Volunteer

Help us build a recovery-oriented future!

Are you passionate about grassroots recovery? We need recovery community members with diverse perspectives, strengths, and lived experiences to help us execute our mission of educating, advocating, and mobilizing the community-based recovery movement across Minnesota. Check back as we add more volunteer opportunities over time.

Current Volunteer Opportunities:

Peer Advisory Council

MARCO is seeking dedicated volunteers who support our mission to educate, advocate, and mobilize resources to grow the community-based recovery movement across Minnesota.

As a member of the MARCO Peer Advisory Council, you will:

Advise MARCO on its programs and services

Participate in MARCO’s strategic planning
Bring diverse recovery community perspectives to MARCO’s planning and priority setting
Be an ambassador for MARCO’s mission

Time commitment:

1 to 2 hours per month
Annually, two half-day planning sessions

Qualifications:

Lived experience with substance use disorder and recovery, either personally or as a family member or recovery ally
Commitment to all pathways of recovery, including harm reduction
Personal experience with diverse cultural and/or geographic communities preferred.
Personal experience with justice involvement, incarceration, housing insecurity, etc., welcome!

How do I join MARCO's Peer Advisory council?

Prospective peer advisory council members can submit their information using the online application. You may view the PAC Volunteer Position Description here, but please submit your information using the online form below.

Lighthouse Beginnings

LHB came to life when we became a 501(c)(3) in 2020. We built a board of directors of people in recovery. LHB launched for the purpose of assisting and empowering individuals to remove the roadblocks experienced while in the recovery process.

LHB was developed and continues to be managed by individuals with lived experience, education, diverse backgrounds, and different pathways of recovery. We have locations in Brainerd and in Minneapolis, trying to expand our reach to those who face recovery daily, know people in recovery, face homelessness, or have been wrongly incarcerated.

Service Delivery Options

On-site at a physical location
In-person in the community through outreach
In-person in the community through pop-up sites at other provider locations

Services Offered

Certified Peer Recovery Specialists (1:1 support)

On-demand recovery navigation (call/email)

All recovery meetings

Volunteer/internship opportunities

Recovery skills-building classes

Social recovery events

Our Approach

Peer support encompasses a range of activities and interactions between people who share similar experiences of being diagnosed with mental health conditions, substance use disorders, or both. This mutuality is often called “peerness” — a connection between a peer support worker and a person in or seeking recovery that promotes connection and inspires hope.

Peer support offers a level of acceptance, understanding, and validation not found in many other professional relationships. By sharing their own lived experience and practical guidance, peer support workers help people develop goals, create strategies for self-empowerment, and take steps toward building fulfilling, self-determined lives through individualized wellness plans.

Outreach & Resources

Onsite supplies
Street outreach (support, education, supplies)
Referrals to Medication Assisted Recovery
Overdose prevention training

Harm Reduction Supplies

Naloxone/Narcan
Fentanyl test strips
Xylazine test strips

Additional Support

Recovery residences / sober housing
Housing stabilization support services
Mental health peer support services
Food shelf / food assistance
Clothing shelf / clothing assistance

Programs & Events

Public trainings

We've offered anger management classes, as well as an all-recovery meeting every Tuesday at 1 PM.