You have many options when seeking help in early recovery. If you recently completed rehab at an inpatient or outpatient treatment center and find yourself at home battling the temptations of old people, places, and things — the alluring parts of your old lifestyle. It’s time to consider if sober living is right choice for you to build a stronger foundation in early recovery and prevent a relapse.
A sober living home gives newly sober addicts and alcoholics like yourself the best fighting chance to achieve long-term sobriety by providing the structure, accountability, and support you need to get you’re their recovery on track.
What Is a Sober Living Home?
Sober living homes provide a safe, drug-free environment in which individuals can live away from the temptations and stresses of everyday life. Residents typically have access to all the amenities of home — including a fully furnished room, kitchen, laundry facilities, resource centers, high-speed internet, and modern living accommodations.
A sober living home provides a safe, stable environment and community for those seeking recovery for alcohol or substance use disorder. Aside from regular alcohol and drug testing to keep residents accountable, a sober living home helps individuals in early recovery network and build a powerful social support network with other men who are serious about staying clean. The environment and community provided by a sober living home help tenants adjust from a life of substance and alcohol abuse back into the real world.
Sober living homes offer a solid foundation for recovery. They are not, however, medical treatment centers for those suffering from alcohol or substance use disorder. Rather, they act as a transitory stage. By definition, sober living homes are aftercare facilities.
Although sober living homes do not act as medical treatment centers, they provide a program of accountability and community support. Both are essential for long-term sobriety. These recovery homes supply a program for residents to work. At Real Recovery, we believe in the effectiveness of 12-Step programs; thus, we work side-by-side with you through the process.
Ideally, a sober living home supplies you with a structured, supportive, transitional home.
Who Are Sober Living Homes For?
Sober living homes are designed for individuals who acknowledge their alcohol or substance use disorder and have previously worked with a medical treatment center to achieve newfound sobriety. Most sober living programs are gender-specific, to avoid distractions like relationships that far too often derail a newcomer’s recovery.
Sober living homes don’t care about what you did, the connections you had or didn’t have, and the events that brought you to their doorstep. Whether you received a nudge from the judge through your local court system, had a family intervention, or simply became tired of the destructive lifestyle addiction creates — you can feel at ease knowing your support staff only genuinely care about helping you build a better, more successful life in recovery.
Your future is bright, and sober living homes provide the unique aspect of camaraderie that other recovery programs do not. Residents are encouraged to build strong bonds together to fight these diseases head-on with backup support. Those who admit their humility, knowing that the disease of alcohol or substances is greater than them, make up a sober living home community. These people share long-term life goals, are willing to provide one another personalized support, tools to achieve sobriety, and show compassion for each other.
Sober living homes also provide service opportunities for recovered alumni that want to continue helping newcomers. Although you are not expected to return and help once you leave a sober living home, we highly encourage it. Doing so can serve as a bonus for your own recovery, creating the opportunity to give back to both the program and others that now stand where you once did.
A sober living home is right for you if you:
Are at risk for relapse or have a history of relapse
Live in an environment that triggers alcohol or substance use
Need a support system
Would like to learn new coping skills for relapse prevention and managing triggers
What Are the Benefits of a Sober Living Home?
The benefits that come along with joining a sober living home lie within the community, support, and environment. Real Recovery’s sober living home program graduates say it best that following a 12-Step program helps build a strong foundation for your sobriety, including a support network, the tools, the resources, and the knowledge needed for remaining sober. These are the essential components that will enable you to grow in all areas of your life during recovery.
How to Find a Sober Living Home in Florida
Florida is one of the top destinations for addiction treatment and sober living, aside from our beautiful beaches and laidback lifestyle, you’ll find an active and vibrant community of people in recovery. But that doesn’t mean it’s always easy finding a quality sober living program with a solid track record of long-term sobriety among graduates. While location does matter, we recommend choosing a sober living home that requires regular 12-step meetings, has a strong community of men, and the alumni statistics to back up the effectiveness of their program. How and where, though, do you start looking? Well, you stumbled across this blog. That’s a good start.
Finding a sober living home that enables your long-term recovery depends upon the structure of the program offered as well as the condition of the facility. Only the best sober living homes in Florida offer both elements. At Real Recovery, we founded ourselves on the idea that broken-down halfway houses and lackluster programs are not enough.
If you have not yet already, speak to your primary care physician about sober living home recommendations and if you feel our kind of program meets your needs. Similarly, if you admit yourself into a medical treatment facility, such as an in-patient program, talk to them regarding the best options for your future sobriety.
A sober living home must deliver on its promise of a safe environment and supportive community in which you can prosper.
What Rules Do Sober Living Homes Have?
When admitted to a sober living home, there is an expectation that you will remain sober for the duration of the stay. Rules exist to hold you accountable for your progress while at a facility. Some basic rules include:
No drinking or using
Curfews that change depending on how long you have stayed with us
Going to 12-Step programs a specific number of times per week and month
Obtaining a sponsor
Attending house meetings
Become an active pillar within the community once you gain seniority in the program
Gain stable employment, financial security, and self-sufficiency
Patrick Slattery is the owner and operator of Real Recovery Sober Living, the largest provider of recovery residences in the state of Florida. The Real Recovery program has 380 male beds across seven locations in the greater Tampa Bay area. Since starting Real Recovery in 2016, Patrick has obtained his CRRA (Certified Recovery Residence Administrator), CRSS (Certified Recovery Support Specialist), CEI (Certified Event Interventionist) and his CRC (Certified Recovery Coach). Previously, Patrick was on the Board of Directors for Recovery Epicenter, where he helped oversee both community activities and events for people in early sobriety to practice teamwork and understand fun in recovery. Patrick continues to be involved in the day-to-day operations of the Real Recovery program in partnership with his staff of six full-time Program Administrators. Patrick has been in recovery himself since 2015 and was once a resident at one of the sober residences he now operates. His strong foundation in recovery informs his approach and passion for the work he does. Patrick’s philosophy with men in early sobriety comes down to instilling the principles of the 12 steps along with a “direct, concise, polite” attitude.