A Nationwide Survey Study of Recovery Community Centers Supporting People in Recovery From Substance Use Disorder

The medical community has become aware of its role in contributing to the opioid epidemic and must be part of its resolution. Recovery community centers (RCCs) represent a new underused component of recovery support.

This study performed an online national survey of all RCCs identified in the United States, and used US Census ZIP code tabulation area data to describe the communities they serve.

Residents of areas with RCCs were more likely to be Black (16.5% vs 12.6% nationally, P = 0.005) and less likely to be Asian (4.7% vs 5.7%, P = 0.005), American Indian, or Alaskan Native (0.6% vs 0.8%, P = 0.03), or live rurally (8.5% vs 14.0%, P < 0.0001). More than half of RCCs began operations within the past 5 years. Recovery community centers were operated, on average, by 8.8 paid and 10.2 volunteer staff; each RCC served a median of 125 individuals per month (4-1,500). Recovery community centers successfully engaged racial/ethnic minority groups (20.8% Hispanic, 22.5% Black) and young adults (23.5% younger than 25 years). Recovery community centers provide addiction-specific support (eg, mutual help, recovery coaching) and assistance with basic needs, social services, technology access, and health behaviors. Regarding medications for opioid use disorder (MOUDs), RCC staff engaged members in conversations about MOUDs (85.2%) and provided direct support for taking MOUD (77.0%). One third (36.1%) of RCCs reported seeking closer collaboration with prescribers.

Recovery community centers are welcoming environments for people who take MOUDs. Closer collaboration between the medical community and community-based peer-led RCCs may lead to significantly improved reach of efforts to end the opioid epidemic.