July 12, 2023

This paid piece is sponsored by South Dakota Biotech.

Someone in recovery from addiction has a better chance of healing with support from a peer.

The trouble is “there are 22 million people in recovery and about 30,000 peer supporters that I could find in research,” said Dr. Melissa Dittberner, professor of addiction, counseling and prevention at the University of South Dakota.

“Dr. Mo,” as she calls herself, has started a business aiming to fill that gap. Straight Up Care was formed in 2022 by Dittberner and Jonathan Lewis, a marketer, developer and app creator.

“The hole we’re filling is there’s not enough peer support,” she said. “As I reached why there isn’t a better path to help people get healthy, we really began to understand that peer support – people supporting people – was a missing piece.”

While peer support has been used formally with cancer patients since the 1990s, it was noted as a best practice in addiction care but not utilized to the extent it could be, she said. So she applied for a $10,000 National Institutes of Health grant – and got it.

“I threw my idea out there to see if it would stick, and that prompted me to start the business,” she said. “I wanted to help. I just didn’t know what it was going to look like.”

Straight Up Care is designed as a digital connecting point to gather, train, connect and pay peer supporters to assist those in recovery from the impacts of addiction and mental health.

It provides a virtual health platform “that gives people in recovery the tools, training and HIPAA compliance to work remotely,” Dittberner said. “A lot of times people in recovery have made a mistake along the path and might have a felony on their record, but they could be a credible source to help others out of the same situation, so we wanted this to be as low-barrier as possible.”

Peer support specialists are “solopreneuers” who can set their own schedules as long as they go through training. Straight Up Care builds a website for them and teaches them how to market their services.

The platform includes a nationally accredited certification training course and a corresponding app allows for text, audio and video chat, plus location-based scheduling.

A digital matching algorithm using advanced machine learning, “not unlike a dating app, helps connect people with what they’re looking for,” Dittberner said, adding the service also can help loved ones.

“If you have a child who is struggling and want to connect with someone else with a child who has struggled, that would be an option,” she said. “And you can pay for a loved one who is struggling to give them services. Instead of giving them cash they might spend somewhere else, you can pay to give them sessions.”

Dittberner connected with FAST Launch at the end of 2022 and completed the program a few months later.

FAST Launch is a growing program provided through BioRise, a new nonprofit initiated by South Dakota Biotech designed to help connect early-stage companies with funding.

The program is available with a U.S. Small Business Administration grant through the Federal and State Technology, or FAST, Partnership Program.

“Straight Up Care is a great example of the broadening context in which we look at biotech advancements,” said Joni Ekstrum, executive director of BioRise.

“The convergence of tech and human health – including mental health – is driving our industry in new and exciting directions, and thanks to BioRise, we now have a vehicle to help secure the funds to support these startups. We’re excited to see where Dr. Mo and her team take this business and know there’s strong potential to change lives.”

Straight Up Care generates revenue by taking 20 percent of peer-session earnings. The company is working with USD and SDSU to secure grant funding for the state of South Dakota to reimburse payments for those qualifying for free peer services.

Thanks to its participation in FAST Launch, Straight Up Care was connected with a variety of resources to help it move forward – from training and mentorship with Katherine Cota and Tung Nguyen to help with accessing additional funding.

“I don’t even know if I have words for it. We just really needed that slingshot and help understanding what’s available in South Dakota and how to get a little funding to get us off the ground,” Dittberner said.

“The last $10,000 we got through FAST Launch was extremely helpful in allowing us to launch in a timely manner. And the education was great. Katherine was super flexible, and Tung helped keep us accountable, and I am extremely grateful for the whole process.”

Straight Up Care also placed third in this year’s Governor’s Giant Vision award, bringing an additional $5,000 in funding. Part of the goal for BioRise and its funded programs is to better prepare companies to compete at Giant Vision.

The business recently launched its website and has started onboarding peer support specialists, “so we’re close to getting people working,” Dittberner said, adding she thinks the platform could scale to support additional needs and help move people into formal counseling with medical professionals.

“I feel like we have a really good chance of being successful, and I’m not stopping until we are,” she said.

To learn more

• To learn more about Straight Up Care, click here.
• In addition to upcoming workshops, FAST Launch offers on-demand sessions and will be adding one-on-one training next year. To get connected, click here or email [email protected].
• To connect with BioRise, click here.

The Federal and State Technology Partnership Program provides funding through the U.S. Small Business Administration to organizations to execute state/regional programs that increase the number of Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer proposals leading to an increase in the number of SBIR/STTR awards from women, socially/economically disadvantaged individuals and small businesses in underrepresented areas – typically rural states. FAST awards build the SBIR/STTR ecosystem through outreach, technical and business assistance, and financial support.