2022 COMBAT Funding: $129,168.00

In Healing House's Own Words

Summary

The HH Non-Residential Aftercare Program is a middle ground between a housing program and independent living. With a focus on resources, education (vocational & HiSET), open 12-step meetings, employment services, nutrition, and exercise. Most importantly, family counseling that will work with spouses, partners, children, parents or significant other is also offered with family activities twice a month.

The Non-Residential Aftercare Program will offer additional time to reshape the way the participants think and, therefore, how they act. Families can heal from the trauma they experience during their loved ones active addiction and develop a strong social network for family support. 

With this program, participants can stay engaged with services as long as they need and so can their family member(s).  

With the national average of 60% of participants relapsing after treatment, HH shows an improved average of only 40% relapse after discharge. Offering non-residential services/programs in the evening and weekends will offer participants and families more flexibility. Generally speaking, a participant and/or their family that continues to engage with Recovery Support Services for a longer period of time, predicts better outcomes in recovery for both families and participants.

This COMBAT funds two staff positions for the Non-Residential Aftercare program. These positions focus on the utilization of resources for participants and the desperate need for both participants with Substance Use Disorder and their families that have unresolved trauma. 

Needs Assessment

More than 600,000 people live in Jackson County, over 70% of whom reside in Kansas City itself. Like much of the United States, the city is in the midst of an opioid epidemic, and Kansas City is also faced with a methamphetamine crisis.

HH discharges over 800 participants a year with 65% of them having a methamphetamine addiction and 30% of them having Opioid Use Disorder (OUD). These discharges are for a variety of reasons: several participants feel the need to return to their  families; some participants need to discharge due to employment requirements; some are discharged for rule violations; and some for a positive UA. Additionally, over 1,900 individuals requesting Recovery Support Services in the last year were denied services due to the lack of bed space or available program space—a 50% increase since March 2020).

Statistics show that in general, Substance Use Disorder (SUD) is more common among homeless Americans than in the general population. Over 80% of the admissions at HH in 2020 have been homeless participants from the streets of Kansas City, the offenders in Missouri prisons who did not have a “home plan,” detox centers, hospitals and the judicial system. A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine indicates that drug overdose is becoming the most common cause of death among homeless people, surpassing HIV/AIDS. 

The HH residential program has an extremely positive impact on the community and an amazing rate of success with participants. The HH Non-Residential Aftercare Programs are designed for participants discharged from the HH residential programs and for participants that HH must deny admission due to lack of space. Offering these programs at flexible times will give participants the same success as the residential program and the added element of family involvement will encourage sobriety and emotional wellness. 

A holistic approach in the Non-Residential Aftercare Programs includes education, groups, budgeting, nutrition, exercise, relapse prevention and family involvement.

Nearly 61% of our current population has experienced some form of violence on themselves or their immediate family; almost 72% have been in an abusive relationship or domestic violence; and 43% of participants have had a family member ;murdered. Although this is a snapshot of the current population it will resemble participants in the Non-Residential Aftercare Programs.

A Trauma Informed Care specialist will work with these participants and their families either virtually or in person.