Recovery Access Montana
2025 | 2026 IMPACT REPORT
Building Montana's recovery ecosystem.
ABOUT RAM
Recovery Access Montana
About
Recovery Access Montana (RAM) is the Montana affiliate of the National Alliance for Recovery Residences and the state’s leading organization for the certification of recovery residences and Recovery Community Centers. RAM strengthens the broader network of community-based recovery supports by setting standards, providing training and technical assistance, and working with partners across peer support, behavioral health, reentry and workforce development. This work helps improve quality, expand access, and build stronger recovery pathways across Montana.
Mission
Improve access to quality recovery housing and recovery support services in Montana through standards, certification, education, and technical assistance.
Vision
A Montana where people seeking recovery can access safe housing, strong community support, and clear pathways to stability and long-term recovery.
Letter from the Executive Director
Recovery Access Montana began with one clear job: bring national recovery housing standards and certification to Montana.
Between 2022 and 2024, we certified 56 recovery homes statewide. Those standards protect residents, strengthen programs, and establish a clear baseline for safety, ethics, and quality.
By 2025, it was clear that certification alone would not close the larger gaps in the system.
Montana has services. What it does not yet have is a continuum of care people can reliably move through from crisis to stability. Detox exists. Treatment exists. Recovery housing, peer support, community centers, reentry programs, and workforce initiatives all exist. But these services are too few and too disconnected.
The cost of these gaps is evident. Someone completes treatment without stable housing and relapses within days. A peer support relationship built over months ends when funding runs out. Without employment or a reentry plan, housing becomes a stopgap, not an anchor point.
These are not edge cases. They are the norm.
Early recovery is fragile. We cannot make people recover. However, we can build systems that expand support and connect it more effectively at every stage of recovery.
We began that work in 2025.
What We Built in 2025
We certified 9 additional homes, bringing the statewide total to 65 and extending quality recovery housing to Great Falls, Kalispell, and Havre for the first time.
We introduced the Recovery Navigator, Montana's first live online directory for locating housing, treatment, and recovery support services statewide.
We brought together more than 120 leaders from across the state to begin shaping a statewide Recovery-Oriented System of Care.
We began developing a Standardized Resident Dataset to create a consistent benchmark for tracking demographics, recovery capital, and outcomes across recovery homes.
We delivered hundreds of hours of technical assistance to providers across compliance, business development, clinical integration, data systems, reentry planning, and tribal program design.
Our Priorities Now
Certification remains central to our role, but we are now working to increase capacity and improve coordination across the recovery system.
That means establishing the Recovery Navigator as a shared referral tool, implementing the Standardized Resident Dataset across our provider group, and launching certification for Recovery Community Centers as part of a stronger recovery support network.
It also means improving reentry coordination with the Department of Corrections, closing service gaps in rural and tribal communities, and building clearer pathways from recovery into employment.
This is systems-building work. It is not designed for headlines. It is designed to last. Once in place, it can hold through staff turnover, budget cycles, and leadership changes, creating a stronger foundation for early recovery.
What Comes Next
Over the past year, I’ve had versions of the same conversation with partners across this state — sometimes in conference rooms, sometimes on the phone at the end of a long day.
It always comes back to the same truth: long-term recovery happens in community, not in treatment centers. The antidote to addiction is connection, consistency, and peer-led support. The most powerful force in this work is a person with lived experience walking alongside someone still finding their way.
We all know this. We apply it every day to the people we serve.
But too often, our organizations operate differently. We compete for limited resources, protect our lanes, and work in parallel rather than together. The result is a system that never quite connects.
Recovery is built through connection and continuity. The systems we build to support it have to operate the same way.
That means using shared tools like the Recovery Navigator as a common referral pathway. It means contributing to and learning from shared data so we can understand what is working. It means coordinating across providers so that people are not starting over at every transition point.
You cannot fund your way into that. It is an organizational ethic — a decision about how you show up.
