Most people picture the hard part of recovery as the treatment itself. The detox. The counseling. The long work of changing how you live. That part is hard. But it is not usually where things fall apart. Things fall apart over a $400 move-in deposit. Over a tank of gas.
When someone finishes residential treatment, the hardest question they face is not "what did you learn?" It's "where are you going to sleep tonight?" In cities like Los Angeles or Sacramento there is usually an answer, even if it's an imperfect one.
Recovery is possible. Almost everyone agrees with that sentence. What's harder to talk about is the part that comes next: recovery is also expensive, and far too often the people who most want to get well are the ones who can least afford to. That gap, between wanting