The Lived Experience of Recovery from Substance Use Disorder by Ex-offenders at a Faith-based Recovery Residence

This study explored the lived experiences of recovery from substance use disorder (SUD) by ex-offenders living in faith-based recovery residences. This study conveys a deep understanding of these recovery experiences and adds to previous research by filling a gap in the recovery literature. This researcher used guided research questions to illuminate the research question: What is the lived experience of recovery from substance use disorder by ex-offenders living in a faith-based recovery residence? This study used Moustakas’ (1994, Phenomenological research methods) transcendental phenomenological methodology, as this methodology offers rich, meaningful data about an experience, and gives clear direction on analyzing the data to illuminate the essence of the experience. This study explored the experiences of seven male and four female participants who met the study criteria, including being an ex-offender in recovery living in a faith-based recovery residence. The participants’ ages varied from their mid-20s to late 50s, with Hispanic, Caucasian, and Black races represented in the sample. This researcher analyzed the data using Moustakas’ method of transcendental phenomenology; in this context, he performed phenomenological reduction, imaginative variation, and synthesized the textural and structural meanings of the data to gain an understanding of the essence of the participants’ experiences. The findings show that the participants had similar experiences to each other regarding the phenomenon of recovery from SUD. When analyzing the data about their experiences, the researcher identified 22 common themes; the five most prominent themes were faith, change, support, giving back, and surrender, in order of the most commonly related themes by the participants