Recovery Centers of America’s Monroeville, Pa., site has made recovery housing a central part of its growth strategy, aiming to stabilize patients during the critical transition from residential treatment back into daily life.
David Blenk, CEO of RCA at Monroeville, told Becker’s the initiative reflects a broader effort to extend recovery support beyond traditional treatment programs and address the early stages of relapse risk.
“We are now looking at how we are balancing the co-occurring disorders, and looking very closely at people that are here because of the substance use disorder and mental health issues they’re struggling with, and how we properly treat both of them,” he said.
Monroeville was the first new site in Recovery Centers of America’s footprint to offer recovery living as part of the organization’s expansion strategy. It has a recovery living unit with 10 to 15 residents on any given day.
“It really comes from some of the ideas of Housing First,” Mr. Blenk said, referring to an approach that prioritizes arranging permanent housing for individuals who need basic necessities before managing substance use issues. “If you don’t have a stable platform to work from, it’s very hard to continue participation in a recovery program, including an outpatient program.”
RCA’s program is designed to support patients during what is often the highest-risk period after treatment.
“The most dangerous time for somebody leaving treatment is that first 30 days when they’re out,” Mr. Blenk said. “Tolerances might be down to the substances that they were using, and they’re returning to the environments that they came from with the same people, places and things.”
Without structured support, it can be difficult for individuals to adjust.
“It’s hard to break the patterns that are there without some opportunity to practice recovery,” he said.
Recovery housing is integrated with outpatient treatment and daily living skills training. Staff also help residents relearn everyday activities in a sober environment.
“We’re helping you develop ‘this is how you cook and this is how you shop. This is how you watch a football game without a drink in your hand or without using a substance,’” Mr. Blenk said. “’Here’s how you go bowling. Here’s how you communicate with one another.’”
Those experiences help residents build healthy habits before transitioning fully back to independent living.
“It’s giving them those healthy patterns with a little bit more freedom than they have in the 30-day residential program,” he said.
