Imagine being 19 and not knowing how to cook a meal, manage money, or navigate public transport—skills your peers mastered years ago. For young people in recovery, these gaps aren’t just inconveniences; they’re barriers to building a stable, independent life. Issues with substance use can derail a young person’s life, meaning they don’t learn some of the vital life skills that their peers do.
The reasons are complex but interconnected. Addiction often disrupts the crucial developmental years when most people naturally acquire these capabilities through family guidance and daily practice. Add to this the higher rates of homelessness and family instability among young people struggling with substance use, and the result is a generation entering recovery without the foundational skills needed for independence.
Unlike academic subjects, these essential life skills aren’t typically taught in formal educational settings, leaving significant gaps that can undermine long-term recovery success.
What are life skills?
Examples of life skills include:
- Healthy eating and cooking
- Money and budgeting skills
- Public transport skills
- Grocery shopping
- General housekeeping and cleaning skills
- Basic home maintenance
- Basic vehicle maintenance
- Personal hygiene
- Interpersonal skills
- Time management skills
- Goal setting and obtaining skills
- The ability to cope with loneliness
Building life skills in residential rehabilitation
As part of the Residential Rehabilitation program, we support young people to learn these vital skills, to prepare them for independent living when they leave.
As well as learning how to complete practical, everyday tasks, emotional regulation can be an important skill for young people to develop. Substance use can harm the brain’s ability to control impulses and manage emotions, making it harder to navigate daily stressors that others handle instinctively.
It’s also important not to assume that young people already know something. Knowledge that one person takes for granted might be something another person has never encountered.
There is so much more to rehabilitation, and preparing someone for a fresh start, than detoxing from substances. When young people learn the skills they need to live independently and confidently, they are better equipped to start the next chapter of their lives.
