Image courtesy of LifeMoves
Substance abuse, mental health, and housing insecurity are often closely interwoven, and substance use disorders present one of the greatest obstacles to housing stability and self-sufficiency for individuals experiencing homelessness. Working to solve this community health crisis is LifeMoves, a Bay Area nonprofit that provides interim housing and supportive services to those experiencing homelessness.
In this project, Stanford Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine Dr. David Chang, MD, DrPH, and co-Principal Investigator Brian Greenberg, PhD, vice president of programs and services at LifeMoves, plan to use existing LifeMoves data to determine how substance use impacts self-sufficiency across various metrics. Building on two years of prior collaboration, they will also evaluate and expand the recovery incentives program already established across four shelters, identifying how the behavioral interventions impacted the participants’ motivation and ability to complete the program. The insights from this data will be used to develop a streamlined protocol for other centers to implement to improve treatment access and behavioral health program success.
This work will connect experts in community organizations such as LifeMoves with academic researchers to address an urgent and local public health crisis and provide more support for individuals with substance abuse disorders experiencing homelessness.
Principal Investigators:
David Chang, MD, DrPH, Clinical Assistant Professor, Stanford University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Primary Care and Population Health
Brian Greenberg, PhD, Vice President of Programs and Services, LifeMoves
Research Team:
Andrew Niklaus, Interim Chief Program Officer, LifeMoves; Jocelyn Michelsen, Associate VP of Impact & Learning, LifeMoves; Marcelle Winget, PhD, Director of Evaluation Sciences Unit, Stanford University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine; Jonathan Shaw, MD, MS, Clinical Associate Professor, Stanford University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Primary Care and Population Health; Soneida Rodriguez, Life Science Research Professional, Stanford University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine; Tony Liu, PhD Candidate, Stanford University School of Medicine and of Engineering, Department of Bioengineering; Aditya Narayan, MD Candidate, Stanford University School of Medicine; Kerrigan Hall Ando, MD-PhD Candidate, Stanford University School of Medicine; Rick Brown, PhD Candidate, Stanford University School of Humanities & Science; Gabriel Frank-McPheter, Undergraduate, Stanford University School of Humanities & Science; Nathan Tran, MD Candidate, Stanford University School of Medicine; Margarita Ramirez Silva, MD Candidate, Stanford University School of Medicine; Devon Lee, MD Candidate, Stanford University School of Medicine; Mike Mayer, MD Candidate, Stanford University School of Medicine; Jocelyn Ricard, PhD Candidate, Stanford University School of Medicine
Funders:
Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health, Stanford Health Care Health Equity Program