At a contentious Senate hearing, Maryland Sen. Angela Alsobrooks pressed Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about past remarks in which he proposed a national network of “wellness farms” where children could be “reparented.” Kennedy said he did not recall that specific phrasing and apologized if he had used it. The exchange referred to interviews he gave while running for president in 2024, when he described building farm- or work-based camps across rural America as a broad response to addiction and youth mental health challenges. In those interviews he used the term “reparenting” and at times spoke specifically about Black children, saying such kids “are going to have a chance to go somewhere and get reparented and live in a community.” HHS told NPR that Kennedy used “reparenting” as a psychotherapy term and that his comments were taken out of context.
Kennedy repeatedly cited San Patrignano, a large rural recovery community in Italy, as an inspiration—calling it a “beautiful model” and likening the idea to the Peace Corps in some campaign appearances. Founded in 1978 near Coriano on roughly 700 acres, San Patrignano houses about 850 people in long-term recovery and centers on work, service, community living and total abstinence from drugs and alcohol. Residents follow regimented schedules, attend on-site schools and workshops, and learn trades such as winemaking, farming, textiles and dining services. Staff and residents interviewed by reporters describe pride in the program and say many find meaningful care there; one resident said the place “has humanity, it has compassion.”
But the San Patrignano model is controversial and not aligned with mainstream U.S. public-health guidance. The community rejects medication-assisted treatments widely recommended by health authorities for opioid and alcohol dependence—such as methadone and buprenorphine—arguing that “no drugs can cure drugs” and emphasizing rebuilding life through work and personal responsibility. U.S. agencies including the CDC and many addiction researchers counter that medications for opioid use disorder save lives and are the leading evidence-based approach to reduce overdose deaths.
Addiction experts warn that transplanting an abstinence-only, work-focused model at scale in the United States could be dangerous, especially given the prevalence of potent synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Yale researcher Dr. Robert Heimer has noted that people who quit opioids without medication often relapse quickly and, with lowered tolerance, face a greatly increased risk of fatal overdose—summarizing that some medication-excluding approaches can make “the treatment… worse than the disease.”
San Patrignano also has a fraught history that complicates claims it could be a straightforward template. Its founder, Vincenzo Muccioli, was later convicted in connection with helping to cover up the killing of a resident who had fled the community; he died in 1995 while his case was on appeal. In the 1990s, expansion attempts led to scandals and reports that some residents were held against their will. Current leaders acknowledge past abuses, say reforms have been made to improve transparency and safety, and maintain the community offers many people a stable path to recovery. At the same time, San Patrignano’s medical director told NPR it would be “impossible” to safely replicate their model on the national scale Kennedy has proposed.
Reporting also found inaccuracies in some of Kennedy’s descriptions: he has overstated the community’s size and sometimes framed San Patrignano as serving children when most residents are adults. NPR found no record that Kennedy visited San Patrignano or spoke with its staff before citing it; the community’s representatives said they had no contact with Kennedy or HHS and first learned of his comments through media coverage.
Kennedy’s public statements on medications for addiction have been mixed: he has on occasion called them “practical and pragmatic” when used alongside faith-based approaches, but at other times expressed deep skepticism, emphasizing personal recovery and arguing that internal change can’t be provided by “something outside of you, with a substance… or a pill.” In outlining the White House’s Great American Recovery Initiative, Kennedy has emphasized faith, work and abstinence-centered programs as central elements.
Researchers and public-health officials maintain that medication-assisted treatment is the best-supported way to reduce opioid overdose deaths, and they warn that scaling abstinence-only models in the U.S.—where opioid overdoses already kill tens of thousands annually—risks increasing fatalities. Kennedy and HHS did not provide NPR with detailed responses addressing those experts’ concerns about San Patrignano or the feasibility and safety of creating similar communities in the United States.
People who live and work at San Patrignano describe daily life organized around work, community and long-term recovery, and many report finding purpose there. But leaders within the community and many outside experts say that San Patrignano’s success is context-specific, that its history includes serious abuses, and that its rejection of scientifically proven medications makes it an unsuitable direct template for addressing the U.S. opioid crisis at scale.