RFK Jr. needs to deal with habit on farms, with out treatment : NPR

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/7360x4912+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F33%2F43%2Fd265a7084a7c837eb5109bc1eaf2%2Fgettyimages-1307413877-1.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/7360x4912+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F33%2F43%2Fd265a7084a7c837eb5109bc1eaf2%2Fgettyimages-1307413877-1.jpg" class="img" alt="The vineyard at San Patrignano outside Coriano, Italy. The community is home to 850 people, all working to recover from alcohol and drug addiction. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has praised the San Patrignano model, and said he wants to build similar farm and work camps in the U.S. But the concept faces criticism from many medical experts. " fetchpriority="high"/> The winery at San Patrignano exterior Coriano, Italy. The group is residence to 850 individuals all working to get better from alcohol and drug habit. U.S. Well being and Human Providers Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has praised the San Patrignano mannequin, and stated he needs to construct comparable farm and work camps within the U.S., however the idea faces criticism from many medical consultants. Elisabetta Zavoli/Getty conceal caption

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Elisabetta Zavoli/Getty Throughout a combative Senate listening to final week, Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, a Democrat from Maryland, leaned ahead and requested U.S. Well being Secretary Robert Kennedy about his imaginative and prescient for a nationwide system of "wellness farms."

"You stated each black child may be reparented on a wellness farm, are you able to admit that you simply stated that?" Alsobrooks stated, describing the idea as "harmful" and "irresponsible."

Alsobrooks was referring to one among Kennedy's signature concepts to remake U.S. well being and habit care, by sending individuals to farm or work camps.

Kennedy appeared startled by Alsobrooks' query and shortly pushed again. "I must see, hear the recording as a result of I've no reminiscence of claiming something like that," he testified, later including, "If I stated it, I apologize."

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In actual fact, whereas operating for the White Home in 2024, Kennedy did converse at size about "reparenting" American kids on wellness farms, which he proposed constructing in rural communities throughout the U.S.

Kennedy raised the concept throughout a podcast interview in June of that yr and once more throughout a separate podcast dialog in July.

At occasions throughout the interviews, Kennedy appeared to embrace the scheme as a manner to assist a variety of youngsters harmed by avenue drug habit and what he described as over-prescription of tension and melancholy medicines.

However Kennedy additionally spoke particularly about his imaginative and prescient for Black kids.

After making the false declare that "each Black child is now simply commonplace placed on Adderall, SSRIs, benzos, that are identified to induce violence" Kennedy provided what he described as an answer. "These children are going to have an opportunity to go someplace and get reparented and stay in a group," he stated.

NPR reached out to Kennedy and his crew on the Division of Well being and Human Providers. In a press release emailed to NPR, HHS stated that Kennedy did use the time period "reparenting," describing it as a psychotherapy time period, and stated his feedback have been taken out of context.

"Previous to his time as Secretary, he described these communities as areas the place people, notably younger individuals dealing with alienation, psychological well being challenges, and rising charges of despair may bear a type of 'reparenting.'' the HHS assertion stated.

Throughout one of many podcast interviews, nevertheless, Kennedy pointed to the inspiration for his plan not in psychotherapy, however in a rural habit program in Italy: "The mannequin for it is a group that I had direct contact with as a result of a family-member of mine went there — and it is known as San Patrignano's," Kennedy stated.

A "stunning mannequin" in Italy and Kennedy's imaginative and prescient for the U.S. This wasn't the primary time Kennedy cited the small, typically controversial, Italian farm group of roughly 850 individuals positioned a two hour drive east of Florence.

He has repeatedly described San Patrignano as a template for the sweeping federal program - he has in contrast it with the Peace Corps - which he proposed to create.

Whereas operating for president in 2024, Kennedy promised to construct farm camps in rural areas throughout the U.S. to assist individuals recovering from alcohol and drug habit.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/7360x4912+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F2b%2F88%2Fc6273aa84c53a1dbd8a91763f0f7%2Fgettyimages-1307428768.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/7360x4912+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F2b%2F88%2Fc6273aa84c53a1dbd8a91763f0f7%2Fgettyimages-1307428768.jpg" class="img" alt="Roberto Dragoni, the chief agronomist of San Patrignano, talks with some of the young men in rehabilitation in the vineyards and winemaking sector during a lunch break on March 10, 2021 in Coriano, Italy." loading="lazy"/> Roberto Dragoni, the chief agronomist of San Patrignano, talks with a few of the younger males in rehabilitation within the vineyards and winemaking sector throughout a lunch break on March 10, 2021 in Coriano, Italy. Elisabetta Zavoli/Getty Photographs conceal caption

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Elisabetta Zavoli/Getty Photographs "I've seen this stunning mannequin that they've in Italy known as San Patrignano the place there are 2,000 children who work on a big farm and a therapeutic middle," Kennedy stated throughout a townhall model presidential marketing campaign look in 2024 on the Information Nation Community. "That is what we have to construct right here."

However lengthy earlier than final week's Senate listening to, Kennedy's embrace of San Patrignano, and the group's method to habit care, was sparking quiet alarm amongst many medical doctors, researchers, and drug coverage consultants within the U.S.

Critics level to the truth that San Patrignano's program focuses on wellness, abstinence from substance use, and arduous work, however rejects use of scientifically-proven medicines lengthy thought-about the gold commonplace for treating alcohol and opioid dependency by public well being officers within the U.S. and in Italy.

"This [opposition to medications] may be very arduous to reply with out getting indignant," stated Dr. Robert Heimer, who research the effectiveness of habit therapies at Yale College's Faculty of Public Well being.

"We all know that abstinence-based packages fail again and again, typically in a short time," he stated.

NPR reached out to Kennedy and his crew on the Division of Well being and Human Providers repeatedly over a interval of two weeks, asking to interview him about his concentrate on San Patrignano and about issues raised by habit consultants and lawmakers.

We additionally despatched detailed questions, however in an electronic mail to NPR, HHS stated they might haven't any additional remark.

Reporters from NPR and member station WBUR have been capable of make repeated journeys to San Patrignano, the place we interviewed quite a few residents and workers about their program.

"This place has humanity, it has compassion" <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2310x1848+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F74%2Fd8%2Faba0f11146159cdf5f102a07541a%2F20260303-121043-1.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2310x1848+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F74%2Fd8%2Faba0f11146159cdf5f102a07541a%2F20260303-121043-1.jpg" class="img" alt="San Patrignano, established in 1978, is a rural community for people struggling with addiction that spreads over roughly 700 acres in the Italian countryside. Health Secretary Robert Kennedy has pointed to the community as a model for farm camps in the U.S." loading="lazy"/> San Patrignano, established in 1978, is a rural group for individuals battling habit that spreads over roughly 700 acres within the Italian countryside. Well being Secretary Robert Kennedy has pointed to the group as a mannequin for farm camps within the U.S. Brian Mann/NPR conceal caption

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Brian Mann/NPR Morning fog hung within the vineyards as Matteo Diotalevi drove his automobile up the winding lanes of the group, so steep that he struggled with the gear shift.

"From right here we see the ocean," stated Diotalevi, who has labored at San Patrignano for fifteen years.

The view is idyllic, however San Patrignano — which sits other than neighboring cities, with its personal faculty, workshops, dormitories, winery, and a working farm — was established in 1978 due to a lethal disaster. "There was the explosion of the heroin epidemic in Italy," he stated.

Like lots of the individuals right here, Diotalevi voiced satisfaction locally, and its grassroots method to habit care, sustained by scandals and monetary struggles over practically 5 many years.

Today, San Patrignano is residence to roughly 850 individuals, all in restoration. "We assist individuals discover one other likelihood," he stated.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2310x1848+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F10%2F95%2Fa4f53b61478abca47575ec118cbd%2F20260303-100448.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2310x1848+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F10%2F95%2Fa4f53b61478abca47575ec118cbd%2F20260303-100448.jpg" class="img" alt="Matteo Diotalevi stands outside the modern dining hall which sits at the center of San Patrignano, where he has worked for fifteen years. Many of the 850 people who live in the addiction treatment community gather here daily for shared meals. "We help people find another chance," Diotalevi said." loading="lazy"/> Matteo Diotalevi stands exterior the fashionable eating corridor on the middle of San Patrignano, the place he has labored for fifteen years. Lots of the 850 individuals who stay within the habit therapy group collect right here day by day for shared meals. "We assist individuals discover one other likelihood," Diotalevi stated. Brian Mann/NPR conceal caption

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Brian Mann/NPR The philosophy of San Patrignano stays easy: Individuals come to stay and work locally whereas slowly rebuilding their lives, typically over a interval of years. Residents observe tightly regimented schedules, studying duty, whereas embracing whole abstinence from medication and alcohol.

Throughout a tour of the 700-acre group, Diotalevi introduced an NPR reporter to a textile workshop the place lots of the group's feminine residents spend their days. Liliana Moretti, 28, sat at a loom surrounded by webs of coloured thread. "I am placing the thread across the wheel, I've a sequence I have to observe," she defined.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2310x1848+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd3%2F5d%2F27b5e49540afa62972bc1925c4e5%2F20260303-115341.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2310x1848+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd3%2F5d%2F27b5e49540afa62972bc1925c4e5%2F20260303-115341.jpg" class="img" alt="Liliana Moretti, 28, works on a loom in one of San Patrignano's textile workshops. She said the structured work schedule and sense of community in the Italian community helps people like herself heal with addiction. "This place has humanity, it has compassion," she said." loading="lazy"/> Lilliana Moretti, 28, works on a loom in one among San Patrignano's textile workshops. She stated the structured work schedule and sense of group within the Italian group helps individuals like herself heal with habit. "This place has humanity, it has compassion," she stated. Brian Mann/NPR conceal caption

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Brian Mann/NPR Earlier than coming to San Patrignano eight months in the past, Moretti divided her time between California and Italy. She was put up for adoption as a toddler, an expertise she says led to trauma and substance use.

"I had scars that had by no means healed or healed not nicely, not sufficient," she stated. "I had issues that have been unresolved that I patched up with alcohol, with cocaine and with meals largely."

Like the general public who stay right here, Moretti would not bear conventional remedy and receives no medicines. As a substitute, she stated, her program entails arduous work, service, and peer-to-peer counseling.

"This place has humanity, it has compassion. It has issues that allow you to see hope in your self and in others," Moretti stated.

Kennedy, who used heroin for greater than a decade starting in his teenagers, has stated that comparable concepts about wellness, religion, work and group service helped him get better.

San Patrignano leaders skeptical of Kennedy's imaginative and prescient <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/7360x4912+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe7%2Ff1%2F4a07341f4358a526686245c8dbee%2Fgettyimages-1307424288.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/7360x4912+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe7%2Ff1%2F4a07341f4358a526686245c8dbee%2Fgettyimages-1307424288.jpg" class="img" alt="Men in rehabilitation, in the lounge managing sector, set the tables for dinner at San Patrignano on March 8, 2021 in Coriano, Italy." loading="lazy"/> Males in rehabilitation work within the eating corridor at San Patrignano on March 8, 2021 close to Coriano, Italy. Elisabetta Zavoli/Getty Photographs conceal caption

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Elisabetta Zavoli/Getty Photographs However even a lot of San Patrignano's most ardent advocates expressed confusion and frustration over Kennedy's curiosity of their program.

When speaking in regards to the group, Kennedy typically describes it inaccurately. San Patrignano is way smaller and serves far fewer individuals than Kennedy has instructed. Whereas Kennedy has described it as a spot that serves kids, the overwhelming majority of residents are adults.

Dr. Antonio Boschini, San Patrignano's medical director, additionally advised NPR it will be "unattainable" for his group's mannequin to be safely scaled up into the sort of nationwide program Kennedy has described.

"You can not have one other San Patrignano," Boschini stated, noting that when his group tried to develop within the Nineteen Nineties the trouble led to a sequence of scandals that just about destroyed this system. "There have been an excessive amount of individuals, uncontrolled."

NPR may discover no file of Kennedy talking publicly about extensively publicized scandals at San Patrignano, portrayed in a Netflix documentary sequence in 2020, which have drawn nationwide consideration throughout Italy.

Based on Boschini, 5 residents have been held towards their will within the Nineteen Nineties once they tried to depart this system. "Like jail, that is towards the legislation," he advised NPR. "It was a disaster."

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2278x1822+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F25%2F7e%2F27dec5614156bd3ac8289c01f987%2F20260303-135108-1.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2278x1822+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F25%2F7e%2F27dec5614156bd3ac8289c01f987%2F20260303-135108-1.jpg" class="img" alt="Dr. Antonio Boschini, San Patrignano's longtime medical director, said he doesn't believe his community's model can be safely scaled up into the kind of national program Kennedy has described." loading="lazy"/> Dr. Antonio Boschini, San Patrignano's longtime medical director, stated he would not imagine his group's mannequin may be safely scaled up into the sort of nationwide program Kennedy has described. Brian Mann/NPR conceal caption

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Brian Mann/NPR The Italian businessman who based the group, Vincenzo Muccioli, was ultimately convicted of serving to to to cowl up the homicide of 1 resident who had fled San Patrignano. Muccioli died in 1995 whereas his case was on enchantment.

San Patrignano's present leaders acknowledge that previous practices left residents susceptible. They are saying they've carried out sweeping reforms designed to enhance transparency and security.