We have built the beginnings of the infrastructure for a connected recovery system in Montana. What happens next depends on whether we choose to use it together.
When more organizations make that shift, we move from a loose network of programs to a system people can actually rely on — one that people can move through without falling through the gaps, even in the most fragile stages of recovery.
2025 HIGHLIGHTS
What We Built in 2025
In 2025, RAM expanded its certified network and began building the systems that make recovery support more coordinated and accessible across Montana.
Recovery Navigator
Launched Montana’s first live statewide directory for recovery housing, treatment, and recovery support services, giving providers and referral partners a shared tool for locating services more efficiently.
Standardized Resident Dataset
Began developing a shared dataset for tracking demographics, recovery capital, and outcomes across recovery homes, creating a more consistent foundation for provider reporting and network-wide analysis.
Statewide Conference
Convened more than 120 leaders in Great Falls from 63 organizations across 21 cities to discuss how a coordinated Recovery-Oriented System of Care could function.
Recovery Community Centers
Facilitated RCC alignment with national standards, creating a clearer path for integrating community-based recovery support into a stronger statewide network.
Certification & Technical Assistance
Expanded Montana’s certified recovery housing network while strengthening provider operations across compliance, business development, clinical integration, data systems, reentry planning, workforce development, and tribal program design.
NETWORK DATA
Network at a Glance
In 2025, RAM’s statewide network grew to 17 organizations operating 65 homes with 480 beds, extending certified recovery housing to Great Falls, Kalispell, and Havre for the first time. Below are key metrics from across the provider network.
480
Certified Beds
65
Certified Homes
17
Certified Organizations
1,657
Residents Housed
175,145
Resident Days of Housing
105.7
Average Stay (Days)
Resident Profile
61%
Male
28%
Female
11%
Gender Unknown / Other
37%
Native American
74%
Justice-Involved
62%
Residents Ages 26–45
Capacity
Average occupancy across certified homes in 2025
99%
Average Occupancy
Recovery Capital
Recovery capital change over time
60%
Average Increase in Recovery Capital
Primary Substances Reported
Percentages exceed 100% due to poly-substance use reporting
62%
Methamphetamine
39.7%
Alcohol
23.1%
Fentanyl
19%
Opiates (non-fentanyl)
Impact in Practice
Justice System Impact
In 2025, RAM’s certified network housed 1,226 justice-involved individuals, roughly equivalent to the population of Montana State Prison. The network delivered 129,600 resident-days of housing and support, with an average of 12.4 days from referral to placement. Based on Montana DOC and county jail per-day cost estimates, this is equivalent to an estimated $10M to $14M in avoided incarceration costs.
$10M – $14M
Estimated Avoided Incarceration Costs
Based on resident-days of housing for justice-involved individuals and Montana DOC/county jail per-day cost ranges.
1,226
People Housed
Justice-involved individuals placed in certified recovery homes
129,600
Days of Housing
Total resident-days of housing and support delivered
12.4 days
Referral → Admission
Average time from initial contact to placement
CAPACITY GAP
A Network at Full Throttle
2,145
Applications Received
1,657
Residents Housed
488
Approved, No Bed Available
51,600 days
Additional housing days that could have been delivered with sufficient capacity.
The network did not lack demand.
The network did not lack performance.
Capacity was the only limiting factor.
Impact Spotlights
Three Spotlights from 2025
A System Takes Shape
RAM held Montana's first statewide Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care conference in Great Falls, with opening video messages from Governor Greg Gianforte and Department of Corrections Director Brian Gootkin.
More than 120 leaders representing 63 organizations in 21 Montana cities attended, including recovery housing operators, peer specialists, tribal providers, courts, treatment programs, state agencies, and workforce partners.
The conference did more than bring people together. It put systems in direct contact that do not often plan or problem-solve side by side. What emerged was a working model for how Montana’s recovery providers can function as an interconnected system.
