Recovery housing is social justice housing that provides low-income and emergency shelter to individuals in need of safe and temporary living environments.
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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 disasters 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 orders. 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 tenants 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 partnerships. Some agencies receive additional support through community food banks and co-operatives.
Disaster relief
Establishing emergency living quarters is key to efficient recovery from natural or other disasters. After the 2005 Hurricane Katrina and 2010 Haiti earthquake, recovery housing played key roles in the ongoing return to normalcy.