Harrisburg, PA – The Shapiro Administration’s Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) is awarding more than $1.2 million to expand access to recovery housing and recovery support services for hundreds of young adults with opioid and/or stimulant use disorders throughout Pennsylvania. DDAP is partnering with a number of Single County Authorities (SCAs), commonly known as county drug and alcohol offices, to provide them with additional funding to support the expansion and development of recovery housing and recovery support services for individuals between the ages of 18-24.
“Recovery housing is a vital recovery support service that promotes the four major dimensions of a life in recovery: health, home, purpose, and community,” said DDAP Secretary Dr. Latika Davis-Jones. “We know that young adults face unique barriers to sustained recovery, including fewer connections to recovery supports and unstable housing. These grants amplify the Shapiro Administration’s commitment to breaking down those barriers by providing individuals with the support needed to sustain long-term recovery.”
Recovery houses are safe, family-like living environments that are substance free and structured to support individuals who are in recovery from the disease of addiction. They center on peer support and connection to services that promote long-term recovery.
Currently, there are about 430 DDAP-licensed recovery houses across the Commonwealth. The purpose of the Administration’s licensure program is to help empower sustained recovery for individuals with substance use disorder (SUD) by ensuring a network of safe drug and alcohol recovery houses. Drug and alcohol recovery houses are required to be licensed in order to receive referrals from state agencies or state-funded facilities or to receive federal or state funding to deliver recovery house services.
Recovery support services are non-clinical services that assist individuals in recovery in gaining the skills and resources needed to initiate, maintain and sustain long-term recovery. They may include care coordination, recovery coaching, spiritual counseling, group support, job training, transportation, and assistance with accessing recovery housing. Recovery support programs are person-centered and self-directed, allowing for the individual in recovery to choose their provider.
The grant funds will be used to supplement existing resources, ensuring that current services are expanded rather than replaced, and that recovery housing remains accessible and safe through Pennsylvania. For instance, the SCAs currently contract with DDAP-licensed recovery houses located within their counties. SCAs will be able to use this funding to expand capacity within those licensed recovery houses for this specific population. They may also use the funding to increase the number of young adults accessing recovery support services through partnerships with local service providers, stakeholders, and grassroot organizations.
DDAP is awarding nine grants, which will run through September 30, 2026, to the following SCAs serving 14 counties:
- Berks County Council on Chemical Abuse: Berks County
- Blair County Drug and Alcohol Program, Inc.: Blair County
- Columbia Montour Snyder Union Drug & Alcohol Services: Columbia, Montour, Snyder, and Union counites
- Delaware County Department of Human Services, Division of Drug and Alcohol Programs: Delaware County
- Erie County Office of Drug and Alcohol Abuse: Erie County
- Lackawanna/Susquehanna Office of Drug and Alcohol Programs: Lackawanna and Susquehanna counties
- Somerset Single County Authority for Drug and Alcohol: Somerset County
- Westmoreland Drug & Alcohol Commission, Inc.: Westmoreland County
- York Adams Drug and Alcohol Commission: York and Adams counties
“The Erie County Office of Drug and Alcohol Abuse appreciates this investment and strongly supports DDAP’s continued focus on recovery housing and recovery support services,” said Erie County Office of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Executive Director Scott Coughenour. “These funds will allow Erie County to build on existing licensed recovery housing infrastructure, strengthen community partnerships, and ensure recovery services remain viable, accessible, and responsive to our local needs.”
“These funds will allow our SCA to address critical areas that fall under social determinants of health including transportation, childcare, vocational training, and employment,” said Barbara Durkin, Lackawanna/Susquehanna Office of Drug and Alcohol Programs Director. “We look forward to seeing the positive community health outcomes that these funds will produce."
Funding for these grants is provided through the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s State Opioid Response (SOR) grant program. The SOR program aims to help reduce unmet treatment needs and opioid-related overdose deaths nationwide through state-by-state allocations.
DDAP will closely monitor outcomes and ensure accountability through established data collection systems and offer ongoing technical assistance for SCAs throughout the grant period.
Beyond the grant period, DDAP will continue to prioritize recovery housing and recovery support services through ongoing collaboration with counties, providers, and community partners statewide. All 47 SCAs, which cover all 67 counties, will continue to collaborate with the licensed recovery houses within the counties they serve and DDAP will continue to work on increasing the number of licensed recovery houses within Pennsylvania.
SCAs provide case management, housing assistance, prevention programs, naloxone training and distribution, peer-led recovery services, and the coordination of treatment services at the local level for individuals who are uninsured and underinsured across the Commonwealth. These services have been shown to support long-term recovery, employment, and community reintegration following incarceration.
The initiative is a key component of DDAP’s state plan with the goal of building stronger partnerships between SCAs and other local organizations to improve access to treatment and recovery support services.
Investing in Overdose Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery
The Shapiro Administration has worked since day one to implement successful initiatives that increase and expand access to overdose prevention tools and low-barrier access to SUD treatment.
DDAP’s initiatives include:
- Distributing more than 824,000 doses of naloxone and 922,000 fentanyl and xylazine test strips in 2025 through the Administration’s life-saving Overdose Prevention Program, with over 11,400 overdose reversals linked to naloxone from the program between October 2024 and September 2025;
- Establishing exceptions to licensing regulations that allow for telehealth-only SUD services to expand treatment accessibility statewide
- Licensing mobile opioid treatment programs to pave the way for increased access to medication-assisted treatment; and
- Launching a workforce development pilot program with Carlow and Waynesburg universities to accelerate the training of new substance use treatment professionals.
A listing of licensed recovery houses is available on DDAP’s website.
Individuals can learn more about the Shapiro Administration’s SUD initiatives and resources on DDAP’s website.
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