In 2017 in the U.S, an estimated 20.7 million people aged 12 or older needed substance use treatment, however just approximately 4.0 million received any substance use treatment in the past year. (SAMHSA, 2018)

Medication Assisted Therapy (MAT) with maintenance opioids such as methadone, have gained a lot of attention in the public opinion, but it is just part of a successful treatment.

Two major points in successful treatment cases and lower relapse rates are social engagement and meaningful belonging. But the patients in treatment face difficulties engaging in new relationships, isolation, and difficulty re-engaging as an active part of the community. On the other hand, communities still stigmatize people in addiction treatment, caring of patients is delegated or overlooked and there is a need for education and sensitization in the matter.

The authors of the Community Assessment Inventory emphasize the pivotal role the larger community can play in the process of recovery pointing that not only family and friends, but also the patient’s view of the community, could be of support to the individual’s intent to engage in treatment and seek behavior change.

In this proposed community initiative, community members would be trainned and then paired up with patients to undergo a 4-week program that would help with the treatment, self-discovery, and re-establishing bonding skills in the patient. creating at the end, the basis for a sponsor relationship.

This community initiative would need a cross-platform application that can be accessed through a website, tablet or smartphone. This facilitates its management and close the gap between people in addiction treatment and sponsors in the community.

A mobile app can leverage different capabilities embedded in smartphones to be used in a sponsorship program. For example, Bluetooth connectivity, GPS, fingerprint sensor, etc.

It is a phone call that the person in treatment would make during a moment of extreme struggle of triggers and cravings. The phone call would be directed to the main sponsor. It that person does not answer, the call is re-directed to other sponsors. In case there is no answer, the call is re-directed to other members of the initiative that can serve as temporary sponsors. The last resource is there is no answer in the call, would be a 24-hour helpline, like the SAMHSA’s National Helpline.

A fidget element to cope with stress and anxiety that is paired with the patient’s cell phone and tracks the daily activity. Sudden spikes in the activity of the fidget activate a notification on the sponsor’s end, that encourages to contact the person in treatment and ask about the anxiety.

Geofence is a capability in an app that can recognize a perimeter in a real-world area. Sponsors and sponsored can establish geofences around the places in the city that produce triggers. When a person in addiction treatment crosses a geofence, it activates a notification to the sponsor to call the person and ask about their location and how they feel about it.