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Types of Halfway Houses

Halfway houses allow people in precarious situations to reenter society. Coming from hospitals, inpatient recovery centers and prison, the residents of halfway houses try to reenter society by slowly taking on the responsibilities given to adults while coached by house managers or more seasoned residents. Although many halfway houses do not provide counseling or treatment services (to do so would change the status to an inpatient facility), the life education provided by supervisors often serves to help the resident understand the handling of minute details involved with daily living.

  1. Addiction

    • The voluntary substance abuse halfway house allows recovering addicts to transition from inpatient therapy to societal living by offering a structured environment during outpatient therapy. This is one of the main types of halfway houses, according to the Halfway House Del Ray website.

      Although not all members of halfway houses attend therapy sessions, most houses require that the residents attend at least one AA or NA session per day, depending on the addiction of the resident. The length of time a resident stays at a halfway house combined with her track record in the program usually determines the amount of freedom that the halfway house allows, eventually allowing residents to garner jobs or even use their own cars.

    Court-Mandated

    • Some halfway houses focus on supporting prisoners reentering society, according to Halfway House Del Ray. Although some halfway houses contain both voluntary and court-mandated residents, those that contain at least one court-mandated resident tend to be a little more strict than voluntary housing.

      Court-mandated halfway houses often provide a very structured environment while allowing certain freedoms not available in prisons. These houses benefit the prisoner in allowing him to try to regain his place in society while taking economic stress off the Justice department.

    Mental Health

    • While many halfway houses focus on alcohol and addiction recovery, others focus on the recovery of mental health patients. Mental health patients need an environment where they can receive loose supervision during the day, ensuring they take medications, adhere to medical schedules and can discuss their special needs with sympathetic listeners. These houses can differ from addiction-focused houses in that they tend to focus more on the medical needs of the patient rather than on addiction counseling.

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