How should a recovery coach assess a client’s housing stability and its impact on recovery?

• A. Housing type is irrelevant to recovery goals.
• B. Connect to housing resources and stabilize living situation to support recovery.
• C. Explore housing type, safety, permanence, affordability, and relationship to recovery goals; connect to housing resources and stabilize living situation to support recovery.
• D. Housing should be addressed after discharge.

Answer: (C)

Stability of housing directly supports recovery by reducing stress, enabling consistent routines, and ensuring access to services, medications, and supports. When assessing housing, a recovery coach looks at multiple dimensions to understand how living conditions influence recovery goals and daily functioning.

Begin by surveying the client’s current situation: where they live, for how long, and what their living arrangement provides or lacks. Evaluate housing type, safety (for example, hazards or risk of violence), permanence (is the housing temporary or likely to be stable long-term), and affordability (can they meet rent, utilities, and related costs). Consider how these factors relate to recovery priorities—such as ability to attend appointments, maintain medication routines, or participate in structured activities.

Adopt a collaborative, client-centered approach. Explore barriers to stability (like eviction risk, debt, transportation needs, or lack of support) and discuss concrete steps to address them. Develop an actionable plan that includes connecting to housing resources (emergency shelters, transitional or subsidized housing, housing navigation services, landlord outreach, or utility assistance) and steps to stabilize the living situation, aligning this plan with recovery goals.

Importantly, integrate the housing plan into discharge planning and ongoing treatment so stabilization supports ongoing recovery rather than being postponed. This comprehensive, connected approach recognizes housing as a foundation for recovery and actively works to secure a safe, affordable, and suitable home environment that supports the client’s goals.