Presentation Description: The intersection of mental health and substance use with homelessness and chronic physical illnesses is a difficult mix of concerns to address. However, the whole person must be treated or one continuing concern can worsen each additional concern. Recuperative care (acute and post-acute care for people experiencing homelessness who are not ill enough to remain in a hospital but are too ill to recover on the streets) has traditionally been offered in shelter based settings.
Haven Recovery began a pilot project in 2022 with SSM Health to integrate recuperative care services within recovery settings. While long term recovery may not be each individuals goal, a reduction in drug use, even if temporary, is often necessary for physical healing from many chronic or acute diseases and illnesses. With funding from local partners and SAMHSA, this service offering has expanded across our region - serving individuals discharging from hospitals, those residing in encampments with elevated medical needs, individuals in shelters, crisis centers or leaving criminal justice settings.
Integrating recuperative care into home based recovery settings allows for on site community partners to provide home healthcare within the recovery housing centers. These community partnerships include: mental health care, primary care, wound care, transportation to more intensive treatments such as chemo or dialysis, case management, long term housing connections, substance use treatment, medications, therapy and/or recovery supports as desired/needed.
Participants will leave this one hour, panel presentation with Q&A time, with: an overview of recuperative care; benefits of recuperative care in recovery based settings; building blocks for community partnerships; review of current programmatic outcomes; and action steps for advancing this work in their own communities.
Learning Objectives:
Demonstrate innovative practices integrating recuperative care into recovery based settings.
Explore development processes for establishing innovative care settings - including relationship building and referral sources, funding resources, community support and process and procedure development. Analyze outcomes of initial programmatic implementation.
Discuss and formulate building blocks for interested participants to take back to their own communities for possible communication and advocacy for these efforts to be established across the country.
