Better Together

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A Powerful Partnership

A collaboration of three partner organizations: Citygate Network, The Salvation Army, and Adult & Teen Challenge

The Better Together project combines the strengths of Citygate Network, The Salvation Army, and Adult & Teen Challenge to measure the impact of faith-based solutions. We focus on tracking evidence-based outcomes that demonstrate participants’ progress. By sharing our findings, we aim to communicate the impact of faith-based recovery programming to our communities.

7 Outcomes

These seven core outcomes reflect the measurable areas of transformation we are tracking across all participating organizations to demonstrate the impact of faith-based recovery.
(Click to expand each outcome and discover more.)

HAPPINESS & LIFE SATISFACTION

Happiness & Life Satisfaction

Significant in everyone’s life is the ability to understand how to foster happiness and life satisfaction in the face of adversity.

“Emotional wellness involves the ability to express feelings, adjust to emotional challenges, cope with life’s stressors, and enjoy life” (Creating a healthier life - substance abuse and mental health services … 2023).

Emotional wellness equips us with the tools and ideas needed to refocus our perspective regarding long-lasting health (Thomas, 2022). An important part of emotional wellness is hope. Rueger et al. (2022) demonstrate the importance of expanding the literature on hope to include goal-transcendent hope. Goal-transcendent hope is based on what Rueger et al. call dispositional motivation, or the ability to persevere when one’s goal seems unattainable (p. 2).

We believe that for those in addiction recovery, it is important to prioritize one’s orientation toward hope in the face of adversity; thereby motivating oneself to choose the healthy, hopeful option.

MENTAL & PHYSICAL HEALTH

Mental & Physical Health

Mental and physical health impact one’s ability to display values such as happiness and life satisfaction, work, and financial and material stability.

Our bodies are intelligent, and learning to listen to them more deeply may be very important and empowering (Recovery and Recovery Support, SAMHSA). Mental and physical health are equally important components of overall health. The presence of chronic conditions can increase the risk of mental illness.
Poor mental health increases the risk for many types of physical health problems (About Mental Health, 2021).
Since we know many mental and physical health challenges may co-exist with addictions, it is important to understand the impact of one’s mood on their addiction recovery process.

MEANING & PURPOSE

Meaning & Purpose

God provides meaning and purpose through divine wisdom to each person, which informs personal and professional goals.

All people ask him or herself existential questions at some point in his or her life (Crumbaugh & Maholick, 1964). Once we understand the purpose of our existence, we become very resilient, able to overcome challenges, and to bounce back after setbacks (Taylor, 2018).
According to Crumbaugh and Maholick, the way in which we discover meaning in life is part intuitive and part rational/empirical (p. 200). Thus, it is important to participate in activities that help provide meaning and purpose and also reflect personal values, interests, and beliefs, including employment, to solidify purpose and meaning.

CLOSE SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS

Close Social Relationships

Close social relationships provide accountability and foster a sense of connection with others.

Individuals marry, children are born, and people are connected through blood or choice every day. Each of these situations leads to the creation of a family unit. Relationships provided by family units are empirically tied to better mental and physical health and to longevity when removing baseline health (VanderWeele, 2017).
These close social relationships, both inside and outside of marriage, but within the family unit, are important to our sense of connection and accountability. Peer support encourages individuals in the recovery process through “shared understanding, respect, and mutual empowerment” (Recovery and Recovery Support, SAMHSA)

CHARACTER & VIRTUE

Character & Virtue

Character and virtue are the building blocks by which we forge a sense of gratitude about our lives.

McCullough, et al. (2002) define gratitude as “a tendency to recognize and respond with grateful emotion to the roles of other people’s benevolence in the positive experiences and outcomes that one obtains” (p. 112). Thus, gratitude can and should be directed to others but also to God, through Whom one builds a sense of thankfulness for the way in which He provides for people.
Gratitude can increase feelings of security and connectedness, lay the foundation for long-term success, and help one stay motivated and committed to recovery goals (Malervy, 2023).

FINANCIAL & MATERIAL STABILITY

Financial & Material Stability

We want all people to understand and obtain financial and material resources to be successful beyond the recovery process.

Research suggests that those who work have higher levels of life satisfaction (VanderWeele, 2017). Thus, it is important for those recovering from addiction to be able to articulate the importance of building financial wellness.
Financial wellness helps one identify spending habits, personal finance habits, and ways to cope with the pitfalls of money mismanagement (Wellness Resources, Rutgers).
Housing is another indicator of financial and material stability. Those with housing stability tend to experience reduced psychological distress, reduced consumption of alcohol and overall improved recovery outcomes (Tsemberis et al, 2012).

RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY & FAITH

Religious Community & Faith

Faith and religious community are paramount, providing the environment in which people connect with God and find spiritual strength to forge their life transformation.

Koenig et al. (2015) suggest the importance of religion in a person’s life is determined by what individuals spend their time, talents, and financial resources, on more than what they say matters to them. Hoge (1972) also supports this assertion by saying it is important to measure the motivation for religious behavior rather than the behavior itself.
Hoge went on to say that besides oneself, the only thing that can discern a person’s motivations is a judge who knows the individual intimately. We believe the ultimate judge is God Himself. Thus, examining the motivations and beliefs behind religious activities provides insight into the valuable contributions these activities have to the recovery process.

Project Roadmap

This timeline highlights key milestones in the development and rollout of the Better Together survey initiative—from early collaboration to full implementation.

(Click on each roadstop to view each milestone.)

DEC 2022

Initial work began on developing Evidence-Based Outcomes from a Faith-Based Perspective.

1 of 7

JAN 2024

The Outcomes domains were formalized and approved by all partners.

2 of 7

MAY 2024

Survey design developed, and test-retest reliability study centers recruited.

3 of 7

SEPT 2024

Initial test-retest of Pilot Survey to measure reliability completed.

4 of 7

OCT 2024

MOU was signed between all three organizations, formalizing our partnership

5 of 7

NOV 2025

Implementation of the Pilot Survey in centers.

6 of 7

2026

Data collection in progress.

7 of 7

How the Outcome Survey Works

Here you’ll find an outline of the reliability of the survey, how it was designed, and the process used to measure outcomes across participating recovery programs

CURRENT FUNDINGS

The survey, in its current format, has an intra-class correlation (ICC) of 0.87, which exceeds the acceptable threshold of 0.70. Many marketed pharmaceuticals are approved with reliability scores below 0.87. This represents 83 paired responses.

SURVEY DESIGN

Comprised of 9 common instruments used in healthcare and social services, with validity. There are just over 50 questions + demographic questions

RESEARCH DESIGN

The survey will be administered upon admission to the program, midway through the program, and upon completion of the program. Participation is completely voluntary and takes 15-20 minutes for most participants to complete. The survey will be administered every year, post completion, for those who allow us to follow up with them.

Better Together

Check back regularly for updates!

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Adult & Teen Challenge

With more than 215 residential centers within the US and Canada, Adult & Teen Challenge (ATC) is a faith-based non-profit headquartered in Ozark, Missouri. Its mission is to provide adults & teens freedom from addiction and other life-controlling issues through Christ-centered solutions. Through effective discipleship, mentoring, and life-skills training, ATC and its affiliates have seen positive outcomes and radical life transformation throughout its sixty-five-year history.

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