Recovery homes coping with COVID-19.

Recovery homes are a widespread community resource that might be utilized by some individuals with substance use disorders (SUD) and COVID-19. A growing collection of empirical literature suggests that housing can act as a low-cost recovery support system which could be effective in helping those with SUD sustain their recovery. Such settings could be already housing many residents affected by COVID-19. Many of these residents are at high risk for COVID-19 given their histories of SUD, homelessness, criminal justice involvement, and psychiatric comorbidity. Stable housing after treatment may decrease the risk of relapse to active addiction, and these types of settings may have important implications for those with housing insecurity who are at risk for being infected with COVID-19. Given the extensive network of community-based recovery homes, there is a need to better understand individual- and organizational-level responses to the COVID-19 pandemic among people in recovery homes as well as those managing and making referrals to the houses. At the present time, it is unclear what the effects of COVID-19 are on recovery home membership retention or dropout rates. This article attempts to provide a better understanding of the possible impact of COVID-19 on the infected and on recovery resources in general.

Can recovery homes reduce COVID-19 infection and mortality?

Those with substance use disorders living in recovery homes might be at-risk for Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) due to close living arrangements and past histories of substance use (as well as comorbid factors such as homelessness, psychiatric comorbidity, and chronic health conditions). This study compared COVID-19 infection and mortality rates for residents of self-help recovery homes versus overall state estimates. Significantly lower rates of infection and mortality were found for residents of recovery homes, and their COVID-19 mortality rates were extremely low. Given the number of people in community settings living in these recovery homes, these findings are important as they suggest that recovery homes might play a critical role in COVID-19 mitigating strategies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved) Impact Statement For high-risk individuals, supportive housing in community settings represents a promising ecological strategy for reducing COVID-19 infections and mortality. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)