Community Recovery as a Public Health Intervention: The Contagion of Hope

ABSTRACT

There is a growing evidence base for recovery as a journey that involves reduced relapse risk, improved citizenship, and better global health and well-being. Although this is the case, there is a risk of omitting one of the prime benefits of a diverse range of recovery activities—the impact on families and the wider community. What the current article does is to summarize evidence around the “social contagion” of recovery through communities and its potential role in transmitting hope and the belief that recovery is possible even to those who are not yet ready to commit to abstinence. And further, that in doing so, visible recovery increases community cohesion and challenges stigmatisation and exclusion of recovery populations. The implications for public health from an emerging visible and high-profile social identity of recovery is discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• recovery
• hope
• prevention
• social contagion
• public health

Acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank the staff and clients of Jobs, Friends and Houses and Phoenix Futures for their cooperation and support in participating in the projects from which these data were gathered.