According to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), in the U.S. alone, 1.29 million experience homelessness. The prevalence of homelessness on its own opens the door to multiple physical and psychological risk factors. Furthermore, being unhoused shares an intersecting relationship with other challenges with substance use and mental health disorders. Thus, recovery housing can play an important role in the development of substance use disorder (SUD) and sustaining recovery.
At Driftwood Recovery, we recognize how important recovery housing is to community integration and, thus, sustained recovery. With community integration, you can foster psychological well-being and build a meaningful life without substances. Through a vibrant alumni program, you can find the support needed to build life skills for resilience to life stressors. Additionally, recovery housing provides a foundation and jumping-off point for rebuilding other parts of life and maintaining recovery. Supporting work and school opportunities, restoring relationships with loved ones, and more are made possible with recovery housing.
Understanding the relationship between homelessness and poor health outcomes is the first step to addressing barriers. With greater insight, you can dismantle barriers to recovery housing and maintaining recovery.
Understanding the Intersection of Homelessness and Health Outcomes
Homelessness and unhoused individuals often bear the burden of stigma built on myths about homelessness. Listed below, as the USICH notes, are some of the myths and facts about people experiencing homelessness:
- Myth: People would not be unhoused if they had a job
- Fact: Employment can help with housing, but 40%-60% of unhoused individuals have a job
- A majority of housing is unaffordable as housing prices rise, but wages remain low
- There are fewer affordable housing options compared to those with low-income
- Myth: Homelessness is a choice
- Fact: Homelessness is typically tied to economic difficulties like low income, job loss, and the rising cost of living
- Discriminatory practices and policies also contribute to unhousing
- Disabilities
- LGBTQIA+
- Couples
- People with children
- Criminal records
- SUD
- Discriminatory practices and policies also contribute to unhousing
- Myth: Homelessness is caused by SUD and or other mental health disorders
- Fact: Some people with a severe mental illness (SMI) and or SUD are at risk for homelessness
- According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 21% of individuals experiencing homelessness have an SMI and 16% have SUD
- Many individuals with SMI and or SUD do not experience homelessness
- A majority of unhoused individuals do not have a mental health disorder or SUD
Although complex and often intersecting, homelessness is not a direct cause of SUD and other mental health disorders. Rather, as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) states, homelessness and health are interrelated. Many factors, such as disabilities and medical challenges, can lead to job loss, economic hardship, and homelessness. Understanding the interrelated relationship between homelessness and health can provide more insight into addressing and supporting long-term recovery housing solutions.
Relationship Between Homelessness and SUD
Being unhoused can increase your exposure to and risk for trauma like sexual assault and robbery. There is a high co-occurrence between trauma and SUD and or other mental health disorders. The distress of trauma can impede your ability to effectively cope with life stress which impairs your psychological well-being. Therefore, you are more likely to engage in maladaptive coping strategies like self-medicating to suppress your distress. Thus, there is often a significant intersecting relationship between homelessness and SUD.
Yet, many people with SUD and or SMI face barriers to treatment and recovery housing to support sustained recovery. You have overcome countless barriers to enter and go through treatment, and your work should not be hindered by unstable housing.
Addressing Recovery Housing Barriers to Recovery
Finding affordable housing can present a host of barriers to people regardless of SUD or SMI. Some common barriers to affordable housing include long wait lists, scarce housing options, housing that meets your specific needs, and meeting housing criteria. Further, SUD presents additional barriers to recovery and recovery housing. For example, individuals with SUD and or SMI may experience barriers like:
- A lack of integrated systems
- Traditionally, housing services are under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
- Individuals receiving housing services may not have access to ongoing supportive services
- Whereas SUD and mental health services are under the SAMHSA
- Individuals with SUD and or SMI may not qualify for some housing support services
- Traditionally, housing services are under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
However, with an alumni program, you can access services and resources to address your specific needs for recovery housing.
The Benefit of Different Recovery Housing Levels
As the SAMHSA notes, an adequate continuum of care can provide various services and housing types. The type or level of recovery housing is important for addressing your needs, like gender-specific housing and family housing. Listed below are the benefits of different kinds of recovery housing:
- Halfway houses
- Reintegration and relapse prevention
- Support applying for government assistance programs
- Oxford homes
- Long-term recovery through interdependence and accountability
- Smaller groups
- Cost-effective
- Transitional living house
- Transition from temporary to permanent housing
- Support specific groups
- LGBTQIA+
- Racial/ethnic minorities
- Religious minorities
- Flexibility in finding housing for your specific needs
- Proximity to work, school, and family
- Access to other support resources
- Skill building
- Work training
A holistic continuum of support understands that each individual’s experiences and needs are unique.
Fostering Sustained Recovery With Recovery Housing at Driftwood Recovery
At Driftwood Recovery, we believe a strong and vibrant alumni program is instrumental to reintegrating into everyday life. Through an active alumni program, you can access services and resources like recovery housing to support building a courageous life in long-term recovery. Recovery housing is a fundamental part of the recovery process as it gives you the foundation to rebuild a new life without substances. You can feel integrated as a productive member of society through recovery housing. As a result, you foster a sense of belonging that helps you build an adaptive approach to recovery and build or restore connections with others.
Stigma contributes to the belief that SUD and/or mental health disorders cause homelessness. However, challenges with homelessness, SUD, and other mental health disorders are often interrelated rather than a direct cause. The stressors of homelessness increase your risk for trauma, which can lead to self-medicating to cope with your distress. Thus, access to a continuum of care is vital for addressing interrelated challenges in treatment and recovery. With a vibrant alumni program, you can access resources like recovery housing to support your specific needs for sustained recovery. Alumni can support you whether you need support reintegrating into life after treatment or accommodations that meet your life needs, like gender-specific and family housing. Call Driftwood Recovery at (512) 759-8330 today.