Supported Community Living

This concept serves as an umbrella term for a variety of strategies for providing in vivo supports to increase and enhance a person's participation in naturally occurring activities and assumption of normative social roles. Examples include supported housing, supported employment, supported education, and supported socialization. Particularly noteworthy is the rapid growth of peer-run recovery homes and work co-ops within the addiction field.

Some of these supports in the mental health field have been offered as part of a psychosocial clubhouse model. However, the aim is to match a person's interests and aspirations with opportunities in natural community settings, providing the supports needed for people to be successful in taking advantage of these opportunities. Within this context, some people will prefer to go bowling with other members of their social club; others will prefer to join a bowling league in their neighborhood.

The issue here, as so often in recovery-oriented systems of care, is offering people a range of options from which they then can make meaningful choices based on their individual and cultural values, preferences, and interests. 

Table of Common Characteristics