Are you thinking of starting a sober living home?
Sober living programs often play a pivotal role in helping people who struggle with substance abuse. The programs give them access to people who have the right training to help them on their sobriety journey.
But starting a sober living home is like beginning any other business, and you need to know whether it will be worthwhile for you. Below, we’ll get into the top 5 reasons you should learn how to start a sober living home. Keep reading to see the many benefits of getting into this type of work!
1. Create a Safe Space
Many people who seek out sober living treatment experience a lot of temptation in their everyday lives. They might have friends and family who drink or use drugs. Even if they live alone, they may struggle with the impulse to buy their substance of choice.
Further, those who struggle with substance abuse problems often feel a lot of loneliness and shame. At worst, this may keep them from seeking treatment. When you learn how to start a sober living home, you obtain the skills necessary to create a safe space for these people to seek help.
In addition, sober living facilities help people feel like they’re not the only ones going through recovery. These live-in locations will give people a sense of community. They’ll meet others who are on the same journey and perhaps form lasting relationships.
In fact, when multiple people live together in sober living homes, some may have more experience with addiction recovery than others. As such, it’s not uncommon for some residents to provide support, advice, and encouragement to one another.
The residents themselves actually run some sober living homes. They keep each other accountable and form support groups to help one another along the journey.
2. Help People Stay Sober
People who go to sober living homes stand a greater chance of remaining sober for longer. In fact, one study followed the outcomes of 300 different sober living home residents. The researchers found a positive correlation between living in sober living communities and staying away from substances.
So, when you start a sober living home, you have a real chance to make a difference in many people’s lives. Most people stay at sober living homes for 166-284 days, giving them the time they need to overcome the first hurdles of addictive recovery.
3. Save and Rebuild Lives
Unfortunately, around 95,000 people die of alcohol-related causes on an annual basis. An additional 100,000 people die of drug overdoses each year in the United States.
Creating a sober living home, where people won’t be able to access these substances while they receive care, will save lives. People will have the chance to get used to a life of sobriety and learn effective coping skills for the outside world. When they leave, they’ll have the skills they need to make healthier and safer life choices.
You won’t just save lives, though. You’ll get to play an integral role in rebuilding them. Researchers have found a positive correlation between addiction and job loss, so some of the people at your home may have struggled to keep a job.
Drugs and alcohol also contribute to aggression and poor interpersonal behavior. So, some people in your care may have experienced trouble in their relationships with friends and family. Through living at the sober living home, they’ll have the opportunity to build healthy relationships with the people around them.
Even better, they can receive therapy to assist them with rebuilding their lives outside of recovery. The techniques they use will help them get employment, support themselves, and reconnect with loved ones.
4. Help People Get Connected in the Community
A successful sober living home keeps you connected to all sorts of people in the community. In order for a sober living home to work well, it needs to have the ability to give its residents access to treatment.
Most sober living homes require residents to be in either a support group or go to therapy. As such, it’s a wise idea to form connections with therapists and psychiatrists. You can also hire contracted therapists to help people who are living in your sober living home.
Some sober living homes also pay for rehab centers to offer in-patient care to their residents. So, if your residents need some extra support but don’t want to live at a rehab center, a sober living home is a great option.
You can also provide resources for sober living residents who want to pursue work or education.
5. Get People Into a 12-Step Program
When people enter your sober living home, you can ask them to join a 12-step program if they haven’t done so already.
12-step programs get developed by experts in addiction recovery. They take people through effective techniques for beginning and staying on their recovery journey. These programs help people recognize their addiction, develop the belief that they can improve their lives, and then reconnect and reintegrate with society.
Learn How to Start a Sober Living Home
Now that you know the benefits of having a home for addiction recovery, you need to learn how to start a sober living home.
This involves writing up business plans, deciding which of the 4 levels of sober living home you want to run, and learning about the local requirements in your area.
If you’re looking for a sober living home for you or a loved one, you’ve come to the right place. Taste Recovery is dedicated to connecting you with a wide variety of sober living programs that meet your needs.
Have questions? Contact us today to learn more!
