Sober Living House: What Is Is and How It Works


Living clean and sober in a sober home program enables residents to apply the skills and tools obtained in drug treatment outside the protections of a drug treatment program. 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. Sober living facilities are often thought of as a sober person’s pipeline to life in mainstream society. It’s important to know that sober living houses are not treatment centers.

Can You Still Go to Work While in A Sober Living Home?

Finances can be crucial in determining the best plan for your recovery. Some halfway houses, or sober re-entry programs, are state-funded. However, sober A Guide To Sober House Rules: What You Need To Know living houses are not covered under insurance since they do not provide treatment services and thus aren’t considered rehabilitative facilities. According to the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, sober home programs offer a much needed bridge between drug treatment and returning home to everyday life. Within a sober home program, residents gain real-life experience on living clean and sober, while benefiting from the built-in support structure that these programs provide.

clean and sober house

Who Can Most Benefit from a Sober Living Home?

We do not receive any commission or fee that is dependent upon which treatment provider a caller chooses. If you or your loved one needs to go to a sober living facility, contact your local healthcare professional or medical professional for a referral. Women-only houses tend to focus on providing mental health support for their residents. With firsthand understanding of the challenges in early recovery, we founded Clean and Sober Homes.

He moved to a county-run halfway house in Silver Spring, MD, to recover but soon learned that the facility was about to close. The Oxford House Model is shared, studied, and growing because it works. It continues to stand the test of time as a leading model in sober living. While you may want to live on your own right away, you might not be ready to manage total freedom at first. Sober living offers a balance between living in the real world and receiving some structure and monitoring.

Stay informed

  • Making the decision to live clean and sober is the first step of many toward a new and rewarding life.
  • First, if you’re recently leaving a rehab stay or have just wrapped up an outpatient program, a sober living facility may provide you with the structure you need.
  • Within a sober home program, residents gain real-life experience on living clean and sober, while benefiting from the built-in support structure that these programs provide.
  • Many sober living homes are covered under insurance plans or government funding.

At Clean and Sober Homes, we aim to be your reliable beacon of hope as you commit to your path of recovery. Our experienced staff are eager to help you craft a resilient base for enduring sobriety. Clean and Sober Homes is a family-run business focused on the well being of our residents and a successful outcome for their recovery. In the 1980s, the Oxford House idea expanded to other states. Some houses collect EES from its members on a monthly basis while many houses choose to collect EES on a weekly basis. This monthly or weekly amount varies from state to state and house to house and can range anywhere from $125 a week to $250 a week.

Second, every resident would contribute equally to the expenses and household duties. And, most important, anyone using drugs or alcohol would be expelled. There are over 3500 self-sustaining Oxford Houses in the United States and more than 24,000 individuals in recovery living in these houses at any one time during the year. Generally an individual comes into an Oxford House following a 28-day rehabilitation program or at least a 5 to 10 day detoxification program.

Sober living homes, sometimes referred to as transitional living arrangements, halfway houses, or recovery residences, can be a step down from formal https://thecinnamonhollow.com/a-guide-to-sober-house-rules-what-you-need-to-know/ substance use treatment programs. These homes can offer an in-between option for individuals after they complete a treatment program and before they return to their homes and lives. Likewise, today, sober homes act as transition environments where those in recovery can develop the skills needed for living clean and sober in everyday life. Much like their predecessors, these programs provide no formal treatment services, though most require residents to attend 12 Step support group meetings on a regular basis.

There are over 3,500 Oxford Houses across the United States

A long-running study by Chicago’s DePaul University shows that people completing one year of residency maintain a sobriety rate as high as 80 percent. Things that I have learned through AA and Oxford House are an attitude of gratitude, acceptance, love, forgiveness, compassion, and the willingness to take that next step. Oxford House gave me the opportunity to practice the principles and action.

  • Residents are expected to stay clean and sober and have to submit to random drug tests as well as room inspections.
  • By staying at a sober house, you will be able to experience clean and sober living with a strong support system, all while learning how to deal with every day life issues.
  • We have seen the success of a positive group environment, as well its short-comings, and these experiences have built our foundation.
  • Every member has an equal vote regardless of how long they’ve been there.

Making the decision to live clean and sober is the first step of many toward a new and rewarding life. By planning, surrounding yourself with people committed to your success, and following these tips, your stay in sober housing will bring you one step closer to your goal. When you finally make the decision to become clean and sober, your path may lead you to sober housing. Sober housing can be very effective for finding others who are also committed to their sobriety, allowing you to seek answers among like-minded individuals. Plan your journey for clean and sober living in sober housing; define your goals, seek feedback from those that want to help you, and follow these tips. Consider asking folks at a recovery meeting or touching base with any sober friends you may have.

Effectiveness of Going to a Sober Living House

Drugs also warp the brain’s reward system, a region that defines a person’s priorities and motivations and ultimately dictates the type of lifestyle he or she lives. A recovering individual can live in an Oxford House for as long as he or she does not drink alcohol, does not use drugs, and pays an equal share of the house expenses. The average stay is about a year, but many residents stay three, four, or more years. Unfortunately, relapse can occur anywhere, and relapses do occur in some sober living homes.

  • The houses you’re interested in will invite you to interview.
  • But, many sober living homes have mandatory support group meetings.
  • Some sober living facilities provide substance-free transitional housing for only men or only women, meaning men live with men and women live with women.
  • The staff doesn’t provide any clinical or medical services, but many residents attend outpatient treatment or participate in recovery-based groups while they live there.
  • As most addicts well know, the addiction lifestyle is wrought with instability, chaos and emotional turmoil.

A great way to find a sober living house in your area is first to explore your network. Not all sober living homes are equal, so finding a place that an acquaintance has recommended could be helpful. If you or someone you know has recently quit drinking alcohol and is now sober—congratulations, quitting alcohol can be a long and difficult process. 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. I can honestly say I was blessed with Don, Lloyd, Joe, Beau and also Grant, the men who helped me stay clean. What I’ve learned being at House of Hope has a lot to do with the way I live my life.

Differences between the two can stem from funding, length of stay, and requirements to apply to live there. Sober living homes typically do not limit the length of stay and may not require previous attendance in a formal addiction treatment program. Halfway houses, on the other hand, typically have a time limit and require residents to either be attending a treatment program or have recently completed one. Sober living homes, also known as sober houses, are transitional living spaces for people who want to maintain sobriety.

Residents are expected to stay clean and sober and have to submit to random drug tests as well as room inspections. They are also expected to hold a full time job, do chores, and participate in weekly meetings. It is important from the beginning to understand what your purposed outcome is for remaining clean and sober. Defining your goal for abstaining from drug and alcohol abuse is crucial to setting your goals for clean and sober living in sober housing. Goals need to be realistic, concise, achievable and measurable.

Today, I’d like to thank The Man before me who leads the way. I am clean today, and all the things that I have learned in my sobriety and living a new life, I owe it to my higher power, which is God. Thank you to Don and Lloyd because without them and God I could not have done this by myself. I have a choice, which I have chosen to do the right thing and stay clean.

Rent your home as an Oxford House and become a vital part in our mission to save lives. Each member pays EES (Equal Expense Share) which includes the total amount of rent due for the month, utilities and basic staples for the house. Sometimes several individuals will apply to fill one vacancy. The houses you’re interested in will invite you to interview. Alternatively, if you’d like to send your application to all houses near you that have an opening, you can Apply Online. Call the contact person for each house you’re interested in to set up an interview.


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