From the Field

Stories & Insights

What recovery and reentry really look like, and how community support changes the ending.

A man sitting by a window in quiet reflection, with the post title Recovery Doesn't End When Treatment Does overlaid
Recovery Recovery Doesn't End When Treatment Does: Why the First 90 Days Decide Everything The hardest part of recovery isn't treatment. It's Tuesday afternoon, three weeks later, when the structure is gone and life is waiting. · 2 min read
A peer support group in close conversation at a community center, with the post title 44% in the First Year overlaid
Reentry 44% in the First Year: What America's Recidivism Numbers Really Tell Us The numbers look hopeless until you read them closely. Then they read like a map, showing exactly when and where support changes the outcome. · 2 min read
A man with a backpack opening the front door of a warmly lit home with a welcome mat, with the post title Housing First Isn't a Slogan overlaid
Reentry Housing First Isn't a Slogan: It's the Foundation of Every Successful Reentry Nobody rebuilds a life from a shelter cot. Housing isn't one need among many, it's the platform every other need stands on. · 2 min read
A community support specialist meeting one-on-one with a client, above icons for housing, transportation, employment, mental health and mentorship, with the post title What 'Wraparound Support' Actually Means overlaid
Our Mission What 'Wraparound Support' Actually Means, and Why It Cuts Returns to Prison Housing without a job fails. A job without transportation fails. Wraparound support works because life's needs don't come one at a time. · 2 min read
A job seeker presenting his resume to an employment counselor across a desk, with the post title The 27% Problem overlaid
Reentry The 27% Problem: Why Employment After Incarceration Is Harder Than It Should Be The unemployment rate for formerly incarcerated people is higher than the national rate has ever been, even during the Great Depression. And it's not for lack of trying. · 2 min read
A peer support specialist walking a man through bills, a bus pass, and a discharge plan at a kitchen table, with the post title The Gap overlaid
Our Mission The Gap: What Insurance and Grants Don't Cover After Treatment Ends The system funds the crisis and funds the program. It doesn't fund the Tuesday in between, and the Tuesday in between is where lives are actually rebuilt. · 2 min read
A resource specialist helping a client with paperwork beside shelves of housing and employment brochures, with the post title Reentry Resources in Maricopa County overlaid
Reentry Reentry Resources in Maricopa County: A Practical 2026 Guide Coming home to Maricopa County comes with more support than most people realize, if you know where to look. Here's the map. · 2 min read
An AHCCCS staff member explaining coverage to a client, above icons for housing, case management, transportation and behavioral health, with the post title AHCCCS Housing and the H2O Program overlaid
The Numbers AHCCCS Housing and the H2O Program: What Arizona's Reentry Waiver Actually Covers Arizona quietly did something remarkable: it started using Medicaid to pay rent. Here's what that means for recovery and reentry, and where it stops. · 2 min read
A recovery group in warm conversation with desert mountains through the window, with the post title Building Recovery in the Valley overlaid
Recovery Building Recovery in the Valley: A Guide to Phoenix's Recovery Community Recovery doesn't happen in isolation, and the Valley of the Sun offers more community than newcomers expect. Here's how to plug in. · 2 min read
A man with a backpack looking toward the Phoenix skyline at sunset beside a New Paths Stronger Futures sign, with the post title Arizona's Recidivism Rate overlaid
The Numbers Arizona's Recidivism Rate, and the Programs Proving It Can Drop Arizona's statewide recidivism rate is about 36%. One in-state program dropped it to 13%. The difference is a blueprint, and it's mostly support. · 2 min read
Volunteers packing welcome kits and a mentor meeting one-on-one under a Stronger Together Phoenix banner, with the post title Six Ways to Support Recovery and Reentry in Phoenix overlaid
Get Involved Six Ways to Support Recovery and Reentry in Phoenix (Beyond Writing a Check) Supporting people rebuilding in Phoenix doesn't require deep pockets. It requires knowing which small levers move the most. · 2 min read
A volunteer handing a box of clothing and hygiene supplies to a program participant, with the post title What Your Donation Actually Funds overlaid
Get Involved What Your Donation Actually Funds: A Transparent Look at $10 to $500 Most donation pages ask you to trust that your money helps. This one shows you exactly what each amount buys, because you deserve to know. · 2 min read
A smiling recovery group gathered in a sunlit community room, with the post title 23.5 Million Americans Are in Recovery overlaid
Recovery 23.5 Million Americans Are in Recovery. Recovery Is the Rule, Not the Exception. If you only ever hear the overdose numbers, you'd never guess the other half of the story: most people who develop a substance use problem eventually get better. · 2 min read
A mother, daughter and father reading a You Are Not Alone resource guide together at their kitchen table, with the post title When a Loved One Is Incarcerated in Arizona overlaid
Recovery When a Loved One Is Incarcerated in Arizona: A Family's Practical Guide The months before release matter as much as the months after. Here's what Arizona families can do now to set a homecoming up to succeed. · 2 min read
