Recovery Capital from a Community Perspective

By David Whitesock, CEO and Founder - Commonly Well www.commonlywell.com | @commonlywell

Addiction has challenged the human experience for as long as we have recorded history but addiction is an entirely preventable condition. We know it can be prevented because people that recover from addiction tell us what it takes to keep addiction at bay.

We have ongoing data that measures and estimates the rates of addiction, numbers of overdoses, and the economic costs of the problem. We have committed to measuring the problem, which can be an indicator of success if those numbers start going in the right direction.

Recovery or Resilience Capital can be the measurement framework to meet this task and shift us from a problem-oriented mindset to a solution-oriented mindset.

What is Resilience Capital?

Resilience Capital is the combination of personal, interpersonal, and community resources that a person can access and draw up to pursue and sustain a good quality of life. Resilience capital represents a growth mindset.

Resilience Capital is an offshoot of recovery capital – a word coined in 1999 by two social science professors and clinicians. It was born from the question: why is it that some people deeply affected by addiction never go to treatment nor spin through the revolving door of treatment and recovery but nonetheless get well and ultimately thrive?

What they learned through their research was that these people had more “recovery capital”, or a greater combination and activation of resources generally found in all communities but oftentimes the resources do exist, they just aren’t tapped into or activated in a meaningful way.

The primary measure of recovery success was abstinence.

Immense focus, energy, and program design were directed toward the idea of sober first, everything else after. But research was beginning to confirm a more holistic and compassionate way of thinking. Abstinence could still be the goal, but attainment would require simultaneous efforts to build new skills, secure stable employment and housing, and make meaningful social and community connections.

Mainstream healthcare calls this a social determinants of health approach.

Like social determinants of health, resilience capital is a comprehensive framework of various indicators or elements. It respects the entire presence and experience of a person.

We set out to learn from all the experts around the world who were measuring quality of life, happiness, and well-being.

After four years of research and testing, we created the Recovery/Resilience Capital Index (RCI) – a comprehensive questionnaire that quantifies 22 indicators on a scale of 1 to 100. The RCI was subjected to scientific rigor in 2017 and found to be a valid and reliable measure of a person’s current state of recovery or well-being. The findings were peer-reviewed and published. [Source: Validating a Survey for Addiction Wellness: The Recovery Capital Index]

Many of these resources are being developed and have expanded throughout Palm Beach County since 2020. [Source: » Study of recovery community organization participants over time shows peer-based recovery support activities are associated with modest improvement in recovery capital (recoveryanswers.org)]

Immense focus, energy, and program design were directed toward the idea of sober first, everything else after. But research was beginning to confirm a more holistic and compassionate way of thinking. Abstinence could still be the goal, but attainment would require simultaneous efforts to build new skills, secure stable employment and housing, and make meaningful social and community connections.

Measure of Recovery Capital in Palm Beach County

The chart below shows the trajectory or growth of recovery capital of individuals who engage with treatment and/or recovery supports in Palm Beach County for 4-6 months relative to a national average.

Imagine your community. The first thing it needs is a baseline measure of its collective resilience capital. What is its scorecard of assets? How are the assets distributed across the community by zip code, census tract, and demographic characteristics? Then every few months or annually, we measure a statistical sample again. Commit to this process for 3 to 5 years. The community will begin to see trends and leading indicators. Correlations will appear and best of allthe entire community contributes to the solution.

And as a Palm Beach County resident, you’ll get the opportunity to do just that.

In September, we will be expanding our work with the Palm Beach County Community Service Department to launch a county-wide awareness campaign and Resilience Capital Index survey.

A resilience capital strategy such as this will not just move the needle on addiction in a community. It will have ripple effects on poverty, homelessness, social justice, and income inequality. But we must measure more than just the problem. We must expand our view and also commit to taking action on bold, data-supported solutions.

If you’d like to learn more about the RCI and even take the questionnaire, text BEWELL to 833.280.3781.

The Word is a broad topic space for contributing writers (a.k.a the community) to share your stories of behavioral health or anything self-care related i.e. fitness, health, educational, parenting, hobbies, wellness, etc. To contribute, send your article ideas to thewell@bewellpbc.org with “The Word” in the subject line.