WHYY
By
Ed Mahon, Spotlight PAJanuary 25, 2021
Fred Way, executive director of the Pennsylvania Alliance of Recovery Residences. (Alejandro A. Alvarez/Philadelphia Inquirer)
This story originally appeared on Spotlight PA.
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In December 2017, Gov. Tom Wolf signed legislation to increase oversight for drug and alcohol recovery houses — a measure that lawmakers said was needed to fight the opioid epidemic and protect vulnerable people from being exploited.
The action by lawmakers came after years of complaints from local government leaders and some recovery advocates, who said profit-driven owners packed people into homes, provided few rules and little support, and put residents at greater risk of relapsing.