Recovery support services are designed and delivered by people who, themselves, have experienced both substance abuse disorder and recovery. They know what it’s like to be an addict, to struggle with the daily pressures and stress, to overcome the guilt, sadness, confusion, to try to find a job, rebuild careers, relationships, and self-esteem.
The purpose of recovery support services is to provide hope to those in recovery and to help them stay in recovery, thus reducing the likelihood of relapse. With their powerful message of hope, combined with the experience of others who have been successful in their recovery efforts, these services extend the clinical reach of treatment and go directly into the lives of people who most need them.
Backed by considerable research that recovery is enhanced with social support, different types of social support have been identified. Some of them include: emotional, informational, and affiliational support. Community support projects have found these types of support useful in organizing community-based recovery support services.
Individuals in recovery don’t have a single need. They have many needs. They may need assistance in finding a job, thus requiring a job referral service (informational support). But their confidence level may be at all-time lows, so they also need emotional support, perhaps in some type of coaching on interviewing skills, how to dress appropriately, follow-up tips. They may also need help locating child-care in order to find that job or clothes for when they get the job or help with transportation to make it back and forth to work. Each and every situation has very unique needs that are new and stressful for those beginning their journey in recovery.
The benefits of recovery support services are both tangible and intangible. They vary from individual to individual. Some people in early recovery attest to the fact that these services helped them remain in recovery, whereas a simple reliance on 12-step meetings or sessions with a counselor did not. To that end, recovery support services fulfill their mission: to help people strengthen and remain in recovery.
To begin your journey through recovery, please share the following information so that we can see where you are in your recovery.
