About 22 million Americans are in recovery from some sort of addiction, and if you’re in that number, you know how harrowing the early days can be.
Oftentimes, when people leave inpatient recovery programs, they find themselves with no job, no home, and very little idea how to start rebuilding their life. Recovery housing programs are designed to make this transition back into the real world easier.
If you’re newly sober, you may wonder if recovery housing is the right choice for you. Read on to learn more about these programs and the support they offer to recovering addicts who are getting a fresh start in life.
What Is Recovery Housing?
Recovery housing is a housing option for people who are transitioning out of inpatient addiction recovery and moving back into a “normal” life. These homes usually have several people living in them, all of whom are recovering from an addiction. They offer a safe space where temptation is lower and recovery is a constant focus.
Most recovery housing programs will only allow people of the same gender to share a house, as is the case with Cenikor’s facility. At this time, we only have housing available for males.
These homes are meant to be a transitional space – most people only stay for a few months before moving into a different housing situation. But recovery housing can be an important step from an inpatient recovery program back out into the real world.
Challenges of Recovery
One of the biggest challenges newly recovering addicts face is figuring out how to navigate real life without their addiction. In an inpatient recovery program, every day is scheduled, monitored, and managed. It’s comparatively easy to stay sober when you aren’t in charge of your schedule, and you can’t get access to drugs.
But when newly recovered addicts leave the recovery program, they find themselves exposed to all their old triggers and temptations again. It can be a lot harder to stay sober when you’re dealing with the stress of everyday life, and you have access to your drug of choice again. These problems can be even worse if you’re dealing with homelessness, which impacts a huge number of addicts.
How a Recovery Community Helps
Having a sober living home during the early days of your sobriety can be critical in helping you find your feet. For one thing, these communities act as a halfway point between the safety of the recovery program and the temptations of the real world. While you can still access drugs, you aren’t being exposed to them in your everyday life.
Many people also find it helpful to have a group of people around them who are going through the same challenges they are. You can find accountability and encouragement that can make it easier to stay sober during the tough times. And these communities can give you some place to stay while you start putting your life back together outside of rehab.
When Recovery Housing is Used
In general, recovery housing is used immediately after a person leaves an inpatient recovery program. How long you stay will depend on your situation, your needs, and the support available in your area. Some people stay in these houses for just a few months, while others stay for a year or more.
In most cases, you can check yourself out of a recovery house at any point when you decide you’re ready to be out on your own. If you’re paying for your stay in this housing, you may have to pay for the rest of your stay if you do decide to check out early.
And, of course, if you have court orders to live in recovery housing, you’ll have to stay for the specified period of time.
Services in Recovery Housing
In addition to providing a safe, supportive community for recovering addicts, recovery housing also provides access to several services. Oftentimes, these communities double as peer support networks, and you may even be able to go to group therapy sessions with your housemates. You can also often get counseling services through a recovery housing program.
Some recovery housing programs help you to write a resume, look for jobs, and prepare for interviews. They may also help you to look for more permanent housing that’s safe and affordable. And many programs connect you to former house residents who you can build a community with and get outside support from.
Recovery Housing Rules
Of course, it should come as no surprise that recovery houses have rules, with the biggest being abstinence from illegal drugs and alcohol. You can take medications that have been prescribed to you by a doctor and that the program has okayed. You may also be required to attend group therapy meetings with the other members of the house.
Learn More About Recovery Housing
Recovery housing can be a fantastic resource for people who are transitioning from an inpatient recovery program back to the real world. Most people stay at these houses for somewhere between a few months and a year. You can get support and help getting back on your feet, as well as find a community of people who are dealing with the same challenges you are.
If you’d like to learn more about recovery housing, check out the rest of our site at Cenikor. Our substance use disorder treatment programs are available throughout Texas and New Mexico. Get help today and let us remind you that you are not alone in this fight.
Let's Do This!
