Gov. Tony Evers announced in a press release today that seven agencies across the state will receive more than $750,000 in grant funding through the Recovery Voucher Program to provide access to affordable, safe, and stable housing in recovery residences for individuals and their families who are experiencing homelessness and have been diagnosed with opioid use disorder (OUD).
The Recovery Voucher Program was developed in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) and the Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA) in 2022. The effort is supported by a portion of Wisconsin’s McKinsey & Company Opioid Settlement Funds, which provided the state with $11 million to address the effects of the opioid epidemic. Created with an initial $2 million investment, the Recovery Voucher Program served more than 150 people in its first year.
DOA’s Division of Energy, Housing and Community Resources (DEHCR) is administering the program, leveraging supportive housing expertise and existing partnerships with the Continuum of Care Program in Milwaukee, Dane, and Racine counties, as well as local homeless coalitions serving the other 69 counties across the state. The seven agencies funded to administer the program have a primary focus area covering 30 counties; however, all people within the state can access the program through any of the agencies.
More information on the program is available here. Learn how to become an approved recovery residence here, and view the statewide registry here.
