Running toward recovery: a sport intervention for individuals experiencing homelessness and substance use disorder

ABSTRACT

Individuals experiencing substance use disorder (SUD) and homelessness are vulnerable to additional biopsychosocial issues that can make recovery complex and challenging. It is important to promote interventions that address the unique needs of individuals concurrently experiencing homelessness and SUD. This study evaluated the pilot of a running program designed for individuals concurrently experiencing homelessness and SUD. We assessed participants’ experiences and perceptions of the program using in-depth qualitative interviews. Our results suggest that participants perceived improvements in resiliency, ability to set goals, emotional state, coping skills, and social connectedness. We discuss the implications of this study for research and practice.

KEYWORDS:

• Exercise
• homelessness
• intervention
• resilience
• running
• substance use disorder

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).