Each woman’s recovery journey is unique, but there are commonalities that prove successful in achieving long-term sobriety across all. It has been proven that the longer an individual remains in a structured supportive environment, the more likely a positive outcome when working to achieve and maintain long-term recovery. Recovery-supportive living is an excellent choice for bridging the gap when returning to daily life after inpatient treatment. Recovery-supportive living, also known as “sober living” or “transitional living”, promotes peer and community connection and places emphasis on the need for structure in early recovery. In 2020, there were upwards of 17,000 recovery homes across the country. 

What Exactly Is Recovery-Supportive Living? 

Tracing its origins to the mid-1800s, recovery-supportive housing has evolved to meet the diverse and ever-changing needs of individuals with substance use and mental health issues. The designs and concepts of recovery-supportive living may vary from program to program, but they identify consistent premises. Generally, there is a group of like-minded individuals sharing similar struggles, living and working cohesively to ensure both individual and group responsibility. Living amongst other peers in recovery has been shown to build social support and instill a sense of community and this may be enhanced in residences focusing on a specific segment of the population (gender-specific housing, for example). Recovery-supportive living consistently pivots on the idea of community living being essential and tends to focus on implementing similar themes - Accountability, Connection, Structure/Routine, and Personal Growth. Grace + Emerge’s recovery-supportive housing offers a safe, luxe, comfortable environment in which to explore these. 

Accountability + Connection: Key Role In Recovery Communities

While struggling with mental health and/or substance abuse issues, we may have the best intentions as moms, wives, daughters, sisters, but we often lack the follow-through needed to fulfill them. We may leave tasks unfinished or begin to neglect them completely, including essentially neglecting ourselves and our self-care. While in community-based living, women benefit from living with other women going through similar experiences, who become sisters in recovery. We are all a lot more alike than different and through the process of community living, we began to appreciate these differences. We want to support each other and to do as we say, becoming accountable not only to our sisters, but to ourselves. 

There are consistent tangible measures of accountability introduced during recovery-supportive living, including regular and random drug screening and breathalyzing, assurance of a substance-free home and community, daily check-ins, mandatory recovery and weekly meetings, and nightly curfew. There is a house manager or leader present ensuring deliverables are met and the community is safe. When having our sisters close by, there is essentially an inherently built-in support system. In the process of early recovery, we begin to think about others and want to keep our word. We are part of a community and become inspired by each other - It is often said that the opposite of addiction can be identified as connection. 

Prioritizing Daily Structure In Recovery

Structure is generally not a priority during active addiction or times of emotional turmoil; we often are simply existing and trying to make it through the day  Once we enter recovery, we recognize our priorities have changed. Our days might still be difficult, but they look very different. Instead of surviving, we want women to learn to thrive. 

Women are connected with outside 12-step meetings, as well as other collaborative support networks like SMART Recovery, Wellbriety, SLAA, Refuge Recovery, and AlAnon. Women partake in clinical services, such as case management, ensuring a smooth continuation of treatment services after the inpatient level of care. Recovery in one word can be defined as consistency - often the repetition of small daily action ultimately makes the biggest impact. 

While in Grace + Emerge’s recovery-supportive housing, women participate in regular meetings, groups, and clinical sessions and structure will be present, yet deeply individualized. 

Personal Growth: Living Outside The Comfort Zone In Recovery

Inpatient treatment addresses the individual at the surface level, due to a multitude of factors, but the duration of the treatment is in part the cause. While in lower levels of care like partial hospitalization or intensive outpatient, women have an opportunity to holistically delve further into themselves, often with the aid of a 12-step sponsor, mentor, or therapist. Women are encouraged to practice coping skills, such as regular journaling, exercise, yoga, music therapy, and healthy habits. 

Through the process of recovery, we begin to discover that alcohol and drugs are not the problem, it is broader and more all-encompassing. The root issue is our physical and emotional composition and often we discover we have damaged or tainted the relationship that we have not just with others, but with ourselves. Personal growth occurs when we are able to take an honest look at us and our perceptions, evaluate objectively, and obtain support to improve and effectively move forward in change. Recovery simplified is a process of discovery and building self-awareness. 

Making The Choice: Why Recovery-Supportive Living Is For You 

Statistics show that 85% of individuals struggling with a substance use disorder relapse within the first year of recovery, although electing recovery-supportive living can significantly reduce the potential. By practicing accountability, being an active community participant, adhering consistently to schedule and routine, and cultivating self-awareness, we are equipped with the tools needed to pursue freedom, surrounded by sisters in recovery. We are stronger together!