Some facilities provide residents with a lot of structure and assistance in order to help them stay on track with their recovery, while others are less structured. Residents at sober living facilities must adhere to a set of rules and regulations. This can range from agreeing to drug tests on a regular basis to adhering to curfews. Sober living homes can provide a valuable platform for people who are just beginning their sobriety journey to progressively develop newly gained life skills and coping mechanisms.

In contrast, halfway houses are often licensed and regulated by the state, ensuring a standardized level of care and supervision. These facilities typically have staff appointed by the provider to oversee daily operations, enforce rules, and offer support to residents. Halfway houses typically offer more structure and oversight than other recovery residences, often serving people transitioning from incarceration or residential treatment. They may provide or require participation in specific addiction treatment programming and clinical services. Other sober living facilities range from peer-run homes like Oxford Houses to privately owned residences with varying levels of support.

How Sober Living Works

Unlike halfway homes, sober living homes don’t typically require that residents have been incarcerated. They also may not require that housemates be enrolled in treatment plans while living there. Understanding these rules and expectations beforehand helps set the stage for a successful recovery journey, ensuring you’re prepared to adhere to the community standards and contribute positively. The same way there are misconceptions about addiction, there are a lot of misconceptions about recovery housing programs.

Recovery Resources

A destructive environment increases the chances of relapsing, explaining why you must select a facility with reliable staff, a productive environment, and a culture supporting soberness. Keeping a pet or cell phone depends on different sober living home regulations, as some will allow pets if they aren’t a diversion for residents. Cell phone use is mostly restricted, and internet access is limited or restricted because they can initiate a reoccurrence of use. You’ll meet hundreds of fellow Reframers in our 24/7 Forum chat and daily Zoom check-in meetings.

Levels of Care

While sober living homes and halfway houses are similar in the purpose they serve, they do have several differences. For starters, halfway homes are often designated for people who are coming out of incarceration and who underwent a drug treatment program during their incarceration. Additionally, halfway houses customarily require residents to be enrolled in a treatment program or to have recently completed such a program.

The Role of Humor in Recovery: Finding Balance, Perspective and Connection

• The proprietorship makeups vary considerably between these two types of houses.
• It’s common and completely normal to have confusion around what comes next after rehab.
• Quality sober housing has explicit written rules covering curfews, guest policies, drug testing, meeting-attendance expectations, shared chores, and rent.
• When we enroll in a sober living program, we receive round-the-clock supervision and support.
• They do, however, provide more structure and support than you would get at home.
• Residents of a halfway house are generally court-ordered to stay in a halfway house as part of their probation or parole.

You can live at a halfway home if you’re freshly sober, have gone through detox, are willing to stay sober, and can commit to following the house rules. If you are in drug rehab right now or entering it through FHE Health, your goal should be to focus on your current needs. From there, our team will work with you to choose the right type of transitional living for your next step.

Our Facilities

Halfway houses tend to be cheaper than sober homes and some of them may be eligible for insurance reimbursement. It is possible that your insurance company may cover some of the costs, but you will need to check with them directly to determine the amount and if you would need to pay an additional charge. If you want to find out if insurance pays for a sober living home, it is best to contact your insurance provider. It would be fair to assume that the expense would be comparable to that of renting a modest apartment.

• Social model recovery is adopted by peer-run homes to recognize that we learn through observing those with similar challenges.
• Oxford Houses operate as a unique non-profit organization model of sober living that emphasizes democratic self-governance and mutual support.
• People who are working through recovery often enter residential programs for intensive care.
• Halfway houses, on the other hand, often receive government funding, which can make them more financially accessible but also more bureaucratic and less flexible.
• Some people need highly structured environments, while others thrive with more independence.

Sober living homes promote 12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA), and attendance at halfway house these meetings is often mandatory. They were originally designed to house and rehabilitate juveniles who had committed crimes. Over time, the houses have been used to house the homeless and, more recently, to house people leaving residential rehab. Before choosing a sober house, take a tour, ask questions and talk to current residents.

Consider proximity to recovery meetings, medical professionals, and positive connections that support your sobriety. The best sober living homes provide convenient access to resources that facilitate building a normal life in recovery. Many people find that combining an outpatient program with residence in sober homes creates an ideal balance for early recovery. This approach provides clinical expertise from treatment providers while offering the peer support and accountability of sober living facilities. The combination addresses both the medical and social aspects of substance use disorders. The primary difference between halfway houses and other sober homes lies in their level of structure and oversight.

• The world of recovery is cloaked in dense terminology that can make looking for post-treatment programming confusing.
• Halfway houses have strict abstinence rules to enforce a sober environment to support residents.
• Halfway houses serve as transitional living facilities primarily for individuals exiting correctional facilities or inpatient rehabilitation programs.
• If you are just sobering up, have gone through detox, are prepared to stay abstinent, and are capable of adhering to the house regulations, you can live in a halfway house.

Early on in recovery, staying in a sober living home is an effective relapse prevention approach. It’s easier to resist the urge to relapse into drug-using habits when you have round-the-clock access to assistance and are in a substance-free environment. Homelessness can exacerbate mental illness, make it difficult to overcome substance abuse, and prevent chronic physical health problems from being addressed.