MISSION

In 2020, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) launched their Racial Equity Initiative, leading to the establishment of the UK Racial Equity Initiative Coordination Center (UK-REI-CC) in 2023. The UK-REI-CC is committed to creating an intentional learning community that fosters collaboration, innovation, and impact by governing the Initiative and serving its grant awardees. Our center cultivates connections between REI recipients, delivers training, develops research resources, and provides guidance for disseminating findings to reduce drug use associated with health inequities among underserved communities. Drawing from the Radical Healing in Communities of Color framework, our center coordinates projects across diverse institutions, always emphasizing community engagement and the resilience of underserved communities. By guiding teams in challenging dialogues, examining biases, building cultural humility, and employing evidence-based practices, the UK-REI-CC is crucial in enhancing community-engaged substance use research with underserved communities.