A First in the Field
LifeHouse entered 2025 as the first NARR-accredited recovery residence in the country designed specifically for survivors of sex trafficking. Operated by The LifeGuard Group, the program demonstrates how recovery housing can be adapted for populations where substance use disorder is prevalent but often unaddressed.
LifeHouse integrates recovery housing with trauma-informed care, safety planning, and operational structures built around the distinct realities survivors face. The program points to the broader potential of recovery housing when models are adapted to fit populations with specific needs, rather than requiring people to conform to the model.
99–0 for Reentry
Montana created its first Office of Reentry Services through House Bill 718, sponsored by Representative Kerri Seekins-Crowe and passed by the House 99–0 in 2025. RAM provided insights and network data drawn from a system in which 74% of residents are justice-involved.
The new office is housed in the Department of Labor and Industry, linking reentry to employment and long-term stability.
A companion study resolution, HJ 45, is examining the collateral consequences of criminal convictions and expungement, including housing and occupational licensing barriers that can affect post-release stability.
PARTNERSHIPS
Key Partners
Building a stronger recovery network requires coordinated work across systems, sectors, and organizations. The progress reflected in this report was made possible through partnership with organizations that share a commitment to stronger recovery support across Montana.
National Partners
- National Alliance for Recovery Residences
- Health Resources and Services Administration
- Fletcher Group Inc.
State Partners
- Department of Corrections
- Department of Health & Human Services
- Montana Drug Treatment Courts
Technical Partners
- Behavehealth.com
- Health Equity Solutions
Philanthropic Partners
- Morgan Family Foundation
- Bear Creek Wellness
BOARD & GOVERNANCE
Board of Directors
RAM’s board reflects the cross-sector system the organization is helping build, with perspectives from providers, justice, clinical leadership, policy, and lived experience.
Tara Williamson
STEP Inc. · Executive Director · Billings
Demetrius Fassas
Butte SPIRIT · Executive Director · Butte
Don Roberts
NARSS · Executive Director · Ronan
Stephen Ferguson
Crosswinds Recovery · Executive Director · Missoula
Dr. Jenn Rolfes
Health Equity Solutions · CEO · Seattle
Megan Coy
Department of Corrections · Bureau Chief · Helena
Jake Lapke
MT Supreme Court · Director, MT Drug Courts · Missoula
Nate Conklin
Fletcher Group Inc. · National Project Director · Boise
Ryan Clubb
ATC Billings · Executive Director · Billings
Eddie Foote Jr.
Veterans Navigation Network · Resource Navigator · Billings
Megan Farmer
Dynamic Recovery · Executive Director · Great Falls
Jesse Heide
YWCA – Helena · Clinical Director · Helena
Committees
Outreach & Membership
Expands the provider network and supports outreach
Data & Outcomes
Shapes metrics, reporting standards, and outcome tracking
Education & Training
Guides provider training and public education
Executive
Oversees policy, and financial stewardship
Advocacy
Supports policy engagement and legislative coordination
Certification & Compliance
Oversees systems and tools that uphold RAM standards
LET'S CONNECT
The Work Ahead
Recovery Access Montana began with one clear job: bring national recovery housing standards and certification to Montana. With 65 certified homes and average occupancy at 99 percent, that foundation is in place.
The work now is scale and integration.
A network running at 99 percent occupancy does not have a performance problem. It has outgrown its capacity. In 2025, 2,145 people applied for certified recovery housing in Montana. 1,657 were placed. Another 488 were approved and turned away.
That is not a waitlist. It is a system telling you the human cost of where it is and where it needs to be.
If your work touches health, justice, housing, workforce, or community development, you already have a stake in what comes next.
RAM is leading the work to scale this network. We have the data, the strategy, and the foundation.
Turning this into a fully integrated statewide system will require greater cross-sector investment. We cannot do it alone.
What this system becomes depends on the partners and resources that step forward to join us.