Monica Flora - Piedmont Community Services
Laura York - Virginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance
The presentation will describe a Virginia (VARR)-certified, long-term recovery housing program for pregnant and postpartum women (PPW) in a rural county in Virginia called Peer Empowered Addiction Recovery Living (PEARL). The program has been in operation for about two years and has already served more than 10 residents. It is primarily staffed by peer recovery specialists and treatment/recovery personnel employed by the county’s community services board, in partnership with a regional hospital system that provides OB-GYN and addiction medicine services. The program director, Monica Flora, will describe the program model in detail and share some lessons learned since the launch of the program, exploring particular considerations for successfully providing housing and treatment and recovery services for PPW. The presentation will also cover a photovoice process evaluation conducted by Virginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance, and how this method can be used by housing providers to evaluate changes in recovery capital.
2. Understand some of the ethical considerations and boundaries required to provide a person-centered, family-systems approach.
a. Building relationships and maintaining confidentiality in a family living environment.
b. Liability and enabling concerns.
3. Learn how photovoice can be incorporated into an evaluation of recovery capital.
a. Hear from women in the program through their photovoice narratives.