An award-winning program connects Hennepin Health members who are 18 years or older and have a substance use disorder (SUD) and an emergency department (ED) or inpatient hospitalization for SUD to a certified peer support specialist (CPSS) who can help.
The CPSS has lived experiences that help them understand members’ challenges and point them in the right direction.
Albert Garcia, a CPSS who works with the Hennepin Health program, was abused by others as a child. At one point, “I was threatened by my abusers that if I said anything they’d kill me or my family,” he says. “That was like living in the pits of hell.”
He started drinking when he was seven to dull the pain.
Later, as an adult, Albert experienced mental health issues, was homeless for five years, and began taking drugs. “Using drugs was all I knew to take care of the feelings and emotions I had,” he says. “Trying to come out of addiction, you want it so bad. But every time you go to treatment, there are barriers and challenges that break you down.’”
Helping people with similar struggles
At age 50, Albert got sober. Later, while working with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), someone told him about Minnesota’s certified peer support specialist program. “It clicked,” Albert says. “I lived through this already and learned how to move forward, so I can help others do the same.”
In his role, Albert receives a daily list of Hennepin Health members who are hospitalized at Hennepin Healthcare for SUD. Then he goes to see them. He offers to provide them peer support counseling and connect them to basic needs like a bus pass or treatment and recovery services.
“It’s giving them all the connections they need to move forward instead of coming to the hospital for every incident,” Albert says. “I tell people I’ve been doing this my whole life because it’s my story. Now I have to share everything I’ve come across as resources.”
Peer support in action
Each week, Albert sees about 20 Hennepin Health members. He can work with each person for up to one year.
Success stories stick out. “I followed one individual through the health system for three months,” Albert says. “I helped him write a resume and fill out a job application. He got the job. He was very proud of himself, and a few months later he got a promotion.”
In another case, Albert helped a young man who got an infection who went to his heart. “He was doing drugs, drinking. He kept on coming to and leaving the ED, but I talked him into staying,” says Albert. “I said, ‘Take care of yourself or something bad is going to happen.’ He stayed, he got his infection taken care of, and he said, ‘I want to go to treatment. I’m ruining my heart.’ I told him, ‘You’re the only one who can do that.’ It’s empowering people to make their own choices.”
Growth and recognition for the program
Over 2,300 Hennepin Health members have been screened for program services between July 2021 (when it started) and March 2025. Since then, Hennepin Health has reduced the rate of 30-day hospital readmissions from 16% in 2021 to 12% in 2024 which is below our targeted goal of 13.8% which is the overall 30-day hospital readmission rate at Hennepin Healthcare.
In 2023, the work won a Quality and Safety Improvement award from the Minnesota Hospital Association. Albert accepted the award on behalf on Hennepin Health and Hennepin Healthcare. “This work means everything to me,” Albert says. “It means to never leave anybody behind or alone.”
Substance use disorder is treatable, and recovery is possible. Check out these resources:
If you are a provider, please visit information for mental health and substance use service providers.