native American and Asian American communities—have been found to be more likely to encounter barriers to treatment, including costs and other socioeconomic factors. Denstman says it has been a topic of conversation among executives in the field he has spoken with over the past year, and that Ashley’s leadership team was motivated to act.

“We want to set a bar and say we’re not just going to talk, we’re going to commit some resources to this and make our audiences uncomfortable talking about race and equity, and make a commitment,” Denstman tells BHE. “In the big picture, what we’re doing is small, but if other treatment organizations join us and make similar commitments and understand how we can make an impact, on a broad scale, we can do some good.”

Added Gurland: “I’m excited. It’s easy to put up an Instagram post, but this is really an opportunity to put our money where our mouth is. … If we can do our part to make sure treatment gets to people who need it, that’s what our passion is. … We want to get treatment into the hands of everyone who needs it, regardless of whether they can afford it.”

Denstman notes that the DEI scholarship program isn't a one-off project and that both organizations will continue to raise funds for it year-round. He adds that if other providers are interested in launching similar initiatives for treating broader patient populations, he is happy to engage in discussions on the subject.

“As that playbook gets finalized, we’ll share it,” he says. “If a treatment provider wants to get involved and understand how to create a more equitable treatment setting, we’re an open book. They can certainly reach out to us.”