Recovery housing
Encyclopedia
Recovery housing is social justice
housing
that provides low-income and emergency shelter
to individuals in need of safe and temporary living environments.
Tantamount to the success of such housing services are the principles of hope
, respect
, empowerment
and diversity
among communities in need.
Recovery housing can refer to living arrangements that allow those who traditionally face marginalization
a place to restore from the effects of alcohol
and drug abuse
as well as domestic conflict and mental illness
. Natural disaster
s and other emergencies usually require an additional degree of support.
Many addiction
treatment programs are offered through recovery housing and are done so in conjunction with court order
s. Because of the nature of rehabilitation
, alcohol and street drugs are not permitted at recovery houses, unless such environments are administrated using principles of harm reduction
. Some elements of life in this type of housing are similar to hostel
living.
The documentary
series Intervention
portrays some elements of a traditional recovery house. Because of clashes in personality, treatment involves strict codes of conduct
, often reinforced by living arrangement contracts.
Depending on the degree of recovery, some operations may restrict tenant
s by gender or range of age.
. Some agencies receive additional support through community food bank
s and co-operatives.
and 2010 Haiti earthquake, recovery housing played key roles in the ongoing return to normalcy.
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
housing
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
that provides low-income and emergency shelter
Emergency shelter
Emergency shelters are places for people to live temporarily when they can't live in their previous residence, similar to homeless shelters. The main difference is that an emergency shelter typically specializes in people fleeing a specific type of situation, such as natural or man-made disasters,...
to individuals in need of safe and temporary living environments.
Tantamount to the success of such housing services are the principles of hope
Hope
Hope is the emotional state which promotes the belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life. It is the "feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best" or the act of "look[ing] forward to with desire and reasonable confidence" or...
, respect
Respect
Respect denotes both a positive feeling of esteem for a person or other entity , and also specific actions and conduct representative of that esteem. Respect can be a specific feeling of regard for the actual qualities of the one respected...
, empowerment
Empowerment
Empowerment refers to increasing the spiritual, political, social, racial, educational, gender or economic strength of individuals and communities...
and diversity
Diversity (politics)
In the political arena, the term diversity is used to describe political entities with members who have identifiable differences in their backgrounds or lifestyles....
among communities in need.
Recovery housing can refer to living arrangements that allow those who traditionally face marginalization
Marginalization
In sociology, marginalisation , or marginalization , is the social process of becoming or being made marginal or relegated to the fringe of society e.g.; "the marginalization of the underclass", "marginalisation of intellect", etc.-Individual:Marginalization at the individual level results in an...
a place to restore from the effects of alcohol
Alcohol abuse
Alcohol abuse, as described in the DSM-IV, is a psychiatric diagnosis describing the recurring use of alcoholic beverages despite negative consequences. Alcohol abuse eventually progresses to alcoholism, a condition in which an individual becomes dependent on alcoholic beverages in order to avoid...
and drug abuse
Drug abuse
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered dependent. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts...
as well as domestic conflict and mental illness
Mental illness
A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...
. Natural disaster
Natural disaster
A natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard . It leads to financial, environmental or human losses...
s and other emergencies usually require an additional degree of support.
Many addiction
Substance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
treatment programs are offered through recovery housing and are done so in conjunction with court order
Court order
A court order is an official proclamation by a judge that defines the legal relationships between the parties to a hearing, a trial, an appeal or other court proceedings. Such ruling requires or authorizes the carrying out of certain steps by one or more parties to a case...
s. Because of the nature of rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation is a term for the processes of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and so-called street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines...
, alcohol and street drugs are not permitted at recovery houses, unless such environments are administrated using principles of harm reduction
Harm reduction
Harm reduction refers to a range of public health policies designed to reduce the harmful consequences associated with recreational drug use and other high risk activities...
. Some elements of life in this type of housing are similar to hostel
Hostel
Hostels provide budget oriented, sociable accommodation where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed, in a dormitory and share a bathroom, lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex, although private rooms may also be available...
living.
The documentary
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
series Intervention
Intervention (TV series)
Intervention is an American television program about the realities facing addicts of many kinds.Each program follows one or two participants, each of whom has an addiction or other mentally and/or physically damaging problem and believes that they are being filmed for a documentary on their problem...
portrays some elements of a traditional recovery house. Because of clashes in personality, treatment involves strict codes of conduct
Code of Conduct
A code of conduct is a set of rules outlining the responsibilities of or proper practices for an individual, party or organization. Related concepts include ethical codes and honor codes....
, often reinforced by living arrangement contracts.
Depending on the degree of recovery, some operations may restrict tenant
Leasehold estate
A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord....
s by gender or range of age.
Funding
A recovery house can be funded either in full by a government body or health agency or is a combination of public and private partnershipsPublic-private partnership
Public–private partnership describes a government service or private business venture which is funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or more private sector companies...
. Some agencies receive additional support through community food bank
Food bank
A food bank or foodbank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes mostly donated food to a wide variety of agencies that in turn feed the hungry. The largest sources of food are for-profit growers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers who in the normal course of business have...
s and co-operatives.
Disaster relief
Establishing emergency living quarters is key to efficient recovery from natural or other disasters. After the 2005 Hurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
and 2010 Haiti earthquake, recovery housing played key roles in the ongoing return to normalcy.