Access granted

Charity: A federal program helps faith-based groups help those fighting substance abuse | Alisa Harris

Jessica Hill for WORLD

Homelessness is like a black hole, Debbie* said, and she's afraid that one day she's going to disappear into it: "Some people, this is their way of life. I get scared that I'm going to get sucked into this vortex of homelessness."

Since she became homeless in January, Debbie has lived in three shelters. The latest is Catherine's Place in Hartford, Conn., a women's transitional housing shelter run by the Roman Catholic order Sisters of Mercy. Debbie, a nurse, said until she became homeless, she expected to work into her 70s and then volunteer after she retired: "That may be the nurse in me, having the need to be doing. . . . I really have a strong belief in giving back to the community."

Getting people back into the community is one of the goals of Access to Recovery (ATR), a $600 million federal voucher program that grants certain states vouchers for anti-addiction services. If you could put ATR's mission on a bumper sticker it would read, "People renewing their life in the community," said Thomas Kirk, Commissioner for Connecticut's Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS): helping people find a place to live, work to do, and a place in the community.