What Is Sober Living?
Sober living programs feature accommodations in drug- and alcohol-free houses, apartments, dorms and, sometimes, small communities of houses. Sober living residences are typically strict about no alcohol or drugs on the property, and they usually hold residents to a certain curfew each night. Residents typically have to submit to periodic drug test to ensure compliance.
Certain sober homes are directly affiliated with a treatment facility, while others are independent. Some treatment facilities combine an outpatient program with sober living accommodations in a way that mimics the inpatient rehabilitation experience. Other treatment facilities simply offer this program on the heels of the formal rehabilitation process (after inpatient and/or outpatient).
Many sober living programs are highly structured, while others are more hands off. In most cases, the program will start out with greater structure and rigidity before slowly affording the resident more and more freedom the longer he or she stays there.
Sober living programs aren’t typically covered by insurance, but many of them allow, if not require, residents to work at least a part-time job. Many sober living residences also require residents to help out with household chores. Sober home usually have some communal items and supplies available, but residents may have to provide some of their own personal items, such as toiletries.
On top of employment, chores and following curfews, residents typically need to attend local support groups meetings each month, such as 12-step or SMART Recovery meetings. In most cases, sober homes want to see that residents are taking measurable steps toward long-term recovery.
Why Sober Living Helps Prevent Relapse
For many people, returning home too early into recovery can be a recipe for relapse and failure. Their living situation was one of the causes of their heavy alcohol or drug use, or at the very least, it allowed the addiction to flourish. Without enough education and preparation, sending these individuals back home too early is setting them up to fail.
Sober living provides these individuals with a haven from drug and alcohol use, and the related temptations thereof. It gives people more practice with being sober and with figuring out their new lives – ones that aren’t clouded by drug or alcohol use.
Sober living programs also place individuals among like-minded peers who are working toward similar goals. These programs help give each resident a sense of community, and a chance to make friendships and connections that potentially support their long-term sobriety.
Additionally, sober living allows for a greater degree of community integration than most formal treatment programs. This is why sober living programs make for a logical bridge between the formal rehabilitation process and returning home. Residents are typically allowed to come and go as they please, so long as they return home by curfew. The main difference is, when they get home, they are returning to a drug- and alcohol-free environment, one that affirms their sobriety instead of jeopardizing it.
What’s the proof that sober living works? A groundbreaking National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism-funded longitudinal study found substantial increases in drug and alcohol abstinence among 300 individuals who stayed at one of two different sober living communities in California for as long as 18 months.
How Long Do People Have to Live in a Sober Home?
Sober living programs lengths vary, as do the factors that determine how long each individual stays in a sober residence. Many programs last up to three months and then the resident must move out, no matter what. Others are more results- and progress-based.
While you’ll be hard pressed to find a program that lasts only a month, you will have little trouble finding a program that goes beyond three months. In fact, some sober homes allow residents to stay for up to 18 to 24 months. In the aforementioned NIAAA-funded study, sober living residents stayed between 166 and 254 days before leaving.
In writing for Psych Central, Dr. David Sack recommends at least a full year of formal recovery experience – from detox and inpatient treatment to outpatient rehab and sober living. Being that inpatient programs typically last between 30 and 90 days, sober living programs should always be considered, and they shouldn’t be approached with a quick exit strategy.
Two obstacles that stop people from staying in a sober home as long as they need to are relapse and finances. Both are tragic circumstances, in different ways. Sober homes do typically allow residents to work to help pay their fees for living there. But, if the job doesn’t cover the cost of the rent, the resident can explore scholarship and loan options.
Potential scholarship and loan opportunities can come from:
- The sober residence itself
- An independent lending institution, such as the resident’s bank
- A local nonprofit organization
