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Drug and alcohol dependency and recovery - new insight

Drug and alcohol dependency and recovery - new insight

Drug and alcohol dependency and recovery - new insight

Thursday, June 1, 2023

Groundswell's Listen up! insight 2 is now live. This insight explores the complex connection between drug and alcohol dependency and recovery and experiences of homelessness, mental health and trauma.

Listen Up! is Groundswell's lived experience-led project, seeking to tackle homeless health inequalities by amplifying the voices of people experiencing homelessness.

Their latest insight looks at drug and alcohol dependency, drawing on research interviews with 75 men and women experiencing a range of situations including rough sleeping and staying in temporary accommodation and hostels. 26 of them reported current or past experience of drug and/or alcohol dependency. Interviews have been analysed alongside community reporters’ stories, which provide additional rich perspectives.

"We heard about the complex connections between recovery from drugs and alcohol dependency and recovery from homelessness, mental health and trauma. Drug and alcohol dependency often had long lasting impacts on physical and mental health for people with experience of homelessness. Stigma, lack of home and significant barriers to seeking help for drug and alcohol dependency hindered recovery. Conversely, a sense of home, supportive relationships and feelings of hope played a positive role in people’s recovery journeys."

Read the full story on Groundswell's website here.

You can also watch a recording of their webinar discussing this topic, where they developed a co-designed set of actions for professionals in the health and homelessness sector - please watch and share the link.

And you can read all the community reporters reports on the Listen Up! homelessness insights hub.

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