The Ultimate Sober House Guide

Peak Density is the number of days of any substance use (i.e., any alcohol or drug) during the month of highest use over the past 6 months (coded 0-31). Six-month abstinence was a dichotomous yes/no regarding any use of alcohol of drugs over the past 6 months. Halfway houses serve as the halfway point between an institution and independent society, with residents usually coming from either correctional or inpatient treatment facilities.

Sober living houses are often used as a transitional step for people who have completed an inpatient treatment program and are not yet ready to return to everyday living. Living in a sober living house provides a structured, drug-free environment with house rules and guidelines to help residents maintain their sobriety and sober house develop life skills to support their recovery. Sober living houses typically have house managers who oversee daily operations and enforce house rules. Residents are usually required to be participating in active recovery. This may involve attending outpatient therapy sessions or engaging with peer support group meetings.

What Is Sober Living?

Housing instability has contributed to high reincarceration rates in California, with up to two-thirds of parolees are reincarcerated within three years. In a study of women offenders released from jails in New York City 71% indicated that lack of adequate housing was their primary concern. These measures were taken from the Important People Instrument (Zywiak, et al., 2002). The instrument allows participants to identify up to 12 important people in his or her network whom they have had contact with in the past six months. The drinking status of the social network was calculated by multiplying the amount of contact by the drinking pattern of each network member, averaged across the network.

In treatment or a transitional home, you will re-learn how to establish a regime and maintain a healthy lifestyle. You will re-build important life skills – from something as simple as doing laundry, to more difficult obligations like finding employment – and re-establish personal responsibility. For many people in recovery, sober living homes offer a much-needed sense of community and support. They provide a safe and structured environment that can help residents stay sober and rebuild their lives after addiction. During the 1960s and 1970s, the idea that a person’s living environment played a significant role in their sobriety became popular.

Mental Health Services

Research has discovered that communal living can help decrease substance abuse and incarceration rates, and increase employment rates. It can also help individuals hone their coping skills, learn how to communicate effectively, and trust themselves. In general, sober living homes are privately owned homes for people recovering from drug or alcohol addiction.

In a recent analysis of CSTL residents we looked at psychiatric severity as a predictor of alcohol and drug outcome using growth curve models (Korcha et al (2010). We found that a subgroup of about a third of the residents had significantly higher psychiatric severity than other residents and had significantly worse outcomes. Our work on identifying and describing these residents with worse outcome is continuing. The study design used repeated measures analyses to test how study measures varied over time.

What are The Benefits of Sober Living Homes?

The term sober living generally refers to living a drug-free and alcohol-free lifestyle. The term is primarily applied to those in recovery from drug addiction or alcoholism. The rules and guidelines of the sober living house are intended to encourage sober behavior and prevent relapse, and residents are typically required to maintain their sobriety while living in the house.

The Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations evaluates quality of care provided by healthcare organizations. Footprints has the Gold Seal of Approval, which is the highest standard. Typically, as long as you follow the rules, you may live in the home for as long as you want.

What Did We Learn from Our Study on Sober Living Houses and Where Do We Go from Here?

The goal is to completely remove all sources of temptation from the environment. This ensures that residents have the best chances of maintaining their sobriety. One of the biggest differences between a sober living home and a rehab center is freedom. While staying in an inpatient treatment center, the person is required to stay at the facility for the duration of their treatment.

SLH rules prevent engaging or substituting addictions, and help build healthy life habits. Residents must continue to follow the rules through their entire stay. Reputable sober living spaces will often have “house rules” that residents are expected to follow.