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Along with serving as a residence, halfway houses provide the following type of services:
- social
- medical
- psychiatric
- educational and other similar services
Live Free Recovery in New Hampshire can provide men with a much-needed transition program to help ease the way from structured treatment to full independence.
What is a Halfway House?
A halfway house is an organization for people who have a particular object or common factors such as criminal backgrounds or drug addiction tendencies. It’s a place where people can learn (or relearn) the skills necessary to transition back into society and better support and care for themselves. Initially, halfway houses were developed as drug-free living environments for individuals who have completed residential treatment. They were meant to be a “halfway” point between the structured life of rehab and the independence of home.
Some halfway houses are meant to treat just men or just women. Thus, many halfway housing facilities have a men’s halfway house and/or a woman’s halfway house.
Some halfway houses serve people who are experiencing mental health disorders or homelessness. Still, most residences, regardless of gender, focus on recovery from substance use issues. The term “halfway house” has been in use in the U.S. since the Temperance Movement of the 1840s.
Typical Halfway House Rules
Halfway house rules are intended to create practice and responsibility around life tasks like paying bills and completing chores. They are also meant to support the sobriety and safety of all residents living in the home and may include:
- Sobriety – Residents are required to be abstinent from substances. There may be random drug and alcohol testing. A positive result may result in being asked to leave.
- Alcohol and Drug-free Property – No paraphernalia or substances are permitted in the house.
- Curfew – Most halfway houses have set curfews.
- Employment – Residents may be required to maintain employment and part of their income will go towards rent. If a person doesn’t have a job yet or loses a job, the house staff may set specific expectations based on:
- receiving job training
- scheduling interviews
- submitting applications
- Conduct – Regulations around conduct usually include rules about physical or verbal fighting and breaches of honesty like using or taking someone else’s belongings.
- Attendance at Meetings – If house meetings are held, residents may be required to attend. Many houses also encourage or require attendance at 12-step meetings. Some may suggest or require that you work with a sponsor.
Funding
Depending on the number of services and the amount of privacy offered, the costs of a men’s halfway house may vary. Partial funding for all halfway houses is provided by the government through grants, usually at the state level. They typically receive government grants when their business models are that of a nonprofit or faith-based organization.
Halfway house residents provide their own food and toiletries, although staff in the house can help residents in applying for government funding when necessary. For example, applying to the supplemental nutrition assistance program, sometimes called “food stamps.” In addition, residents are required to pay part of their income toward their rent.
Living Arrangements
Living arrangements vary depending on the type of house. It might be like a dormitory with multiple beds in a single room or it might have smaller rooms that are shared with roommates.
Professional Staff
There are varying levels of professional staff that may work in halfway houses. Some offer:
- Clinical services
- Skills training provided by social workers
- Behavioral health staff
Length of Stay
A halfway house is meant to be a support, not a permanent residence. The goal is full integration back to independent life. The length of stay ranges from a couple of months to a couple of years.
Sober Living Houses
Sober living houses are similar to halfway houses but are also different in several ways such as:
Funding
Sober living homes are typically paid for by the person residing in the home. Insurance doesn’t usually pay for sober living homes. However, some health insurance coverage will cover the cost of a SLH if it is affiliated with an outpatient treatment program.
Sober living houses are not government-sponsored. But a person may qualify for a grant or scholarship for a SLH that’s provided by a nonprofit organization. Most people living in a sober home pay on their own stay and are employed while living there.
Two Types of SLHs
1. A SLH may be owned by a treatment center as an option for aftercare following residential care to support a step down to an intensive outpatient program (IOP). One of the benefits of going to a SLH that’s affiliated with your residential treatment center is that you can follow the same model of care.
2. The second type involves private, for-profit ownership. These homes may be open to anyone who needs supportive housing in recovery, no matter what that person’s most recent treatment was.
Typical Rules and Requirements
The rules of a sober living home are similar to those of a halfway house, whether it is a men’s halfway house or not. They include:
- Regular random drug and alcohol testing
- Maintain abstinence
- No alcohol or drugs on the premises
- Must complete household assignments and chores
- Meet attendance expectations, such as a certain number of 12-step meetings
Most sober living homes require residents to participate in some kind of addiction treatment program. Some homes offer:
- 12-step programs
- support groups
- on-site clinical counseling
- referrals to outside counselors
Living Arrangements
SLHs usually offer both roommate arrangements as well as private rooms. There are typically more options for privacy in them because of their independent business models. The total number of residents in a SLH is usually less than 10 but depends on the size of the house.
Professional Services
It is rare for sober living homes to offer professional services within the home. Instead, most of the residents will reside in sober living homes while attending some form of outpatient treatment. If a treatment center owns a sober living home, that treatment center may hire staff in the home, but it is not usually a clinical staff member. This staff member typically monitors rule compliance and may transport residents to work, treatment, or the grocery store.
