Sober living homes help provide a safe and addiction free environment to many who are abstaining from alcohol and drugs. However, there are many who have reservations about considering such homes as an effective measure to reintroduce themselves as responsible citizens of society.
Here are the top 5 most common concerns people have about sending their loved ones or going themselves to a Sober Living Home.
“Going to sober living home a sign that you still need help and can’t do it by yourself”
Choosing a Sober Home is an important step one takes towards transitioning responsibly into the real world. It prepares the recovering addicts to be accountable for their actions. Sometimes after rehab going back to your old life can be difficult as it can drag you back to your old toxic habits. But being in a safe environment and being judicious in your choices where you place self-care before anything else can be helpful. In Sober Homes, you have to pay for rent, food and other personal essentials, which makes you accountable for your personal welfare; something you would have avoided in your regular home. At Omega Recovery, we encourage you to actively seek work if you don’t have one in a way to make you more accountable and self-sufficient.
“How is staying with other recovering addicts going to help me stay strong and maintain abstention?”
Contrary to this belief studies have shown that individuals who are surrounded by like-minded social groups and support networks who are abstainers and recovering addicts had better outcome after the completion of the treatment. (Zywiak, Longabaugh, and Wirtz (2002) Moos and Moos (2006)). Additionally, an extremely important factor for maintaining sobriety is the living condition of the recovering individuals. It is imperative to disassociate oneself from destructive living environments that could potentially result in relapse. At Omega Recovery, we maintain the highest standard when it comes to creating a safe environment and working with our trained staff through the “Thrive in Thirty” and “Recovery Wellness 360” programs. We also encourage creating new social support systems through our “Extended Care Program” for our dual diagnosed clients
“There is no need to send him/her to a Sober Home. Our family can provide a similar environment where meals are shared together, fellowship can be built and constant care provided”.
It is wonderful to come back home to your family, friends’ and even pets after your rehab treatment. There is a level of comfort to being in a known environment than living with strangers in a Sober Home. However, healthy Sober Homes provide several structured opportunities for a safe and successful transition as a well-adjusted functioning member of society and live a full, healthy joyous life. In sober homes, residents are involved in the house operations and have a support group and 12- Step meetings. It is also difficult to segregate oneself from toxic environment that can instigate a relapse. There are several aspects of care and regulations that a recovering addict would require that supports abstinence and maintenance of a recovery. For instance, Omega Recovery & BridgeWay Sober Living establishes an environment of structured sober care through medications supervision, various accountability exercises, monitoring meetings attended, sponsors, drug tests and many more rules and regulations to inculcate a sense of responsibility and encourage independent living. We are also a community-based organization that brings everyone together as a big family, where bonding, friendship, and connection happen.
“Sober Living Homes are so expensive”
It is true that there are expenses associated with staying in Sober homes like rent and food. These expenses are however similar to expenses in rent and food you would have to account for if you returned to your regular lives without the support and accountability provided by a Sober House. Additionally, many Sober Living facilities like the ones provided by Omega Recovery & BridgeWay Sober Living provides affordable programs and has insurance options which help cover rehabilitation costs. There are also housing assistance programs provided by the state, in some cases unemployment eligibility, grants that can be made available through government agencies that could cover medical and living expenses. Our expert staff can guide you in these and ensure that you are provided with the most effective treatment and assistance programs. The Staff at BridgeWay & Omega are always willing to help those who need additional assistance financially.
“Good Sober Homes are never in safe neighborhoods”
Though the neighborhood one chooses to go for their Sober Homes strongly correlates with the financial support and stability they have, there are several Sober Homes in nice well-kept communities that are budget friendly. Omega Recovery along with Bridgeway Sober Living is proud to be able to provide sober living houses located in the heart of south, downtown Austin. Some of the homes are just blocks away from Town Lake. Our homes are walking distance to many major Austin hot spots- including Recovery Meeting groups, Downtown, Zilker Park, The Greenbelt, Barton Springs, Torchy’s Tacos, and many of the local favorite coffee shops and cafe’s. For Omega, the aim is to provide a high quality and comfortable home for all residents who are in an endeavor to better the second lease on life. References: Zywiak WH, Longabaugh R, Wirtz PW. Decomposing the relationships between pretreatment social network characteristics and alcohol treatment outcome. Journal of Studies on Alcohol. 2002;63:114–121. Moos BS, Moos RH. Treated and untreated individuals with alcohol use disorders: Rates and predictors of remission and relapse. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology. 2006;6:513–526.
