Sober Living or Halfway House? Whats the Difference?

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. The same method is applied to obtain the drug status of the network member; the amount of contact is multiplied by the pattern of drug use and averaged across network members. Halfway houses are also government-funded and have fewer amenities than a sober living home.

The most common traits I see in a typical resident are selfishness and a lack of maturity. We have been times when we had to tell a parent that they needed to let Junior grow up and stop calling the house. At that time, I was providing low-income housing through government Section 8 programs, which provide subsidies for those of low income due to various reasons, including disability.

Socially Conscious Investing: How to Start a Sober Living Home

While they are similar in several ways, they are not the same thing. Here’s a closer look at these two different resources for people in addiction recovery. In Massachusetts there are few legal barriers to opening a sober home. Zoning prohibitions also are not allowed, so a commercial sober residence is not required to get specific approval from its municipality or the state, while, for instance, traditional multi-family homes often must. There are, however, available state certifications – sought voluntarily – that designate individual sober homes as having met certain standards meant to enhance reputability.

• The hardest part is having a good manager, culture, and reputation.
• This is a beautiful home with combined kitchen and dining area, and multiple living rooms.
• Halfway houses have rules to enforce the sober environment of the home.

He and Billy gave us a tour of Humphrey sober house, which has 20 beds. The home has four bathrooms, with a fifth planned, and multiple bedrooms that include quadruple, triple, double, and single living options. For rooms with multiple beds, Murray says he sticks to MASH’s spacing requirements to avoid overcrowding.

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For over 20 years Dr. Umhau was a senior clinical investigator at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

• All successful sober living homes have rules and regulations that you must follow to live there, and while these rules may vary, the general guidelines are usually the same no matter where you go.
• You will learn to find healthy coping skills and learn about yourself on a deep level.
• You may feel confident doing this on your own or you may want to consider hiring an accountant to handle your filing system to avoid any legal issues in the future.
• Sober living homes and halfway houses share several commonalities, starting with purpose.