Addiction today is not uncommon. It’s as if any person you converse with has either struggled with a form of addiction themselves or knows of an individual who has. For this purpose, there is a need for help and support in all locations around the world. The good news is that there are many addictive recovery institutions and resources that aim to assist and heal those struggling with addiction. The Center for Hope is exactly one of those amazing organizations created to understand and assist communities and individuals in addictive recovery and support here in Idaho. To other institutions, the Center for Hope stands out for its unique way in which it reaches out to support communities and individuals face-to-face as a successful peer community recovery center. They are a non-profit organization that opened its doors in July 2016, with the goal to expand and spread its influence across Eastern Idaho.
In my studies at BYU-Idaho, I have been blessed to come across this wonderful organization through one great professor on campus, who encouraged me to support them through my senior project. I had previously worked with other classmates to create and hold a community discussion event at the Madison Memorial Hospital in June 2025 here in Rexburg. The goal of the meeting was to bring awareness to locals of the need of strong recovery groups and ultimately lower the stigma that Rexburg is immune to those that are in need of help. It was prevalent after the discussion that there is a need for peer support and recovery coaching everywhere, even here in a predominantly faith-based community.
I wanted to assist The Center for Hope in its mission to create more establishments outside of Idaho Falls and spread its influence and strengthen connections in consistence with its Rural Outreach Project. This project is active throughout the counties of Eastern Idaho, consisting of Bonneville, Clark, Custer, Fremont, Jefferson, Lemhi, Madison, and Teton counties.
To help with the Rural Outreach Project, I created a project proposal to outline steps for finding support in rural Eastern Idaho communities. My main goal was to create a stakeholder map for each county that is in line with this project. These stakeholders I categorized into high influence, medium influence, and low influence. The high influence stakeholders are people like elected officials, law enforcement, and hospital administration. Medium influence are school districts and mental/behavioral health organizations. Low influence is community support and organizations. The reason for the categorization and this project in general is so The Center for Hope can know who to contact to fulfill different needs and increase influence in these counties more efficiently.
Once I categorized the stakeholders, I created a spreadsheet with contact information for each Eastern Idaho county. An issue with gathering current information now is how will it assist The Center for Hope in the future? People change jobs, elected officials are reelected, moves are made, and so forth. The answer is that this information is meant to be a working document that the Center for Hope can update and change based on their needs and future priorities. This project is unique in the way that it may always be ongoing where someone can pick up and improve upon it at any time and in any way.
Even though this project may seem straightforward to some, it does not undermine its importance. Gathering information correctly is important in all aspects of Communication, especially when the goal is to strengthen and grow communities and organizations. As a Strategic Organizational Communications major, I found value in assisting The Center for Hope in gathering information that can help them expedite their goal to expand and connect with stakeholders that see the need to strengthen their communities help those in need. This project is but a small puzzle piece in the grand picture of what The Center for Hope hopes to accomplish throughout the upcoming years. This is what Communication is about-people with different skills and abilities coming together to create something marvelous and bigger than themselves. I am grateful for this experience and the knowledge I have gained while working on this project and am excited to see what impact The Center for Hope leaves on people to come.
Master Spreadsheet: