Mission

As researchers who focus on informing policies and treatments that impact people who use substances, we recognize our position and responsibility to advance racial justice for populations affected by substance use.

We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment through the following goals:

1. Cultivate a community of researchers that includes the diverse perspectives and experiences of our society with regards to race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual identity, disability, and socio-economic background.
2. Recruit, train, and engage students, trainees, and early-stage investigators from different backgrounds, cultures, experiences, and perspectives to conduct health economics research on substance use. In addition, CHERISH will conduct targeted outreach and address barriers faced by historically underrepresented groups to conducting health economics research on substance use disorders and HCV and HIV care of people who use substances.
3. Incorporate a racial and ethnic equity perspective across the research process – development of the research question; study design and implementation; and interpretation and dissemination of results – and use economic methods to examine how substance use policies and treatments affect groups that have been marginalized.