When you’re looking for a sober recovery home, be sure to ask what’s included in the monthly rate and what is extra. Some examples of additional services may include transportation to appointments, recovery coaching, meals and gym memberships. But when considering some of the services offered, make sure they’re services that help support your sobriety. Part of living in recovery is “showing up for life,” meaning doing things for yourself that make you a successful, contributing member of society. When in active addiction, we tend to ignore the things that make us successful.
Building a Supportive Community in Sober Living
When considering a sober living home, it’s important to find one that aligns with your recovery goals and personal sober living needs. Sober living homes, also known as sober houses, are transitional living spaces for people who want to maintain sobriety. It provides a safe environment for people to focus on their recovery after substance abuse treatment. While a sober living house doesn’t offer individual or group counseling, it offers structure and support to help you maintain your sobriety. Additionally, maintaining your sobriety typically requires a home that is free of substances.
Who Pays for Sober Living Homes?
Today halfway houses are still used as a way to foster re-entry into society for addicts and sometimes for prison inmates. These responsibilities not only promote discipline but also rebuild your confidence and self-esteem as you take tangible steps towards rebuilding your life. Moreover, the structured environment helps to gradually reintroduce you to the challenges and stressors of daily life, but in a way that doesn’t overwhelm you. Another key component of sober living is the emphasis on accountability. Residents are often required to seek employment, further their education, or engage in volunteer work.
Online Therapy Can Help
So when getting back on our feet and in recovery, cooking and cleaning for ourselves is part of a healthy recovery plan. Sober living is just like it sounds, a place to stay where you’ll have a supportive community and can start your new life free from alcohol or other drugs. Residents in sober-living homes commit to abstaining from substance use while participating in outpatient programming or after completing inpatient drug rehab.
Benefits of Sober Living
While Level 3 houses are still considered “sober living homes,” they do incorporate aspects of clinical treatment. Their primary purpose is still to provide a substance-free environment for people to live in, but the programs are more structured than Level 2 homes. They often include paid counselors and staff to assist patients in developing and following through with their aftercare plans. Most of the actual treatment doesn’t happen on site, but certain life skills and support groups may be provided at the house. One of the most challenging times for someone recovering from drug or alcohol addiction is when they leave a residential treatment center and head back to their daily life. Without the supervision and structure of a treatment program, a person in recovery can be tempted to return to old habits.
Short-Term Sobriety
Many sober living homes are covered under insurance plans or government funding. Women-only houses tend to focus on providing mental health support for their residents. Substance abuse may have taken years of your life, so sober living homes can help you regain them.
- Other networks of sober living homes similar to the Oxford House model were started to facilitate self-supported and self-governed residences.
- This sense of belonging can significantly reduce feelings of isolation and increase your motivation to maintain sobriety.
- They are designed to be a transitional space from residential treatment to mainstream society.
- Triggers for using drugs and alcohol typically are people, places, and things that remind you of your addictive behavior or encourage the use of substances you’re avoiding.
- There are also specific types of sober living homes that cater to your gender, age, and in some cases, profession.
- In most sober-living environments, bedrooms are shared, but some do provide individual rooms.
- Understanding its importance could be the key to not just achieving sobriety but maintaining it in the long run.
- With little structure and monitoring, someone new in their recovery may want to a higher-level sober living home.
- Julia Childs Heyl is a clinical social worker who focuses on mental health disparities, the healing of generational trauma, and depth psychotherapy.
- Residents in Level 4 homes are usually not able to work (at least not full-time) since they are engaged in recovery activities throughout the day.
- Some are structured in programs, such as the 12-step approach used by Alcoholics Anonymous and similar addiction recovery programs.
While sober living houses have research touting their efficacy, it is also important to remember that they are still environments where you are living with others and the focus is on staying sober. Individuals in recovery should feel like they are easing back into everyday life and can start returning to their daily tasks and responsibilities. However, although these residences are less restrictive than inpatient facilities, they still have rules that residents must abide by. The goal is to transition to an independent lifestyle, free of substance abuse and addiction. Here you will find information about sober living houses, what they do, and how you, or your loved one, can take full advantage of the support on offer and enjoy a life free from addiction.
Most sober living homes are privately run and not government-funded, but financing options may be available. Some residents have family members or friends to help them pay for sober living. It can build self-esteem, teach residents about finances, and become responsible members of the community. This built-in support system allows residents to avoid the isolation of returning home while recovering. It further provides an environment to support recovery from substance abuse for those who are emerging from rehab.
In some cases, sober living homes will contract with licensed drug rehabilitation centers and therapists as a means for providing an even greater level of care. These types of sober livings do tend to charge higher fees, however, they are often able to provide a very affordable alternative to what would otherwise constitute high-priced inpatient treatment. In sober living homes, residents follow rules, such as adherence to sobriety, participation in household chores, and attendance at group meetings. These rules are not just guidelines but essential structures that help maintain the path to recovery. You’ll also have access to resources and activities designed to foster personal growth and life skills necessary for living a sober life.