The structure of sober living tends to run in phases of increasing independence. However, most residents stay 6-9 months before leaving for full independence. Attendance is required for all house meetings and support group meetings. SLHs tend to be more flexible than Halfway homes for early recovery support. Kaitlyn Motley is the Mental Health and Substance Use Services Director at the Texas Council for Community Centers.

These living spaces sober housed a situation that removed the newly sober individual from their previously challenging living environment as they learned to live without drugs or alcohol. A number of studies indicated that halfway houses were helpful in terms of helping people with substance abuse. The cost of rent at a sober living can vary depending on the location and amenities of the sober living residence. In general, sober living homes are less expensive than traditional treatment facilities or inpatient programs. This is because sober living homes do not provide 24-hour medical care or supervision.

Our Sober Living Locations

The design of the setting emphasized warmth, informality, easy access, and no hierarchical spaces that would separate staff from participants or to create different classes of participants. A variety of activities and AA meetings were offered, as well as connections to AA meetings held at off-site locations. Heavy emphasis was placed on voluntary participation and volunteer activity to supplement work by a few paid staff.

• However, you might be wondering what happens now that the detox is over, you’ve completed your stay at an addiction treatment center, and it is time to go home.
• These houses are ordinary housing found throughout the local community based on the history and land-use patterns of the city or county.
• Over the years, sober living houses have evolved to meet the needs of those in recovery.
• Something important to note is that sober living houses are not the same as halfway houses.

People usually go to sober living residences after they have done drug or alcohol addiction treatment, and their treatment provider may give them a referral for one. However, many residents enroll in sober living homes without going to rehab. You don’t need any special qualifications to enter a sober living home aside from a commitment to recovery and a desire to work on oneself.

Meaning of sober house in English

When you’re embarking on the first steps toward recovery, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the jargon of the addiction treatment world. Terms like “inpatient,” “partial-hospitalization,” and “medically-managed” may be different terms that you’re accustomed to in daily life, but are common to the world of addiction treatment. High accountability sober living is a much stricter and often an important step after residential treatment. High accountability sober living provides a much higher level of structure, with a daily schedule and activities that are facilitated by staff.

Generally, when a person’s home life environment is not conducive to continued recovery, a sober living home is the best option. The residents of halfway houses are typically court-mandated to live there, and the facilities are therefore run by the state. Some are on the campus where drug and alcohol addiction treatment is provided, and others are independent homes, apartments or condos. The number of residents depends on the size of the home or licensed beds in a facility. In most sober-living environments, bedrooms are shared, but some do provide individual rooms.

Attending Outside Treatment Programs

It seems to us that sober living houses survive in large part because the SLH expresses this dream. Ken Schonlau expressed it through founding the Sober Living Network dedicated to the proposition that every community should offer a safe, sober, affordable and decent place to live while in recovery. Ken’s stubborn insistence on this core mission created a durable organization that continues to thrive following the passing of its founder. Ken’s legacy symbolizes the continuing spirit that prompted the first 12-step house operators to act on their own initiative to provide peer-based, recovery-oriented sober housing. Two sober housing associations operate in California using two different models. The oldest is the California Association for Addiction Recovery Resources .

Other groups of individual took up this idea and started additional houses. The result is the Oxford House Charter and the creation of resident-run sober houses now operating nationwide (O’Neill, 1990). Like their forerunners, 12-step houses, SLHs were ordinary housing stock located in residentially-zoned neighborhoods in the surrounding community.

Support groups serve as the backbone for rejoining the community in a healthy way. These support positive social connections beyond SLHs to maintain lifelong sobriety. Any given SLH program’s phases will widely differ depending on how they operate. The level of support and services offered drastically alter what is required.