"There have been two individuals who dedicated suicide and that is one thing that continued to shade, to offer the shade, on our program," stated San Patrignano spokesperson Monica Barzanti. "These days we've got acknowledged our mistake."

NPR was additionally unable to verify whether or not Kennedy had ever visited San Patrignano or spoken with any of their employees about its program earlier than suggesting it as a mannequin for the U.S.

Based on Barzanti, she has no file of speaking with Kennedy, or with U.S. Well being Division officers, and solely realized about his enthusiasm by the media.

"I learn the interview [with Kennedy] as a result of somebody forwarded it to me, it's the solely factor I find out about this mission," she stated.

"The therapy is worse than the illness" Whereas San Patrignano has modified many elements of its program, one controversial facet of the group's method has not been reformed. This system nonetheless rejects all use of medicines — together with methadone and buprenorphine.

"No medication can remedy medication," Barzanti advised NPR. She described her group's concentrate on work and private duty as the one path to full restoration from habit. "It's the solely manner that it really works. No person can remedy you. It's a must to rebuild your individual biography."

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2310x1848+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F25%2F71%2F6ddf905b4d068461dbff1aea92f2%2F20260303-105804.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2310x1848+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F25%2F71%2F6ddf905b4d068461dbff1aea92f2%2F20260303-105804.jpg" class="img" alt="Monica Barzanti, a spokesperson for San Patrignano, said the community has implemented reforms designed to improve safety for residents. But she said there are no plans to incorporate scientifically proven medications that many doctors rely upon to help people recover from alcohol and opioid addiction." loading="lazy"/> Monica Barzanti, a spokesperson for San Patrignano, stated the group has carried out reforms designed to enhance security for residents. However she stated there are not any plans to include scientifically confirmed medicines that many medical doctors depend on to assist individuals get better from alcohol and opioid habit. Brian Mann/NPR conceal caption

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Brian Mann/NPR That view is extensively rejected by medical researchers and public well being officers. Habit consultants interviewed by NPR stated the influence of San Patrignan's method is much less problematic in Italy, the place the most typical types of substance use contain alcohol and cocaine. Overdose charges are a lot decrease.

However within the U.S., the deadliest avenue medication are opioids. Fentanyl, heroin and prescription ache capsules already kill tens of thousand of individuals yearly, based on the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention.

Heimer, the researcher at Yale, stated it will be harmful to undertake San Patrignano's abstinence-centered method extra extensively within the U.S. and will result in extra fatalities.

Heimer's analysis reveals that when individuals hooked on opioids try to cease utilizing avenue medication with out assistance from medicines, they usually relapse inside a short while.

"As soon as their tolerance [to opioids] goes down, and so they relapse, they're at huge threat [of overdose and death]" Heimer stated. "The therapy is worse than the illness."

Once more, Kennedy and HHS officers did not reply to NPR's request for an interview or to an inventory of questions on issues with the San Patrignano mannequin.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/6000x4000+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd4%2Ff4%2F18c71c404149b27620d244488d78%2Fap26112563463050.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/6000x4000+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd4%2Ff4%2F18c71c404149b27620d244488d78%2Fap26112563463050.jpg" class="img" alt="Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies before the Senate Committee on Finance on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in Washington. During the hearing he was questioned about his past statement that wellness farms could be used to "reparent" some children, including Black children." loading="lazy"/> Well being and Human Providers Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies earlier than the Senate Committee on Finance on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in Washington. Jose Luis Magana/AP conceal caption

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Jose Luis Magana/AP In previous interviews, Kennedy has despatched combined messages about his view of science-based medicines that deal with habit.

At occasions he has described them as "sensible and pragmatic" when used alongside faith-based approaches.

Different occasions, Kennedy has voiced deep skepticism about prescription therapies for habit, as he did throughout his look on Information Nation in 2024.

"I have been in restoration for forty years. I am an individual who would by no means inform you the reply is a drug," Kennedy stated. "I am an individual who says you by no means can repair what's improper inside you with one thing exterior of you, with a substance, a powder, a potion or a capsule."

The CDC and different well being businesses have concluded that the easiest way to save lots of lives is to develop use of opioid-addiction medicines. However in February of this yr, when rolling out the White Home's new habit program, known as the Nice American Restoration Initiative, Kennedy spoke regularly about his religion and made it clear he believes abstinence-centered packages ought to the main focus for the U.S. response.

"That is the way you precipitate a non secular revitalization, a non secular renaissance, by reaching out to addicts on the road, giving them steady lives," Kennedy stated.