A split scene of a dark prison cell beside a man with a backpack walking out an open door toward the Phoenix skyline, with the post title The Cost of a Cell vs. the Cost of a Chance overlaid
The Numbers The Cost of a Cell vs. the Cost of a Chance You don't have to lead with compassion to support reentry. You can lead with arithmetic and land in exactly the same place. · 2 min read
Hands holding a Giving Back Getting Back Arizona Wins tax-credit flyer against a desert-city backdrop, with the post title The Arizona Charitable Tax Credit overlaid
Get Involved The Arizona Charitable Tax Credit, Explained for Donors Who Want Impact It's one of the most underused giving tools in Arizona: a way to redirect money you already owe the state toward a cause you believe in, often at near-zero net cost. · 2 min read
A peer support circle in close conversation, with the post title The Power of Lived Experience overlaid
Recovery The Power of Lived Experience: Why Peer Support Works When Nothing Else Reaches A clinician can explain the science of recovery. Only a peer can say 'I stood exactly where you're standing', and be believed. · 2 min read
A man embraced by his mother and sister in a warm living room beside a Plan for Tomorrow notebook, with the post title Coming Home Twice overlaid
Recovery Coming Home Twice: Why Family Reconnection Is Recovery Infrastructure There are two homecomings. The first is physical, a door, a bed, an address. The second is harder: coming home to the people you love. · 2 min read
A welcoming residential home with a front porch in a Phoenix neighborhood
Recovery Sober Living in Phoenix: What to Look For and How to Afford the Gap Sober living can be the difference between recovery that holds and recovery that slips. But not all homes are equal, and the deposit is where good plans stall. · 2 min read
A city bus stop at dawn
Reentry The Invisible Barrier: How a Missing Bus Pass Undoes a Recovery Plan Nobody relapses because of a bus schedule. Except that, indirectly, people do, when the job, the meeting, and the probation check-in are all eleven miles apart. · 2 min read
Two people shaking hands in a bright Phoenix warehouse or workshop
Get Involved Phoenix Employers: Second Chance Hiring Is a Workforce Strategy, Not Charity Arizona set a state goal to boost post-release employment 20% by 2030. Phoenix employers who move early get first pick of a motivated, loyal talent pool. · 2 min read
Fresh groceries in a paper bag on a kitchen counter
Reentry The Three-Week Gap: Food Security Between Treatment and a First Paycheck Hierarchy of needs isn't a metaphor. Nobody works a recovery program hungry. · 2 min read
A young man looking out over a desert city at dusk
Reentry Emerging Adults: Why 18-to-25-Year-Olds Need a Different Kind of Reentry Support They're old enough to be released as adults and young enough to have never rented an apartment, held a lease, or built a work history. The system treats that as their problem. · 2 min read
A firm handshake across a desk in a small business office
Get Involved Second Chance Hiring: A Practical Guide for Arizona Employers The business case for second chance hiring got strong enough that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce now makes it. Here's what employers need to know. · 2 min read
A front porch light glowing at dusk
Recovery When Someone You Love Is Coming Home: A Family Guide to the First Months You've been waiting for this homecoming, and maybe dreading it a little too. Both feelings are normal. Here's what the first months actually ask of families. · 2 min read
Stones stacked in balance against a desert backdrop
Recovery Recovery Capital: The Idea Reshaping How We Think About Getting Better For decades we measured recovery by what was absent, no use, no arrest. Recovery capital measures what's present. That flip changes everything. · 2 min read
A winding desert path with switchbacks climbing toward a summit
Recovery Understanding Return to Use: What the Chronic-Condition Model Gets Right Nobody calls a blood pressure spike a moral failure. The chronic-condition model asks us to extend the same clarity (and the same follow-up care) to recovery. · 2 min read
A neighborhood street with homes, a bus stop, and a grocery store
The Numbers Non-Medical Drivers of Health: The 80% of Health That Happens Outside the Clinic Medical care determines a surprisingly small share of health outcomes. The rest is decided by where people sleep, what they eat, and who they can call. · 2 min read
A cactus wren perched on a saguaro at first light
Get Involved Why Monthly Giving Changes Outcomes (Not Just Budgets) The needs we fund don't arrive on a fundraising calendar. They arrive on a Tuesday. Monthly giving is how we're ready when they do. · 2 min read
Volunteers loading boxes together outside a community center
Get Involved Volunteering in Recovery and Reentry: What Actually Helps (and What to Skip) The most valuable things volunteers offer in this work aren't hours, they're access: to networks, to normalcy, to someone who shows up twice. · 2 min read
A clipboard with a simple chart, resting on a desert stone wall
The Numbers Measuring What Matters: How We Track Whether This Actually Works Donors deserve more than anecdotes. Here's our scoreboard, our baselines, and (because honesty requires it) our limitations. · 2 min read

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