WARM Programs: From Crisis to Care
Peer engagement and warm handoffs play a central role in continuity of care, and continuity is critical for individuals with substance use disorders during times of transition. Examples are everywhere: people without stable housing face daily barriers that complicate follow-up on traditional referrals. After an overdose, someone discharged from a hospital is medically stabilized but still deeply vulnerable. A person may exit jail unsure of how to access medication or housing.
No one should be expected to navigate complex systems alone. Subrecipients of Warm Handoff and Recovery Support Services (WARM) funding provide peer recovery support services to ensure no one slips through the cracks.
“Early recovery is a fragile stage,” staff of Chestnut Health Systems, Inc. observe. “Individuals are learning coping strategies, figuring out their routines, and working to rebuild their lives. Having housing removes negative barriers and provides a strong foundation where they can focus on treatment and employment.”
Since implementing WARM, this team has worked with its community partners to provide housing support to nearly 100 individuals, including connecting unhoused individuals to inpatient treatment. After completing the 28-day inpatient program, participants transition into sober living housing, where they pursue employment, establish sponsors, and continue building recovery.
Where lived experience builds trust
The value of stable housing is not lost among service recipients. While staying at an encampment, Shelby1 and Aaron* received harm reduction supplies and referrals to community services from Healthcare Alternative Systems (HAS). They identified long-term recovery as a goal but recognized their first step was stable housing. The WARM Outreach Specialist created an environment of compassion, empathy, respect, and accountability that encouraged the couple to voice this need and inquire about resources, which led to an apartment and pursuit of substance use treatment.
Through the WARM initiative, HAS staff have learned valuable lessons in engagement, such as setting up outreach stations on the border of encampments, rather than intruding on individuals’ personal space within the encampment. This approach allows people to interact when they are ready, taking the first step beyond the perceived safety of their home settings to advocate for themselves regarding service referrals.
Personal connection is intrinsic to strategies that produce positive outcomes in recovery and housing, and WARM’s call for peer recovery support services reflects this. As a subrecipient, the Sinai Health System hired a certified peer recovery specialist (CPRS), who connects with hospital patients struggling with opioid use disorder and housing insecurity. At Haymarket Center, a staff member is working toward CPRS credentialling with organizational support. Trained peers at the Northern Illinois Recovery Community Organization (NIRCO) conducted more than 300 motivational interviews, which significantly increased treatment enrollment rates. NIRCO also published and distributed a lived-experience book amplifying recovery stories from Black, Hispanic, and justice-impacted peers.
More than “checking the box”
Subrecipients have developed and provided other innovative resources that go beyond the overdose education component required by WARM funding. For example:
- Crossing Healthcare, a Federally Qualified Health Center, added a Recovery at Work component to its medication-assisted recovery (MAR) services. This program reduces stigma around MAR services by linking employers with the health center and has generated a steady increase in new MAR patients.
- The Sinai Health System purchased backpacks filled with essential personal items for individuals in transitional housing.
- NIRCO distributed more than 80 “welcome home kits” to individuals entering stable housing.
As with many initiatives, numbers alone do not tell the full story. Yes, subrecipients have distributed hundreds of naloxone kits to community members, first responders, and healthcare workers in training sessions and community events. Yes, hundreds of people have received housing assistance. But, as expressed by NIRCO staff, “Creating safe spaces where people feel seen, valued, and supported illustrates the heart of the WARM project. We don’t define people by their past or circumstance—we see them as neighbors, navigators, and overcomers who deserve love and dignity, even in the quiet corners of a shelter.”
With this support, people move from living under a bridge or in bus lobbies into stable housing. They become leaders of their peer-supported living environment. They secure employment and regain custody of their children. After leaving jail, they connect with recovery coaches and celebrate continued sobriety.