During a combative Senate hearing, Sen. Angela Alsobrooks pressed U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about his past remarks proposing a national system of “wellness farms” where children could be “reparented.” Kennedy said he had no memory of the specific phrasing and offered an apology if he had used it. The exchange referred to interviews Kennedy gave while running for president in 2024, in which he discussed building farm or work camps across rural America as a sweeping 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 also cited a specific inspiration for his plan: San Patrignano, a large rural addiction community in Italy. He has repeatedly described San Patrignano as a “beautiful model” and suggested building U.S. programs similar to it, even comparing the idea to the Peace Corps in campaign appearances.
San Patrignano, founded in 1978 near Coriano and set on roughly 700 acres, houses roughly 850 people in recovery and emphasizes work, service, community living, and total abstinence from drugs and alcohol. Residents follow regimented schedules, attend on-site schools and workshops, and participate in trades such as winemaking, farming, textiles and dining services. NPR and partner station WBUR reported from the community, interviewing staff and residents who described pride in the program and the sense of care many found there. Residents like Liliana Moretti praised the structure and peer-to-peer support, saying the place “has humanity, it has compassion.”
But San Patrignano’s model is controversial. The program rejects use of medications that are widely accepted by public health authorities as effective treatments for opioid and alcohol dependence, including methadone and buprenorphine. San Patrignano leaders insist “no drugs can cure drugs” and emphasize rebuilding life through work and personal responsibility. Medical researchers and public health officials in the U.S. strongly disagree with that stance for opioid addiction. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other agencies recommend expanding access to medication-assisted treatments because they save lives.
Addiction experts warned that adopting an abstinence-only, work-focused model at scale in the U.S. could be dangerous, given the prevalence of potent synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Dr. Robert Heimer of Yale, who studies addiction therapies, noted that people addicted to opioids who stop using without medication commonly relapse quickly, and when tolerance has fallen they face an enormous overdose risk. “The treatment is worse than the disease,” Heimer said of approaches that exclude medications for opioid dependence.
San Patrignano has a complex history that adds to concerns about replicating its model. Its founder, Vincenzo Muccioli, was eventually convicted of helping to cover up the murder of a resident who had fled the community; he died in 1995 while his case was on appeal. In the 1990s, attempts to expand the program led to scandals and crises in which some residents were held against their will. Current leaders acknowledge past abuses and say they have implemented reforms to improve transparency and safety. They also say their program today is not comparable to Kennedy’s description and that it could not be scaled into the national system he imagines. San Patrignano’s medical director told NPR it would be “impossible” to safely replicate their model on the scale Kennedy has proposed.
Kennedy’s advocacy for San Patrignano-style programs has at times included imprecise or inaccurate descriptions. He has overstated the community’s size and has 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 as a model; San Patrignano spokespersons said they had no contact with Kennedy or HHS on the matter and first learned of his comments through media coverage.
Kennedy’s own statements about medications for addiction have been mixed. On some occasions he called them “practical and pragmatic” when used alongside faith-based approaches, while at other times he voiced deep skepticism, emphasizing his long personal recovery and arguing that what is wrong inside cannot be fixed by “something outside of you, with a substance, a powder, a potion or a pill.” When introducing the White House’s Great American Recovery Initiative, Kennedy frequently emphasized faith, work and abstinence-centered programs as the primary focus of the U.S. response.
Researchers and public health officials say evidence supports medication-assisted treatment as the best way to reduce overdose deaths from opioids. They warn that scaling abstinence-centered, medication-free 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 further interviews or detailed responses about concerns raised by addiction experts and lawmakers regarding San Patrignano or the feasibility and safety of recreating such communities in the United States.
Meanwhile, those who live and work at San Patrignano describe a daily life built around work, community, and long-term recovery. Staff say the community offers people a chance to rebuild in ways that many find meaningful. But leaders there and many outside experts caution that the Italian model’s success is context-specific, that it has a troubled history, and that its rejection of scientifically proven medications makes it ill-suited as a direct template for addressing the U.S. opioid crisis at scale.