By Lori Mellinger
Learning Management Specialist, RecoveryPeople
Back in 2004, Faces & Voices of Recovery commissioned a national survey to better understand how Americans viewed addiction, recovery, stigma and the people impacted by substance use.
At the time, the public still talked about very addiction very differently. Much of the conversation was rooted in blame, in silence or the idea that people simply needed to “make better choices.”
Twenty years later, Faces & Voices of Recovery revisited many of those same questions through a new national follow-up study conducted with Recovery Insights Lab.
The 2026 survey included 846 likely voters nationwide and expanded several policy and public perception questions from the original study.
The results show something important: people’s understanding of addiction and recovery is changing.
Not all at once. And certainly not completely. But certainly enough to notice.
Addiction Is No Longer Viewed as a Distant Issue
One of the clearest shifts in the data is just how personal addiction and recovery have become for Americans.
In 2004, only 8 percent of respondents identified themselves as personally impacted by addiction. In 2026, that number rose to 26 percent. A staggering increase by any metric.
More people also reported being impacted through parents, children, family members and friends. More than half of respondents now say they know someone in recovery.
For many, addiction is no longer viewed as something happening “somewhere else.” It is now understood as something woven into families, workplaces, communities and everyday life.
This matters.
When addiction stops being “someone else’s problem” and becomes something people recognize inside their own families and communities, it changes how they respond to it.
The Public Is Moving Away from Moral Blame
The report also shows a substantial decline in viewing addiction primarily as a moral failing.
In 2004, 34 percent of respondents described addiction as a “moral weakness.” In 2026, that number dropped to 16 percent. At the same time, concern about gaps in addiction treatment and mental health services increased dramatically.
People are increasingly recognizing that addiction is connected to health systems, access to care, trauma, mental health, economic conditions and community support.
That doesn’t mean stigma is gone. It absolutely is not.
But it does suggest that more people are starting to understand addiction as something bigger and more complicated than personal failure.
Recovery Is Becoming More Visible
One of the most encouraging findings in the report involves workplace attitudes.
In 2004, 27 percent of respondents said they would be less likely to hire someone in long-term recovery. By 2026, that number had been cut in half.
At the same time, the number of people who said they would be more likely to hire someone in recovery more than doubled.
This part stood out.
People in recovery have always brought value into workplaces and communities. Recovery asks people to rebuild, adapt, self-reflect, solve problems and keep going through incredibly difficult circumstances. Those things, most times, translate into leadership, resilience, empathy and persistence in real-world settings.
At the same time, the report makes clear that discrimination is still widely recognized as a real issue.
More Americans now acknowledge discrimination against people in recovery as a community problem, especially in employment, insurance access and treatment availability.
Progress and barriers are existing side by side.
People Want Solutions
Another major takeaway from the report is that public support for recovery-oriented policies remains strong.
Large majorities of respondents supported:
- Job skills and employment programs for people in recovery
- Recovery support services for young people
- Insurance coverage for addiction treatment
- Medicaid coverage for addiction treatment
This matters because it challenges the idea that recovery support is somehow politically fringe or unpopular.
Across many demographic and political lines, people increasingly recognize that recovery support, treatment access and workforce opportunities matter. The public appears far more willing to invest in solutions than many systems have been willing to acknowledge.
The Work Is Not Finished
Even with these encouraging shifts, the report highlights ongoing challenges.
Many respondents still associate recovery with “trying to stop” rather than sustained recovery. Confidence in knowing where to find help has also declined over time, suggesting that navigating systems of care may actually feel more confusing now than it did 20 years ago.
Affordability and access to treatment emerged as major concerns, with more than half of respondents identifying lack of affordable care as a primary barrier.
Changing attitudes matter, but cultural shifts alone are not enough.
People still need access to care. They still need housing, employment opportunities, peer support, transportation, healthcare and communities willing to support long-term recovery.
Why This Matters
For those of us working in recovery spaces, these findings feel deeply familiar.
Many people in recovery have spent years watching public understanding slowly evolve. Conversations that once happened in whispers are now happening openly in workplaces, schools, healthcare systems and policy discussions.
- Peer support has expanded.
- Recovery workforce conversations are growing.
- Recovery Ready Workplace initiatives are gaining traction.
- More families are speaking openly about substance use and mental health.
None of this happened either by happenstance or overnight.
It happened because people with lived experience kept showing up.
- We told the truth about recovery.
- We advocated for better systems.
- We created organizations, support networks, training programs and communities rooted in dignity and hope.
The 2026 follow-up study does not suggest that stigma is gone or that systems are working the way they should.
What it does show is movement.
And after 20 years, that movement matters. Especially for people who remember what these conversations sounded like in 2004.
Source Report:
Public Perceptions of Addiction and Recovery: A 20-Year Follow-Up to the Hart Benchmark (2004–2026)
Faces & Voices of Recovery & Recovery Insights Lab, May 2026.
RecoveryPeople thanks Faces & Voices of Recovery and Recovery Insights Lab for their work and ongoing contributions to advancing recovery awareness, workforce development, and public understanding of recovery.
