Across Appalachia is a network of recovery residences, service agencies, nonprofits, educational institutions, faith-based organizations and more that support people who have substance use disorder (SUD). What isn’t as clear is how all these services come together as a recovery-to-work ecosystem that promotes employment as a tool for recovery.
The recovery-to-work ecosystem is a complex set of linkages between sectors from health and human services to education and housing support. How can the 13 states of Appalachia work together to foster strong connections across the ecosystem?
The National Alliance of Recovery Residences (NARR) is using ARC support to find out.
Mapping a Regional Recovery Ecosystem
With a $50,000 grant from our Investments Supporting Partnerships in Recovery Ecosystems Initiative (INSPIRE), NARR will design a map of the recovery-to-work ecosystem across the entire Appalachian Region, with analysis of what efforts are most impactful and how recovery residences can best collaborate with other organizations.
This map becomes particularly important in Appalachia, where rates of overdose and poverty are higher than the rest of the nation.
“Connection with meaningful employment is understandably one of the most important, and often most difficult, tasks in an individual’s recovery,” said David Sheridan, executive director of NARR. “In addition to its obvious economic benefits, connecting with meaningful employment is instrumental in restoring a recovering individual’s sense of purpose.”
According to Sheridan, the mapping tool could support collection and curation of employment and earnings data from recovery-to-work programs, in turn making this data available to recovery residences looking for resources and referrals.
Supporting Recovery in Rural Appalachia
The challenge to connect service providers across the ecosystem with each other is compounded for rural communities. In Appalachia, where more than 2.5 million people live in a rural area, mapping opportunities for people in recovery to receive career support is critical.
“Recovery housing is one of the most effective responses [to SUD], in part because it can exist and thrive even in small, rural locations,” Sheridan said. “However, it is not widely or uniformly available throughout the region. Mapping will facilitate resource planning, including the identification of the high-need areas that are most under-served.”
Mapping also provides a critical service to employers who wish to grow their workforces: access to trained workers who are well-supported by their communities. The future of the recovery-to-work ecosystem in Appalachia ensures that everyone in recovery has access to housing, healthcare and work. INSPIRE partners like NARR are at work to see this future become reality.
Learn more about the $11.5 million INSPIRE package announced on September 18, 2024 at the Land of Sky office in Asheville, North Carolina. The package supports 39 recovery-to-work projects in communities across nine Appalachian states.
