1. Housing Choice and SUD in a Trauma-Informed Continuum
Creating Choice in Supportive Housing for individuals with a Substance Use Disorder
James Ginsburg, MNM, CAC III
Colorado Coalition for the Homeless

2. The Peak Experience of Choice
Housing
Choice
Trauma-informed, Person-Centered, Strengths-Based, Peer-led, Recovery Oriented
Housing is the solution to Homelessness

3. Colorado Coalition for the Homeless - Evolution of Recovery Housing
- 30 Years of direct access to supportive housing – Housing First intuitively.
1800 units of PSH
scattered site PSH
78 Transitional Recovery units
- 15 years of dabbling in Recovery Housing
- 8 years of targeted Recovery Housing – VAGPD – Durkin
- 4 years of conscious scaling of transitional and permanent Recovery Housing -

4. Bringing Balance to the Continuum of Care
Housing is the solution to homelessness
Death and Destruction in HF – visa via substance use
Subjecting ambivalence to traumatizing environment
Housing Choice/Access to Abstinence-based living
The “vivo” is counter-productive
Housing First Only/
Harm Reduction
Low-Barrier access
Addressing recovery in vivo

5. No Wrong Door Choice within Centralized Intake
Ability to move from HF Model units to Recovery Units and vice versa
Movement from Transitional Recovery units into permanent AODF unit OR
Scattered site/project non AODF dwelling

6. PSH Downtown Lofts Riverfront lofts Stout Street Health Center
West end Flats
PSH

7. Turning Point – Oxford House
Fort Lyon
Transitional Recovery Housing
248 Recovery units
Civic Center Apts. 39 Recovery GPD
85% housing retention after 12-mo. Non AOD 79% AOD-free

8. Cost/Benefit of Transitional Recovery Housing vs. Treatment as Usual
$20,762/person/year in Transitional Recovery Housing – room, board, education, supportive services, integrated primary and BH care.
Treatment As Usual: $22,067/person/year
Perlman and Parvensky, 2007

9. Fort Lyon Outcomes 74% Leave with at least one source of cash income
89% Who complete move into permanent housing
37% Enrolled in higher education
12% Working full-time – transition to permanent housing without subsidy

10. Conclusion
In a trauma-informed environment – alcohol and other drug-free living is an available option.
Abstinence-based living is part of a harm reduction model.
Moving from isolation to supportive community is key to all forms of recovery: AOD, MI, Poverty, Homelessness.