Progress to Life Transformation

Persons experiencing homelessness have higher rates of substance abuse, poorer overall health, and higher mortality from opioid overdose than the general population. Measuring progress throughout the addictions recovery process in these populations is challenging, given the multitude of factors that impact the recovery journey among persons experiencing homelessness. Despite these challenges, outcome assessment is essential for informing the continued improvement of recovery programs and validating effectiveness of evidence-based interventions. To better track and monitor progress throughout a 1-year residential faith-based addictions recovery program, the leadership of a large homeless service and residential recovery organization adapted the Progress to Life Transformation Model, a model based upon self-sufficiency, to measure improvements in self-sufficiency and stability across a diverse range of life domains. The purpose of this paper was to describe the experience of a homeless provider organization as it attempted to measure the impact of its programs on the self-sufficiency of persons experiencing homelessness as they work through the addiction recovery process. This case study of an evidence-based best practice may be used to inform public health nursing practice when working with organizations seeking to measure progress in serving persons experiencing homelessness who are in recovery from chemical addictions.