Resources

We’ve hired some of the best in our field to conduct research on those we serve to bring this educational material to you.

We’ve also scoured the web for other resources that may help you in understanding the magnitude of our cause that affects thousands each year.

RECOVERY RESOURCE LIBRARY

Life In Recovery Survey (April 2013)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

“Recovery” from addiction to alcohol and other drugs is a human experience as old as the human race itself. However, it was not until the past decade that federal agencies, policy makers, service providers, and clinicians have begun considering recovery as a desirable outcome that is gradually supplanting mere reductions in drug and alcohol use as the goal of addiction treatment services. This shift in emphasis was in no small part spearheaded by a growing grassroots movement of persons in recovery, a community recently estimated at over 23.5 million adults in the United States i.e., 10% of U.S. adults, their families, friends, and allies. In spite of this number, little is known about the recovery experience as research on this population, often hidden in plain sight, remains in its infancy. 

As a first step to documenting the benefits of recovery to the individual and to the nation, Faces & Voices of Recovery (Faces & Voices) conducted the first nationwide survey of persons in recovery from alcohol and other drug problems. The survey was developed, conducted, and analyzed in collaboration with Alexandre Laudet, Ph.D., Director of the Center for the Study of Addictions and Recovery at the National Development and Research Institutes, Inc.

The online survey, conducted in English and Spanish between November 1 and December 31, 2012, collected information on participants’ socio-demographics, physical/mental health, substance use, and recovery history, and 44 items representing experiences and indices of functioning in work, finances, legal, family, social, and citizenship domains; the items were asked for both “in active addiction” and “since you entered recovery.” A total of 3,228 surveys were completed. Respondents represented a broad range of individual characteristics and recovery durations.

Click the image on the right of the executive summary to access the survey.