Introduction
Those looking to recover from addiction should consider sober living an attractive alternative because it provides them critical support, resources, and guidance while still allowing them freedom of choice.
Sober living is an alternative to traditional rehab programs that focus on helping people recover in a safe environment where they can focus on their recovery without being influenced by drugs or alcohol.
A Safe Place to Live
In addition to providing support services, sober living facilities also offer a variety of benefits to residents. These include:
- Peer support – Everyone in a sober living setting such as Any Lengths Affordable Housing has a common goal – sobriety. This builds a camaraderie around helping each other accomplish this goal. They encourage and hold each other accountable to stay on track with their sobriety.
- 12-step meetings – Many sober living housing facilities either hold 12-step meetings on-premises or encourage and sometimes provide transportation to a 12-step meeting place. Any Lengths Affordable Housing is no exception.
- Monitored access – Through a system of cloud-based cameras at entrances, including windows, staff surveillance, and presence, access into and out of the housing facility has constant monitoring. This is provided for the safety and accountability of those living in the facility.
- Gender Sensitive – In Any Lengths Affordable Housing, men, women, and staff work together with the same gender of staff to meet goals such as stable housing, employment, family reunification, and improved health.
Access to Supportive Services
Sober living offers the recovering addict or alcoholic a system of support. Most who have reached this point in their journey of recovery are alone. Family and friends before their addiction have been alienated, and friends they hung with during their addiction are toxic to their recovery. So they must break away from them.
Finding the help needed to walk the road back to sobriety and productive living is on them. A load that can be overwhelming. But in a sober living setting, they have the encouragement of peers and a system of support available through their housing sponsors. Their housing sponsors can refer them to services they may need to help them medically, emotionally, and spiritually.
They can also find help through their sober living for food and clothing.
Affordable Housing
Another benefit of a sober living setting is affordable housing. A person in recovery seldom has the resources to afford independent living. But through the various types of living options in sober living, housing becomes affordable.
One of the sober living options offered at Any Lengths Affordable Housing is rent-a-room. You can read more about this in our blog, “Rent-A-Room Housing For Those Recovering From Addiction.”
A Community of Like-Minded Individuals
In addition to providing housing and support services, sober living communities also provide a sense of community and belonging. People who live in these facilities tend to share similar values and interests. This helps them feel more connected to one another and less isolated.
Friendships develop through belonging in a sober living community, and safe recreational activities emerge. Together they discover how much fun they can have while staying sober.
How Sober Living Works
NOTE: Information for “How Sober Living Works” and “Skill You Will Gain In Sober Living” were gleaned from the article: “Sober Living: Everything You Need to Know About Long-Term Addiction Support” by Susan Stader
Sober living programs provide individuals with guided, independent transitional homes. Even though residents have more freedom than other care options, they must still follow the house’s basic rules set by a supervisor.
Applicants must detox and commit to long-term sobriety for acceptance into a sober living program.
To continue staying in the home, each resident has to fulfill all household duties, including rent payments. Attendance is required for all house meetings and support group meetings related to addiction or substance abuse disorders.
Program intensity generally starts off high and becomes more flexible as residents advance. The recommended stay is at least 90 days, but most residents stay for 6-9 months before moving out independently. For some people, it may even be a year or longer.
Skills You Will Gain In Sober Living
Transitional sober living is a supportive environment that helps residents sharpen life skills to live independently and stay sober.
Residents learn some of these core skills:
- Developing conflict resolution and compromise skills by living with others.
- Budgeting by bringing in a stable income to pay for essentials like rent and groceries.
- Time management via chores, errands, gym, volunteering, and work/school.
- Accountability through collaboration with staff and peers to keep the home stable.
- Behavioral control through learning effective communication in support groups.
A Chance at a Better Future
Many seeking a life of sobriety find rehab to be a revolving door. To get sober, they check into a rehab facility and go through the program offered for the required period of time, and when that is completed, they find themselves faced with the question, “What now?” They have no job, nowhere to live, and no friends. Soon they find themselves back out on the street using.
Sober living through groups such as Any Lengths Affordable Housing is a chance for a better future. They provide affordable housing in a structured and sober environment and offer a step-by-step pathway back into society.
Use this link to learn more about what Any Lengths Affordable Housing can do for you.
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