How to Start a Sober Living Home

A sober living house provides an opportunity for recovering addicts to take baby steps back to full independence after completing in-patient treatment for drug or alcohol addiction. In a sober living community, addicts live together to provide each other with support. Sober living communities do not require any kind of special license or permit. However, before you start your own sober living community, you should be aware of the process involved.

Instructions

• 1

  Find a location. When selecting a location, keep in mind that a number of people will live in the sober house and the more comfortable they are the better. Further, you will want your sober living community to be far away from bad influences such as bars and places where drug dealing is known to go on.

• 2

  Decide whether or not to license. While a license is not required, not having a license forbids you from providing certain services to your residents, including counseling on-site. However, even without a license, you can offer the banned services off-site at places such as a local church. Licensed facilities frequently require a zoning variance to operate a business in a residential area. Check with state and local authorities to determine what you can and cannot do without a license.

• 3

  Obtain all necessary permits. While you will not necessarily have to obtain a license for a halfway house, you will have to have the house inspected as well as obtain certain permits for renting out the facility based on your local laws.

• 4

  Obtain training. Organizations such as The Sober Living Network provide courses for opening sober houses. The Sober Living Network's program takes four hours and covers all material required by major Southern California sober living community alliances. Find a class in your area and learn from experienced sober house facilitators.

• 5

  Calculate your costs. Sober living homes are not charities. They are an opportunity for people to begin living responsible lives again and your residents will be expected to pay their own way. Remember to include not just the note on the house, but also bills such as utilities, community toiletries, food and general upkeep.

• 6

  Set rules. A sober living house must have a firmly established set of rules and consequences for breaking them. The National Institute on Chemical Dependency provides a list of rules that are common for sober living communities. You don't need to reinvent the wheel, but you do need to consider how general sober house rules will work in your sober living community.