Most halfway houses aren’t participating with a treatment center to house addicts while they’re in an IOP or OP level of care. The length of time that you stay in a halfway home is completely up to you. The usual stay ranges from three to twelve months, although it is a personal preference unless there is a specific time frame for the halfway house where you must move out. Halfway houses are a transitional living home that is monitored and moderately structured. You can enter a halfway house after completing a medical detox, an inpatient or PHP program. Some halfway houses are self-pay options where you have to pay rent, maintain sobriety and keep up with essential life skills like chores.
Sober Living vs. Halfway House: What’s the Difference?
Sober living is the general term given to places of residence that have been designated as recovery housing. These places support the sober lifestyle and are occupied only by people who are drug and alcohol-free. Whether you are getting ready to leave a sober living home and go to a halfway house or researching for the next step you want to take after treatment, it’s best to listen to the professionals. If you are leaving an inpatient or PHP program, we recommend your next step is to go to a sober living home and continue treatment in an IOP program. When you are transitioning to a sober living home affiliated with an IOP program near you, ask your case manager to help you formulate the best aftercare plan.
Sober Living vs Halfway Houses
There are no in-house services offered at this level, except the benefit of living in a supportive community. Regular house meetings and group sessions are held, but attendance might be less enforced compared to halfway houses. Living https://edutechinsider.com/top-5-advantages-of-staying-in-a-sober-living-house/ in a sober environment helps you develop new habits and routines, taking what you learned during drug or alcohol rehab and applying it in your daily life. This is where the rubber starts to meet the road in addiction recovery.
- Halfway houses are dorm-style living spaces owned by a government or private agency.
- 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.
- As a result, individuals with some degree of abstinence are more likely to do well in a halfway house than individuals just starting out with recovery.
- While you can work and/or go to school while living in a sober living home, you must continue to work on your recovery by attending 12-step meetings (or other recovery meetings).
What is a Sober Living Home
Over the years, sober living houses have evolved to meet the needs of those in recovery. As such, sober living associations now make finding a residence easier. There are also plenty of independent sober living houses that have not changed their protocols much since the late 1940s when these residences came to be. Just about anyone can live in a sober-living home as long as they’ve been through some sort of addiction treatment program prior to moving in. Whether that needs to be a formal inpatient treatment or a 12-step program depends on the house. After you go through detox and formal addiction treatment, sober-living homes give you a place to go where drugs and alcohol are not allowed.
Outpatient Treatment vs. Sober Living: Key Differences
While the two may seem similar, there are differences between a sober house vs. a halfway house. First, because halfway houses are tied to the criminal justice system, they are often government-run. On the other hand, sober living homes tend to be affiliated with an addiction treatment facility. The terms “halfway houses” and “sober living houses” are often used to refer to living arrangements for those completing treatment.
This is ideal for anyone is committed to sobriety and in need of structure, discipline, and loving support. Residents of sober living homes tend to partake voluntarily and simultaneously continue with outpatient treatment. Sober Sober House living homes are run privately or as a part of a continuum of care from an addiction treatment provider. A sober living home allows a person to apply skills learned in treatment to real life in a less triggering environment.
- People who live in a three-quarter house have proven that they can stay clean for a good chunk of time and have been working a program of recovery for awhile.
- Residents are encouraged to support each other and participate in services like counseling and support groups.
- 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.
- It’s like living in a college dorm – without all the alcohol-induced vomiting and all-night cram sessions.
- Having a home, as well as being near others in recovery, can help people maintain sobriety and further develop skills for long-term recovery.
Leading St. Louis drug rehab center Harris House offers two levels of transitional housing designed to provide ongoing and progressive alcohol and substance dependency skills. The residents in halfway establishments can be court-mandated to live in these facilities by the court. Unlike in a sober living home, halfway house residents are not under constant professional treatment but can partake in outpatient treatment or support groups. Level 2 residences are characterized by a community-based environment supervised by a senior resident, house manager, or staff member. This staff member monitors operations and residents and enforces structure that is implemented in the form of house rules or standards. There is an emphasis on community and accountability that manifests in a culture of peer support.
- 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.
- Higher residential levels describe higher levels of service and structure.
- If you want to find out if insurance pays for a sober living home, it is best to contact your insurance provider.
- These places support the sober lifestyle and are occupied only by people who are drug and alcohol-free.