why it matters
people leave homelessness, addiction, and prison ready to rebuild. whether they make it comes down to three things — and the numbers are sobering when they’re missing.
ready isn’t enough.
people leave homelessness, addiction, and prison wanting to rebuild. whether they actually make it comes down to three things: a community that stays, healing that goes deep, and work that pays and lasts. take any one away, and the research is sobering — the odds collapse, and the cycle pulls them back. these are the numbers behind why we built the path of hope.
what isolation costs
higher risk of early death from social isolation — on par with smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
american adults already report experiencing loneliness.
social support is one of the most consistent predictors of lasting recovery. belonging isn’t a nicety — it’s the foundation.
what untreated wounds cost
relapse rate for substance use disorders — comparable to other chronic diseases.
relapse within the first year of recovery without sustained support.
of people with a substance use disorder also live with a mental illness.
with sustained support, relapse risk falls below 15% after five years — but only when the support is actually there.
what no job costs
of people released from prison are rearrested within three years.
only about a quarter find any work within a year of release.
unemployed returning citizens are twice as likely to reoffend.
stable employment roughly halves recidivism — it is one of the single strongest predictors of staying out for good.
doing nothing has a price
the three gaps don’t act alone. without housing, you can’t get treatment or hold a job; without a job, you can’t keep housing; without community, you relapse. each missing piece tightens the cycle — and the whole society pays for it.
people experienced homelessness on a single night in 2024 — the largest one-year jump on record.
of those individuals is chronically homeless — the highest number ever counted.
what chronic homelessness costs taxpayers per person each year — about half of which is saved when people are housed and supported.
the path of hope closes all three
every gap above maps to a phase. we don’t pick one — we address belonging, healing, and work in order, as one connected path. and a growing family of real businesses pays for it.
every number is a person
help us close the gap — invest in the businesses that fund the path, or partner with us to build community, healing, and work for people ready to rebuild.