Even with the presence of the pandemic, the drug crisis continues to rage on, with many people losing their lives to addiction. After a person has undergone drug treatment in a rehabilitation facility, it doesn’t mean the fight is over. Most will need a transitional space that allows them time to slowly make their way back into living alone or with others. Of course, this should be without facing immediate temptations from their surroundings. This all leads to the question of how to start a sober living home.
If you’re thinking about opening a treatment home, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve got some useful tips you can follow to ensure your home provides a positive environment for all that seek shelter there.
Tip 1: Create a Strong Business Plan
A business plan is essential when opening any type of business, especially a sober living home. You need to develop and input several factors into your business plan before presenting it to potential investors.
These factors include:
- Business structure description
- Analysis of market research conducted
- Outline of financial information
- Information of sober living personnel
As mentioned, your business plan can be used to secure funding from potential investors. In the case of addiction treatment, you need to ensure you’ve taken time to craft your business plan carefully.
The reason for this is addiction treatment is a risky business. This is because there’s no way to guarantee that people will remain sober after seeking treatment. Therefore, it may be harder to convince potential investors of the reasons why they should invest in your business idea.
It’s harder to say no when the investor notices you’ve taken the necessary steps and done your due diligence to create a plan that details every aspect of your sober living business. It shows them you’re serious and will do what it takes to protect their investment and increase the company ROI.
Tip 2: Consider All Funding Options
As we mentioned, it can be challenging to raise the funding you need to start and continue an addiction treatment business, because it’s risky. Many banks look to reduce the amount of risk they take on when lending money, because they want to ensure they’ll get the money back.
The bank isn’t the only option you have when raising funds to start your business. Take some time to weigh the pros and cons of each option you have before you move forward with making your decision.
For example, several organizations out there provide funding based on a grant proposal submitted by businesses such as yours. In your grant proposal, you need to detail why you’re seeking the grant money or the objective of your project.
It also helps to detail why opening a sober living home is essential to you and the motivating factors behind it. You could also take the fundraiser route and get the community involved in your sober living home efforts.
There’s nothing more powerful than tapping into your community as a resource. This is because chances are the people you’ll admit to your sober living home will be coming from your community.
Fundraising this way also lets people know you’re there as a resource they can tap into for help, whether it’s for themselves or a loved one.
Tip 3: Choose the Right Staff
The staff that works in your sober living home can either positively or negatively influence everyone who lives there. You need to take the time to hire the right people and take them through an extensive interviewing process before making your final hires.
Your staff should be trained to show empathy to residents within the home. While also being strong enough to enforce the rules and regulations. Your staff will be responsible for the residents and maintaining the home.
Before hiring any staff member, they need to agree to uphold the rules and regulations of the home. They should have a deep understanding of the consequences for breaking the rules.
Tip 4: Market the Home Properly
There are several ways you can market your sober living home and increase the number of applicants you have. We recommend creating a referral program with addiction treatment facilities in the area if possible.
The way this would work is when someone has completed their treatment, the facility will refer your sober living home as a place for them to enter. If someone in your straight living home relapses and needs to go back to treatment, you would refer them to the treatment facility.
You both act as a funnel for the other and help direct patients to each other’s businesses. Another form of marketing is social media, because people spend more than 12 hours on social media every day.
If you’re going to advertise your sober living home on social media, publish content that educates people on why your business is essential. And details how you can help potential residents.
Several stigmas surround sober living and addiction treatment. But when you market your business the right way, you can help to dispel these assumptions. You’ll benefit from having an extensive marketing plan.
The plan outlines how you’ll attract residents and the services you’ll provide. Another way to market your business is to list it on a website. Websites such as Taste Recovery give you a place to list your sober living home, and from their residents can find you and apply.
Tip 5: Don’t Skip Out on Policy Development
As you start a sober living home, one of the most important aspects of your business will be the policies you create and implement to protect residents, the home and remain within compliance. Without these policies in place, your home won’t run the way you’ve intended it to be run.
For example, most sober living homes and addiction treatment facilities have zero tolerance for any and all alcohol and drug use. This policy is an unbudging policy that must be adhered to at all times.
If residents are caught using drugs, they face immediate removal from your sober living home because not only does it affect them, but it can also cause other residents to relapse. Your policy handbook should detail the rights and responsibilities of each resident accepted into the home.
Ensure your staff reviews this handbook with residents and has them sign it before they’re able to move in. If the resident should commit an infraction, you can pull the copy of the handbook they’ve signed and go over the infraction committed and the consequence that is to follow.
This ensures your business will continue to run the way you intend it to and helps residents learn the power of their actions. As they transition back into everyday life, they need to understand that every decision they make comes with a reaction, and they need to take responsibility for their actions.
Tip 6: Decide on Treatment Resources
Sober living homes are responsible for teaching residents different life skills they’ll need to be successful independently. These life skills include:
- Finding a job and going to work daily
- Keeping their living quarters clean
- Working well with others they live with
- Developing new routines
After addiction treatment, residents will still need access to resources, such as drug and alcohol meetings, where they can meet with others in groups to talk about the successes and struggles they might be facing.
Before launching your business, take some time to survey the area and note the places that offer these types of services to your residents.
If you’re not able to find any create a plan that allows you to offer these services in-house. For example, if residents need help finding a job, what type of job resources are you able to offer?
Much like the referral program agreement you enter with addiction treatment facilities, you can also have one with job matching agencies. This can take some pressure off residents who find it challenging to find jobs, especially if they have a criminal record.
How to Start a Sober Living Home: Sober Treatment Tips to Know
You might ask yourself how to start a sober living home? No matter how many times you’ve asked yourself this question, you can always refer to the tips we provided for you above.
Don’t forget to create a business plan that details every aspect of your business, especially when you’re seeking funding from investors. It also helps if you list your sober home on a website that makes it easy for potential residents to find you.
Speaking of listing your sober living home, don’t forget to register with Taste Recovery today.
