Recovery Coaching for under-resourced people in South LA

Affordable housing and homelessness

South Bay

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Substance use disorder (SUD) and high housing costs are two root causes of homelessness in LA. According to LA Homeless Services Authority, better long-term outcomes are achieved when supportive services are integrated with safe, affordable housing.
LA's Housing First policy is a strong foundation and gets people off the streets fast. But housing alone isn't enough. To truly end homelessness, it must be paired with supportive services like mental health care, addiction recovery, and job support to ensure lasting stability and recovery. LARC provides low cost, around the clock supportive services to women in recovery from SUD for an unprecedented period of up to two years. This allows ample time for women to solidify their recovery while providing them with skills and training needed to remain housed, in recovery and become contributors to society.
This work may seem costly upfront, but investing in SUD recovery ultimately saves money and resources.

LARC is a Recovery Community Organization (RCO) serving the under-resourced community of South LA. RCOs are led by peers in recovery that apply an innovative approach by providing safe, low-cost, abstinence-based housing in addition to 24hr supportive services to people in recovery.
LARC requests funding to be applied to the salary of its designated Recovery Coach (RC). LARC’s RC is a peer with lived experience and specialized training offering daily support that blends a non-punitive, empathy-based approach with the shared experience of a person who can personally relate to the challenges of recovery. LARC’s RC provides individualized supportive services to our residents and community.
LARCs innovative model builds trust and fosters consistent engagement, helping residents strengthen their recovery and life skills while establishing confidence needed to gain employment or education and gradually establish independence.
By meeting individuals where they are and having been there themselves, the RC bridges the gap between clinical treatment and real-life recovery challenges.
This approach has high efficacy in supporting long-term sobriety and housing stability for people in recovery. The significance of the peer-led structure cannot be overstated as evidenced by the myriad studies proving the efficacy of the model. One example is https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18844242/
To date, LARC success rate is 100% with residents remaining housed & in recovery since opening in 2023.

If more under-resourced individuals with SUD had access to LARC’s low cost housing and peer-led recovery support, LA would see a meaningful drop in homelessness & overdose deaths.
LARC’s peer-led model is effective because residents & community members are empowered to rebuild their lives by people who’ve already done so having had similar, relatable experiences with SUD. Their encouragement & non-judgemental attitude creates an environment where residents can openly express emotions & struggles without fear of stigma or rejection.
LARC’s short-term success is defined by 100% occupancy and sustained recovery among residents and alumni, with no returns to homelessness. Long-term, LARC aims to scale its model across LA County, creating a network of affordable, peer-run recovery residences. This would expand access, decrease the unhoused population, reduce taxpayer burden, and foster a more empathetic, recovery-oriented system of support countywide.