Facilitating organized recovery community engagement (force) - the center for recovery and wellness resources (crwr), a well-established recovery community organization in houston, texas, with a…

Facilitating organized recovery community engagement (force) - the center for recovery and wellness resources (crwr), a well-established recovery community organization in houston, texas, with a drop-in center and a presence in multi-service centers in three high-risk neighborhoods, seeks to be a powerful force for the life transforming experiences that occur with recovery from substance use disorder and CO-occurring disorders. Force (facilitating organized recovery community engagement) is an expansion and enhancement of current services at the crwr designed to be a force for recovery for under-resourced residents in the city. Force will draw upon a community-wide collaboration to expand and enhance service capacity through the expansion of peer recovery support services in the greater houston area with a specific focus on several neighborhoods needing the most support: montrose (77006, 77098), downtown houston (77002), northeast houston near i-610 and U.S. 59 (77026), and south-central houston (77004). Force was designed, developed, and will be implemented primarily by individuals who have experienced addiction and recovery in their own lives, who seek to create an opportunity for others to realize the promises of 12-step programs in a professional capacity. The ultimate goal of these activities is to close the disparities in the impact that substance use has on low income minority populations by expanding service access by enhancing treatment service engagement for low-income hispanic/latino and african-american men and women who experience multiple barriers to accessing, engaging, and benefiting from substance use treatment and recovery support services. This unique collaborative effort draws on the resources of a diverse group of partners with vested interest in the health and wellness of the population including a roster of community-based substance use treatment organizations with commitments to the use of recovery coaches and strong ties to low income communities of houston, texas. The project will increase access to evidence-based practices including: (1) integrated dual disorder treatment model; (2) motivational interviewing; (3) medication assisted treatment; and (4) seeking safety. To complement these services, we will primarily provide: (5) recovery coaching based on a strengths based case management approach. Force will employ these interventions in the delivery of direct peer-based recovery support services. The primary program objective is to help achieve and maintain recovery and improve the overall quality of life for those being served. This will be assessed through increased abstinence from substance use, employment, housing stability, social connectedness, decreased criminal justice involvement, and increased indicators of successful recovery and enrollment in education, vocational training, and/or employment. A total of 300 individuals will receive services in the project; sixty individuals will be enrolled each year in recovery support services and participate in expanded wellness services.