CHPPR's Project HOMES is expanding the availability of medically assisted recovery residences in Texas
Published: October 28, 2022
The Project HOMES (Housing for Opioid MAR Expanded Services) study is working with local community partners across Texas to operate and evaluate state-certified, no cost recovery residences for people who used opioids and are taking buprenorphine, methadone, or naltrexone to recover. Since March 2021, the project has worked with providers to open 14 Medically Assisted Recovery (MAR) residences in 5 Texas cities.
Opioids are the main driver of drug overdose deaths in the United States. MAR is a proven and effective treatment for people who used opioids and people taking medications to recover have a decreased risk of overdose death. Although recovery residences can provide a safe, shared living environment to help transition those in recovery, little is known about the efficacy of MAR-friendly residences.
“Recovery residences are a great resource for individuals in recovery,” said Johnny M. Wilkerson, PhD, principal investigator on the project. “But most homes want residents to abstain from all substances, so there’s often a stigma towards those using medically assisted recovery. Project HOMES is groundbreaking for integrating MAR and starting to set some best practices for these kinds of residences.”
As the Texas recovery residence industry is still young, the services offered by different providers vary greatly. The National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR) has set national standards, identifying residences as Level I, II, III, or IV based on the support offered, but these standards are not universally followed. Project HOMES aims to expand the use of these standards by increasing the number of recovery residences meeting the level II or III standards.
The 14 Project HOMES residences are operated by 5 providers in Austin, El Paso, Houston, Midland, and San Angelo. Each provider tailors their housing services to fit the needs of their communities while still complying with the NARR standards for level II or III facilities. These residences are open to individuals 18+ using MAR, allowing the project to evaluate the effectiveness of MAR-friendly residences. Residents who discontinue MAR with physician approval are not asked to leave the residence until they are ready for the next step in their recovery.
Project HOMES Investigators plan to build on these successes. In addition to opening a new women’s home in Midland, the team has initiatives to aid resident recruitment and retention in existing homes. They are providing outreach and educational materials as well as a Data Dashboard to support the homes with recruitment and are conducting intervention studies within the homes to increase resident retention.
Project HOMES is funded though the Texas Targeted Opioid Response (TTOR) initiative operated by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC). Learn more about Project HOMES on their new website.