Outcomes associated with participation in a sober living home for women with histories of domestic and sexual violence victimization and substance use disorders.

Abstract

Domestic and sexual violence (DSV) and substance use disorders (SUDs) co-occur at high rates among women. Yet, the extent to which sober living homes promote healing and recovery among women with histories of DSV and SUDs is unknown. The purpose of the proposed study was to examine this gap in the literature by conducting a pilot evaluation of the Support, Education, Empowerment, and Directions (SEEDs) program in Phoenix, Arizona. SEEDs is a trauma-informed, gender-responsive sober living home that provides transitional housing to women with histories of DSV and SUDs. Participants (N = 59) completed three surveys (baseline and 6 and 12 months) to determine how engagement with SEEDs predicted changes over time across several outcomes. Results suggest that SEEDs participants improved over time for primary (i.e., victimization, perpetration, and substance use) and other (i.e., posttraumatic stress, depressive symptoms, financial worries, and housing instability) outcomes. Sense of purpose, posttraumatic growth, and personal empowerment did not change over time. Length of stay and program involvement in SEEDs were the most consistent predictors of improvements at the 12-month follow-up. Finally, women who lived only at SEEDs throughout the course of the study fared better on most outcomes compared with women who lived places other than SEEDs during the study period. Although further experimental research is needed, preliminary research suggests that SEEDs is a promising approach to facilitate healing and recovery among women with histories of DSV and SUDs.

Examining second-stage shelters: insights into housing instability and tailored support for IPV survivors

“…Wilson) ("second-stage shelter" OR "transitional housing" OR "transitional shelter" OR "second-stage housing") AND (women) Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts (LISTA) ("second-stage shelter" OR "transitional housing" OR "transitional shelter" OR "second-stage housing") AND (women) MEDLINE (Ovid) (("second-stage shelter" or "transitional housing" or "transitional shelter" or "second-stage housing") and women).af. Scopus (TITLE-ABS-KEY ("second-stage shelter") OR TITLE-ABS-KEY ("transitional housing") OR TITLE-ABS-KEY ("transitional shelter") OR TITLE-ABS-KEY ("second-stage housing") AND TITLE-ABS-KEY (women)) CINAHL "second-stage shelter" OR "transitional housing" OR "transitional shelter" OR "second-stage housing" AND women" Sociological Abstracts noft("second-stage shelter") OR noft("transitional housing") OR noft("transitional shelter") OR noft("second-stage housing") AND noft(women) women were likely denied access to a second-stage shelter [13,18,23,25,27,28]. Many second-stage shelters have rigid 'house' rules (e.g., curfews, restrictions on substance use, mandatory check-ins, restrictions on visitors including adolescent male sons) and negative consequences for those who do not abide by them.…”

“…Articles in this review discussed the importance of providing individualized case management support targeted to what survivors wanted [13,18,20,22,24,25,30]. Supportive educational programming was made available by many second-stage shelters related to job/educational assistance, legal services, childcare support, housing support, counseling, transportation, referrals to other agencies, safety planning, food and food programs, and parenting classes [13,18,29,30,[19][20][21][22][23][26][27][28]. Second-stage shelters provided specialized services, including survivor-centered programming with expertise in gender-based violence, availability of counseling services, and safety planning [13,28].…”

“…Women who were able to make decisions independently felt better supported when they were able to share their experiences with a community of women [13,21]. These relationships women created with other shelter residents made their stay at the shelter easier [19,26,27]. Maki (2020) noted that building new friendships and networks of support was critical for women in their healing journey.…”

Housing Insecurity and Other Syndemic Factors Experienced by Black and Latina Cisgender Women in Austin, Texas: A Qualitative Study

“…Syndemic theory posits that conditions, such as structural, social, and individual-level factors, are mutually reinforcing and interact leading to adverse health outcomes (see Figure 1) [16,17]. Previous studies found that housing insecurity, such as a lack of access, affordability, and homelessness were related to IPV [18][19][20], substance use [16,21,22], and factors that increased one's risk of acquiring HIV [23][24][25][26]. There is a dearth of research that has explored housing among BLCW through a syndemics lens.…”