Toolkit Homeless Response System Integration of Recovery Housing and Recovery Frameworks
This resource is designed to support homeless response system (HRS) leaders in understanding, engaging, and
integrating recovery housing and recovery-oriented frameworks into local homeless response efforts. It
is intended to guide collaboration between Continuums of Care (CoCs), coordinated entry leads, local
governments, shelters, outreach teams, housing navigators, behavioral health partners, recovery housing
providers, peers and peer-led organizations, and recovery community organizations.
The cornerstone of this resource is a simple truth: People who are homeless or unstably housed often also
navigate substance use, mental health challenges or serious and persistent mental illness, or co-occurring
conditions. These conditions can lead to, or be exacerbated by, parallel experiences of trauma, justice
involvement, social isolation, medical needs, and limited access to income or employment. This reality
necessitates that HRS leaders have a fundamental understanding of recovery housing and recovery supports
to ensure they are visible, available, and meaningfully included among local housing and service options.
It is important to recognize that this guide is neither a stand-alone recovery housing manual nor a primer on
all behavioral health services. Rather, it is a practical guide for HRS leaders who want to better understand
where recovery housing, recovery community organizations, peer support, and recovery-oriented systems
of care fit within homeless response. It builds on the understanding that recovery housing is part of a
broader housing and support continuum; integrating recovery frameworks does not replace supportive
housing, shelter, or other housing models. This guide offers opportunities for HRS leaders to expand choice;
strengthen referral pathways; build partnerships with recovery providers; and support people in ways that
reflect their goals, needs, and preferred pathways toward a unified vision of stability and recovery.