Activity Space Assessments to Understand the Local Environments of Sober Living Houses

Peer-operated recovery residences use a social model approach to recovery that emphasizes peer support and resident involvement in a community-embedded living environment. “Activity Space Assessments” are a way to identify the characteristics of neighborhoods and local communities that might influence behaviors of interest. The primary aim of the current paper was to consider the utility of activity space assessment using a resident participatory method for assessing recovery home neighborhoods and local community environments. Using a focus group format, the authors conducted a pilot study that invited residents from three sober living recovery homes (SLHs) in Los Angeles to identify places and activities near their houses that residents considered safe, risky, or both in terms of their influences on recovery. Residents were questioned about ways they coped with risky places. Participation was robust with residents identifying 91 activity spaces. Most of these ( N = 59) were designated as safe, 12 as risky, and 20 as both. Some residents expressed mixed or divergent views about the safety of places and how they coped with risks. Activity space assessments of SLHs that are informed by resident experiences could be used to manage neighborhood risks, access sources of support, and monitor changes in the local environment.