There’s no secret to addiction recovery. Rather, there’s a matrix of interventions, including medicines, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and compensation for staying in treatment. The full view of addiction recovery goes much deeper.

The 360-degree view of addiction recovery includes such factors as childhood sexual abuse, which is a factor for over half of those in treatment. The full view takes into account housing instability, which complicates and prolongs addiction recovery. A complete view includes employment goals, training programs, and job placement.

Recently, the Pew Fund for Health and Human Services in Philadelphia has taken a 360-degree look at addiction recovery in that city. What they found can inform efforts at addiction recovery throughout the country. Pew has backed their research with a series of grants to help strengthen the weak links they discovered in the matrix of addiction recovery.

The Pew report interviews three grantees in the Philadelphia area, all women-leading organizations, each offering a multi-faceted array of support services to those battling addiction. Here are the women and the links to their organizations:

Kara Cohen, associate director of street medicine at Project HOME, which offers housing, education, medical care, and employment opportunities to people who are or have been homeless.

Christine Simiriglia, president and CEO of Pathways to Housing PA, which has a drug intervention program that currently serves more than 200 people.

Dr. Lara Carson Weinstein, program director of the Addiction Medicine Fellowship at Thomas Jefferson University, who provides clinical care through Project HOME, Pathways to Housing PA, and at the Stephen Klein Wellness Center.

Right from the start, we can see the coordination between medical providers, housing providers, and addiction recovery specialists. Pew summarizes their approach:

The best way to help those struggling with addiction is to deal with the whole person, not just the opioid dependence. It must start with lifesaving measures and then address immediate needs such as food insecurity and a person’s other, often urgent, health issues.

Dr. Weinstein explains how the bureaucracy around addiction treatment discourages people from sticking with it. That’s why Kara Cohen’s group provides street-level services, fanning out across the city every night to give free medical assistance to hundreds of homeless residents of Philadelphia.

Project HOME manages 54 efficiency apartments for people who need housing during addiction recovery. The organization also provides assistance with completing education, job training, and job placement. Pathways to Housing then kicks in with efforts to find permanent housing for people who are engaged in or have completed an addiction treatment program.

Pathways to Housing continues to address the 360-degree needs of the temporarily homeless, including providing an integrated care clinic and an opioid use disorder center. Medical services are provided in partnership with Thomas Jefferson University’s Department of Family and Community Medicine and Project HOME’s Stephen Klein Wellness Center.

Pew grants are essential to maintaining addiction recovery services at a time when federal funding for many programs has been blocked. In April, Pew announced another $4 million in awards in Philadelphia, strengthening the safety net for people struggling to get by.

The majority of the funds ($3.5 million) will go to Community Legal Services for the purpose of expanding access to public benefits for low-income Philadelphians. This is an attempt to address the bureaucratic roadblocks to accessing services, including addiction recovery programs.

The amount of $280,000 goes to the Homeless Advocacy Project, which helps the homeless who qualify for disability insurance get enrolled in the federal program. Finally, $200,000 is going to Widener University’s HELP: MLP, a “medical-legal partnership that provides comprehensive legal services, financial assistance, and social services to pregnant and parenting families in Philadelphia.”

In these grants, Pew is demonstrating a 360-degree approach to addiction recovery, which requires so much more than a pill to cure. They are reaching back to the very first moments of life, providing support for prenatal care all the way to senior services, and supporting organizations that work with each other to offer integrated care to Philadelphians dealing with addiction recovery and homelessness.

Written by Steve O’Keefe. First published May 29, 2025.

Sources:

“Can Philadelphia Better Address the Needs of People Suffering From Addiction?” Pew Fund for Health and Human Services, May 16, 2025.

“Pew Awards Nearly $4 Million to Help More Philadelphians Secure Public Benefits,” Pew Fund for Health and Human Services, April 24, 2025.

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