Creating Communities that Support Long-term Recovery from Addiction Tom Hill Director of Programs Faces & Voices of Recovery May 25, 2011

Individuals in or seeking recovery returning to families and communities from… Active addiction Treatment Jails and prison Military duty Other

…to recovery- supportive environments Safe and affordable place to live Steady employment and readiness Education and vocational learning Life and recovery skills Health and wellness Sober social support networks Sense of belonging Other

SAMHSA Strategic Initiative #4: Recovery Supports Health Home Purpose Community

SAMHSA Strategic Initiative #4: HEALTH Issues History of lack of preventative medicine Oral health Reproductive health HIV, Hepatitis C Other health conditions Mental health Physical fitness Nutrition

SAMHSA Strategic Initiative #4: HOME Issues Degrees of homelessness Housing discrimination against people in recovery with criminal justice history Safe and affordable recovery housing (alcohol and other drug free) Recovery housing for single mothers and children Recovery housing: NIMBY issues Monitoring and standardizing recovery housing

SAMHSA Strategic Initiative #4: PURPOSE Issues Employment discrimination against people in recovery with criminal justice history Need for recovery employment networks Job readiness and preparation Volunteer opportunities Recovery-oriented employers and employment programs Leadership development: volunteer and career ladders Recovery GED programs, high schools and colleges Community college programs for people in recovery Restrictions on voting rights for people with criminal justice history

SAMHSA Strategic Initiative #4: COMMUNITY Issues Returning to communities that support individuals and families in recovery Need for community education Mapping of indigenous community supports Role of recovery community centers Role of faith communities

What other supports are needed? Legal assistance Expunging criminal records Financial assistance: debt, taxes, basic budgeting, etc. Obtaining driver’s licenses Dealing with revoked professional and business licenses Regaining custody of children Life skills Other

Working definitions of recovery “Recovery from alcohol and drug problems is a process of change in which an individual achieves abstinence and improved health, wellness, and quality of life.” CSAT/SAMHSA Recovery Summit (2005) “Recovery from substance dependence is a voluntarily maintained lifestyle characterized by sobriety, personal health, and citizenship.” Betty Ford Institute Consensus Panel (2007)

Many (stage appropriate) pathways to recovery Mutual aid Faith-based Medication-assisted Treatment- enhanced “Natural” Other

Strength-based Assessments and Recovery Capital Responsibility for recovery shared by individual, family, and community Identification and location of recovery-supportive resources Challenge: Equation of low recovery capital and high severity addiction Strategies to address hierarchy of needs

Recovery-oriented Systems of Care Build on the strengths and resilience of individuals, families and communities as individuals take responsibility for their long- term recovery, health and wellness. Make services and resources available that people can use to meet their needs. A variety of supports that work for and with each person to restore their lives (an ongoing process). Professional treatment is one of the many services and resources people may need to get well and get their lives back on track.

How systems will need to change Public/health systems education about addiction prevention and the many pathways to recovery Greater focus on what happens BEFORE and AFTER primary treatment Transition from professional-directed treatment plans to person-developed and directed recovery plans – recovery self-management Greater emphasis on the physical, social and cultural environment where people live their daily lives

Recovery Support Services (RSS) Often formalized from more traditional and indigenous community supports – but do not replace Non-clinical but support work can take place in treatment settings Before, during, after, and in lieu of treatment Provide recovery-oriented social support Often provided by faith, community, and recovery community organizations Peer recovery support services are a subset

Four Types of Social Support Instrumental Informational Emotional Affiliational

Peer Recovery Support Services (PRSS) Peers are RSS providers Peer is a person with lived experience with addiction and recovery Peers often bring value added Includes family members, in some cases Peers do NOT diagnose, counsel, or give advice Different than counselor Different than sponsor

Examples of Peer Services Peer recovery coaching Peer-facilitated groups Resource connectors Peer-operated recovery community centers

Peer Recovery Coach Personal guide and mentor for individuals seeking to achieve or sustain long-term recovery from addiction, regardless of pathway to recovery Connector to instrumental recovery- supportive resources, including housing, employment, and other professional and nonprofessional services Liaison to formal and informal community supports, resources, and recovery- supporting activities

Recovery Planning and Recovery Plans Recovery Capital Assessment Mutually-agreed upon recovery goals Identified areas of support and challenge Achievement strategies and milestones Tiered and built-upon goals Re-visitation and modification

Recovery Community Centers A physical location where recovery community organizations organize their ability to care and to advocate Community recovery resource with workshops, trainings, meetings, and sober social events A place where the recovery community volunteers and gives back

Recovery- oriented Communities Mobilizing all of the resources in our communities to: Change discriminatory public policies in the areas of health care, jobs and housing to eliminate barriers Develop networks and systems that work together to treat addiction as a public health, not criminal justice, crisis and accord dignity to people with addiction and their families Help more people find and sustain their recovery for the long-term

Recovery- oriented Communities Communities of recovery - Recovery community organizations - Mutual aid/support groups - Recovery homes - Recovery schools - Recovery media and entertainment - Organizations of recovering professionals - Recovery-friendly employers and many others…

We need more than effective treatment and recovery support services. We need a society where individuals, families and communities affected by alcohol and other drugs have universal access to the support needed to achieve recovery, health, wellness and civic engagement.

25 Message of Hope - William White Author and Recovery Advocate “Many of us have carried a message of hope on a one-to-one basis; this new recovery movement calls upon us to carry that message of hope to whole communities and the whole culture. It is time we stepped forward to shape this history with our stories, our time and our talents.” -

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