Addiction recovery is a deeply challenging journey in and of itself, but without affordable housing options, it can feel almost impossible to manage. Moreover (emotions aside) statistics show that stable, supportive housing increases the positive outcomes of a person’s recovery process. Sure, it’s possible to recover from addiction without housing, technically, but why make something that’s already hard so much harder?
Thankfully, there are several options for folks to choose from when it comes to accessing affordable housing while in addiction recovery. To help you make an informed choice in your journey forward, we’ve broken down the different types of affordable housing options for adults in addiction recovery. (Specific services will vary based on where you live, but these are the categories most affordable housing and/or addiction recovery housing options fall within.)
Although not all unhoused people struggle with substance use, there is a correlation between homelessness and addiction, and therefore recovery housing is often considered part of the overall affordable housing system. Whether it’s the addiction that leads to housing instability or vice versa, the connection between the two struggles is undeniable. Furthermore, though addiction is covered under the Fair Housing Act as a disability, recovering addicts (especially those with a criminal record) still may struggle with housing discrimination, on top of that.
Exploring the world of affordable housing support options may not only benefit someone’s recovery journey but also their overall lifestyle and mental wellbeing, as well.
1. Permanent Supportive Housing
Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) is the last line of defense for the most chronically housing unstable. It is a multi-step approach that combines housing assistance, supportive services, and case management to help build independent living skills. These supportive services can include addiction recovery or other treatment options, employment services, and connecting folks with community-based health care. However, PSH facilities may have additional restrictions or requirements for residents depending on where services are being offered.
2. Housing First
Housing First is both a philosophy and a housing model that is founded on the simple principle that everyone is entitled to housing regardless of who they are or what they are struggling with. Most PSH and recovery housing options mandate that participants stay sober and/or work on their mental health issues in order to receive housing assistance. Housing First, on the other hand, prioritizes placing and keeping people in supportive living situations first and foremost. Although it encourages folks to work on themselves and their underlying illnesses, it does not require it, specifically.
3. Recovery Housing
Recovery Housing is what we’re here to talk all about; it is simply any housing service “characterized by alcohol-and-drug-free living settings.” So, for example, some PSH services may be considered recovery housing, but not all recovery houses are a part of PSH services. (Sort of like how all squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares.)
The thing that sets recovery housing apart is its specific focus on addiction recovery, but like most affordable housing options they involve some combination of recovery assistance and peer support.
The Four Levels of Recovery Housing
According to the National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR), an organization dedicated to supporting people in recovery by improving access to services, recovery housing can be split into four levels. These levels may be numbered, but they are not always linear in where they may occur in someone’s recovery journey.
1. Peer-run Recovery Housing (Level I)
Peer-run Recovery Housing is, more or less, exactly what it sounds like! These are democratically run housing maintained by other people in recovery and are often focused on building community and developing supportive relationships between residents. These services don’t have any paid staff on-site and therefore tend to be the least stringent in their management.
This would be considered the most independent recovery housing option, as it allows for residents to have a great deal of freedom whilst still staying in a supportive, sober environment during their recovery journey. Peer-run recovery housing options, however, still usually require that residents stay sober as well as participate in other community activities such as outlining home care and other democratic decisions for the household.
2. Monitored Sober Living (Level II)
Monitored Sober Living services usually involve at least one paid staff member to oversee the procedures and policies of the residences. While they are still fairly independent and include community-oriented services and activities like group therapy, they tend to also have more stringent rules for their residents. Additionally, though they often offer skill training or in-house support, there is usually no requirement to access additional outside recovery aids, just what is available within the house.
3. Supervised Housing (Level III)
Supervised recovery housing options share most of the same traits as monitored sober living residences, however, they tend to have a little more organizational structure and support to them in addition to a more direct approach to life-skills development and treatment options. Furthermore, these programs may integrate outside recovery aids as a requirement to access their services, so residents may be required to attend additional therapy or similar programs.
4. Residential Treatment Housing (Level IV)
Residential Treatment facilities are the most restrictive of recovery options and are often the primary option for anyone in recovery that requires chemical assistance with their withdrawal process. This housing service is also the most clinical in its services and facilities usually have a large staff and complex organizational hierarchy. Residential treatment centers are also often the most traditionally “institutional” of all recovery housing options, which may be better or worse depending on someone’s needs and preferences.
Each of these services may be relevant to different individuals along their recovery journey at different stages, and that may change over time. Don’t forget that recovery isn’t a one-way street, and there’s nothing wrong with that. That said, here is a helpful chart from the NARR to explain where along someone’s recovery journey each of these options may be best suited for their needs.
What Type of Recovery Housing is RCD?
Our homes here at Recovery Community Development would fall under Level III of NARR’s standards for Recovery Housing, as we are a peer-supported recovery housing option that involves 24-hour supervision by a resident advisor in addition to attending other outside support programs. That said, we also emphasize community development and interpersonal support in a way that sets us apart from other more clinical services. Furthermore, we offer job skills training to help our residents develop the tools they need to not only sustain their recovery but thrive in their day-to-day life.
What sets us apart most of all from other recovery housing options is that we combine the life-saving support of recovery housing with the accessibility of affordable housing. Not all recovery housing would be considered affordable housing (the rich and famous have to go somewhere to detox, too, don’t forget) but when the two services overlap, they can be incredibly powerful.
We want to help our residents succeed no matter who they are or what they’ve been struggling with, and we know that starts with a safe, supportive home.
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