In the case of an independently owned home, there is usually a house manager that lives in the home and serves as a point of support or accountability if needed. In addition, sober living staff may aid residents in connecting them with services such as career training and educational services.
Length of Stay
The length of stay at sober living homes depends on the person as things move forward. If the sober living home is associated with the treatment center, that person may live in the home until he or she is not ready to step down in treatment.
On the other hand, that person may decide to stay in the sober living home for a longer period of time as he or she continues in outpatient treatment and begins transitioning into a new sober life. These days there may be a maximum length of stay. Homes that aren’t affiliated with the treatment center are more likely to offer a length of stay like any rental tenancy, on a month-to-month basis with a 30-day notice when leaving.
Do Sober Living Houses Work?
Generally, sober living homes do improve abstinence rates for their residents. A study in 2010 looked at residents leaving two different facilities we’ll call A and B.
- Program A: 20% of the residents had been abstinent for 6 months at the beginning of the program. Six months after completing the program, the abstinence rate was 40%.
- Program B: 11% of participants were abstinent at the beginning of the program. Six months after the program, 68% were abstinent.
Additionally, the abstinent rates stayed mainly stable by the 12- and 18-month marks.
This study showed that people who are abstinent after leaving an SLH tend to remain abstinent. The strongest predictor of positive outcomes is involvement in a 12-step program.
Halfway House as Residential Treatment
Sober living homes and residential treatment programs are both effective treatment solutions for individuals who can’t stop substance abuse on their own. Both require that individuals live at treatment facilities and work to learn new ways of living. But residential treatment programs and SLHs have different approaches to addiction recovery.
Residential programs are generally more structured and intensive, while sober living houses are less structured. However, a person can usually reside in a sober living home for a lot longer than one can at a residential treatment facility.
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Live Free SLH
A men’s halfway house or sober living home, such as the one available at Live Free Recovery, can serve as a low-intensity residential treatment facility. Many people choose to move into sober living homes as alternatives to going to residential treatment. These homes can provide moderate structure while residents attend intensive outpatient program (IOP) treatment or other outpatient addiction services.
Often, people prefer to live in an environment with others who are also working toward their recovery. While the costs of sober living environments may vary, some people prefer supportive housing over the expense and restrictions of residential treatment.
Why Go to a Gender-Specific Home?
Gender-specific homes address the needs of sober living for men and women in recovery. Although addictions affect people in many similar ways, men often have a number of obstacles and difficulties that are specific to their gender. Thus, recovering from a substance use disorder in a group of supportive, like-minded people, like fellow men, can make the process feel safer, more enjoyable, and in the end, more effective.
For example, men’s halfway house or sober living home residents are able to freely open up about sensitive issues that they might be uncomfortable discussing around women. Because addiction affects many aspects of a person’s life, men often have addiction stories that include sexual, physical, and mental health issues as well as violence and crime. The early days of sobriety are vulnerable times and it’s important to feel safe and unjudged when discussing these times, even if that means one has to be only with one’s gender to feel that way.
A men’s halfway house is also a benefit because it eliminates the distractions of sex and dating for heterosexual men, as these distractions can thwart recovery during the early days. A same-gender house may not eliminate these distractions for homosexual men, but it does give young men a chance to live with people that are more likely to understand what they’re going through.
Drug Use in New Hampshire
Given the lack of significant progress in the “war on drugs,” it’s fair to wonder where the higher rates of drug abuse are. A report in 2020 tried to answer the question by comparing drug use rates in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The study revealed that New Hampshire ranks 18th in overall rates of drug abuse. Neighbor, Vermont, has the highest percentage of teenage drug users and adult drug users as well.
The Opioid Crisis
Even though other New England states such as Maine and Vermont are experiencing a spike in opioid-related deaths, NH ranks No. 2 in the country (behind West Virginia) for the number of opioid-related deaths relative to its population. However, it ranks No. 1 for fentanyl-related deaths per capita.
Fentanyl is an opioid that’s between 50 and 100 times stronger than heroin. It is believed to be responsible for the recent spike in overdoses. But while heroin is still circulating through the streets, fentanyl was involved in nearly two-thirds of the state’s drug deaths in 2015.
Sober Living at Live Free Recovery
At Live Free Recovery, we can offer you or your loved one a comprehensive treatment program with multiple levels of care, including our Sober Living Programs. Our men’s sober living residence is located in Manchester, NH. This beautiful old home has been completely modernized and furnished to provide a safe, comfortable environment to learn and recover.
In addition to our sober living homes, we also have a residential and two outpatient programs. Our medical professionals can provide medication-assisted treatment if necessary. Also, because we want you to be able to transition back to your family, we have family addiction counseling which helps mend family relationships that may have been broken.
At Live Free Recovery, we don’t leave anything to chance. Contact us today to learn more about our rehab facility and the services that it offers.