Recovery Housing in Scotland: Mapping and capacity survey of providers 2022/23

Key Findings

A mapping and capacity survey was sent to recovery housing facilities following a scoping exercise. Data was collected between the 19^th of July and the 15^th of August 2023. The survey received 12 responses from facilities based in Scotland.

The responding providers are based in four different ADP areas (Edinburgh City, Glasgow City, Highlands and West Dunbartonshire). A range of workforce sizes and job roles were described by respondents. Of those who responded, all reported that there is some level of lived experience involvement within the running of their service.

Most providers are third sector organisations and are registered with the Care Inspectorate and reported having several funding streams to support their service, commonly though housing benefit. All providers expect residents to make a financial contribution towards their living costs ranging from £7 - £30 per week.

Providers reported a combined total maximum capacity of 235 places at 84% full capacity at the time of the survey. Providers reported offering a variety of types of accommodation.

Referrals are made by a range of organisations, most often residential rehabilitation providers and drug and alcohol services. Residents most commonly come from the provider’s local ADP or NHS health board area. Providers use a range of means to publicise their service.

Most providers accept both men and women and accept a range of ages to their facility. The focus of most providers is on supporting people with both problem alcohol and problem drug use and reported being able to support a variety of needs, including people who had experienced homelessness, people who had formerly been in prison, and people with specific mental health concerns. Notably, fewer respondents reported being able to support specific demographic groups such as women who are pregnant or with dependent children, and men with dependent children.

Providers reported having specific entry criteria for residents and that service staff are involved in the admission process. The majority of the providers did not have a waiting list at the time of the survey.

Recovery housing models adopted in Scotland are not directly comparable to what is described in the international literature. In Scotland, recovery housing tends to be provided in the form of single occupancy flats. Specific models for recovery from substance use are followed and a range of treatment options are available to residents and providers describe a variety of governance arrangements. Residents stayed an average of between 12 and 18 months.

Most providers require their residents to abstain from using alcohol and/or drugs. Of those that required abstinence, most actively monitored this. Residents are not commonly evicted in the event of a relapse.

Providers reported a range of ways used to monitor resident outcomes. Most providers offer some form of continued contact to residents once they leave, however a formal after plan was only described by some. Residents most commonly move on to housing association and council accommodation and rarely go to residential rehabilitation during or after their stay.

Suggestions to service improvement included funding and resources, improvements to service design, better linkages across the sector and other services, and improved pathways to and from this service. The importance of meaningful co-production was also highlighted.

The responses highlight the similarity across providers however the term ‘recovery housing’ may not be widely recognised by providers of this type of service in Scotland. Providers generally agree on key characteristics take make up these services and that these are in line with how recovery housing is described in the literature. These responses can be used as the starting point for developing a broad definition of recovery housing that is applicable to a Scottish context.