MARSHFIELD, WI (June 26, 2026) – The HOPE Consortium is proud to announce that registration is now open for the 10th Annual HOPE Consortium Conference, taking place virtually on August 6–7, 2026. This event celebrates a decade of hope, healing, and human connection while bringing together professionals, community leaders, and advocates committed to strengthening substance use prevention, treatment, recovery, and wellness efforts across rural communities.
This year’s conference theme, The Power of Hope, Healing, and Human Connection, will be explored through more than 30 educational sessions led by experts, practitioners, individuals with lived experience, and community partners. The conference is designed for treatment and recovery service providers, prevention professionals, healthcare providers, criminal justice partners, human service professionals, educators, and community and Tribal leaders.
Attendees will have the opportunity to choose from five educational tracks with the themes Hope, Healing, Human Connection, Recovery Stories & Peer Power, and Collaboration Across Systems. Featured sessions include:
- The Science of Healing: Building Resilience and Emotional Well-Being
- Breaking Down Stigma: Building Understanding and Support for Individuals with Substance Use Disorder
- Loss, Purpose, and Recovery: A Caregiver’s Journey Through Addiction and Healing
- Breaking Cycles: Intergenerational Recovery Stories
- What Helpers and Systems Need to Understand: Indigenous Perspectives on Healing, Recovery, and Relationship-Centered Care
The conference will open with nationally renowned keynote speaker Dr. Jim Harris who will present Supporting People in a Complicated World. Day Two will begin with Hon. Linda Davis, retired judge and current executive director of Face Addiction Now, presenting A Community’s Response to Addiction, highlighting the importance of community collaboration in addressing substance use challenges. The conference will conclude with Pamela Lee, a community health worker from Wood County, sharing her powerful personal recovery journey and discussing the role healing plays in long-term recovery. The session being titled The Power of Healing in Recovery.
Registration is $25 and open to anyone interested in addressing substance use challenges and
supporting recovery efforts in rural Wisconsin and beyond. Individuals who work, reside, or serve individuals within the HOPE Consortium service area—including Barron, Clark, Dunn, Forest, Iron, Jackson, Oneida, Polk, Portage, Price, Rusk, Sawyer, St. Croix, Taylor, Vilas, and Wood Counties, as well as the Forest County Potawatomi, Ho-Chunk, Lac du Flambeau Chippewa, Sokaogon Chippewa, and St. Croix Tribal Nations—are especially encouraged to attend. However, participation is open to all.
Participants may earn up to 9 continuing education hours through conference attendance. For the full agenda and registration information, visit hopeconsortium.org/conference.
Registration closes August 3, 2026, but early registration is encouraged to receive an exclusive conference packet in the mail.
The conference is funded in part by Family Health Center of Marshfield, Inc. and Roots & Wings Foundation, with logistical support provided by the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point Continuing Education team.
For questions, please contact familyhealthcenteroutreach@familyhealthcenter.org.
The HOPE Consortium is a network of partners that initially formed in 2015 with state funding to address the growing problem of opioid misuse in rural, northern Wisconsin. In 2017, the focus expanded to include methamphetamine. The partnership has grown to represent a collaborative rural model for substance use prevention, treatment, recovery, and risk reduction activities. It was further expanded in 2020 and 2023 to include the Central and Western Regions. Today, the HOPE Consortium includes over 70 agencies from 16 counties and 5 tribal nations. Family Health Center of Marshfield, Inc. staff facilitate and provide support to the HOPE Consortium.
