Tarusa Stewart is a dynamic leader in the field of recovery, having been in a long-term recovery since 2002. She began her impactful work in the Behavioral Health field in 2010, strategically aligning her efforts with the Peer Workforce Model. In February 2015, Ms. Stewart proactively initiated community engagement through focus groups across three counties in Georgia, successfully leading to the creation of the Recovery Symposium in Houston County, GA. This initiative was designed to foster community solutions, advance the peer workforce movement, and cultivate collaborations that culminated in the establishment of iHOPE Inc., in two locations, a 501(c)(3) recovery community organization in Warner Robins and Fort Valley, GA, dedicated to serving Middle Georgia. iHOPE stands for Intentional Holistic Opportunities to Promote Empowerment.
October 2017 and 2020, Mrs. Stewart’s organization excelled as a subcontractor for the Building Community of Recovery (BCOR) Grant. As a vital member of the steering team, she concentrated on forging robust community partnerships, delivering asset-based community development training and implementation, and building collaborative frameworks. Mrs. Stewart led community workshops that not only promote recovery but also enhance recovery-oriented systems of care, while providing essential technical assistance to four emerging recovery community organizations.
June 2022 to June 2024, Mrs. Stewart led Georgia’s participation in the “Black Faces and Black Voices of Recovery” initiative, a five-state collaboration funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). This project focused on Black women with experiences in substance use disorder (SUD) and the criminal legal system (CLSI). Under the initiative “Black Women (CARE) — Consulting to Advance Addiction Research and Empowerment,” we developed recommendations to ensure researchers prioritize the needs of Black women in their studies. In March 2024, we published a report titled “Engaging Black Women with Lived Experience in Research Studies: Recommendations to Researchers,” providing strategies to improve Black women’s participation in research.
As a Certified Peer Specialist in addiction and mental health, a Forensic Peer Mentor, and a Certified Addiction Counselor, Tarusa Stewart is a skilled facilitator in the science of addiction and recovery as well as Cultural Competency. She supports others in recovery by actively sharing her own recovery journey, which empowers fellow recovery leaders in the rural community of Georgia. Ms. Stewart takes pride in her role within a diverse recovery community collaborative that has developed and hosted numerous National Recovery Month events to raise awareness of peer recovery services in rural Geogia. She excels at building and maintaining relationships with constituents, researchers, advocates, and peers. As the Founder and CEO of iHOPE INC, Tarusa Stewart, along with her Advisory Team and Board of Directors, continues to advance the recovery movement by fostering peer and ally leadership and forming recovery partnerships that help individuals maintain their well-being in our communities.