How a Global Social Progress Measure Informed a Method for Measuring Addiction Wellness

The United States is in the throes of an addiction, overdose, suicide, and loneliness crisis. Despite significant advances in technology and lifestyle conveniences, economic and social inequities are dramatic, resulting in widespread human despair.

People feel stuck. Systems keep people immobilized. How do individuals or groups of people get unstuck and improve their lives?

A good starting place is to know as much as possible about the variables affecting those people. Once you understand the elemental forces and can measure and track those forces, then meaningful solutions can be applied.

Consider addiction. It has never been a secret that the condition is driven by physical, environmental, and emotional factors. And, individuals who experience the worst of the illness usually lose jobs, homes, relationships, and more. At a minimum, the basic needs of living must be restored for people to succeed. However, systems of care, social services, legal systems, and society have focused on a single metric above all: abstinence.

In a nutshell, if you are sober then the rest will fall in place. Sadly, that’s not reality.

About 5 years ago, Face It TOGETHER began exploring metrics that go beyond abstinence. We centered on the concept of recovery capital. Addiction recovery is simply a process of wellness. To achieve wellness, there are basic assets that help or hinder that…