What is the difference between a halfway house and a sober living home? Most people classify both as the same thing, but despite a few similarities, a sober living home is significantly distinguished from a halfway home.
What is a Sober Living Home?
Sober living homes such as Ascension House Sober Living offers, as well as many others are specifically created for people who would like to continue their abstinence from alcohol and psychotropic substances. After treatment or recovery, it is often difficult to stay free without the help of a supportive environment. This is the major reason sober houses were built.
It is not always compulsory for one to have undergone rehab to live in a sober living home. As a matter of fact, sober living in Dallas, TX, is an ideal resource for people looking for a different option to formal rehabilitation. Before entering a sober living home, addicts would usually start out their journey by being in places like a Portland alcohol rehab center or one nearer to where they are.
When Did it All Started?
The first mention of sober living houses began with institutions like the Salvation Army alongside the YMCA offering shelter to the destitute. This was followed by ‘Twelve Step’ houses, which were created to tackle drug and alcohol abuse as fallout from World War II.
Many sober living environments still follow the Twelve Step methodology, and you can find homes dedicated to Sober Living Housing Dallas TX that are certified with the Sober Living Coalition; the body that regulates the standards for best practices such as safety, ethics, and management.
Residents are usually asked to partake in random drug tests, as well as show they are taking all necessary action to meet their goal of long-term sobriety.
What is a Halfway House?
Halfway houses, on the other hand, typically require residents to be in an active rehabilitation program or have already completed one. Sober living homes do not make this mandatory. Halfway houses are usually funded by the government and as such are susceptible to budget cuts.
Some halfway houses are created to provide temporary housing facilities for newly released jail inmates to help them get back on their feet and reintegrate with society. Others are built for severe mental disorders.
Nonetheless, the majority are federally funded to house people fighting substance abuse. All in all, there are similarities in the rules and regulations of halfway houses and sober living homes. This includes:
- Cigarette smoking to be carried out in specified smoking spaces
- Prohibited from destroying house facilities
- Must not display or show violent behavior
- Not allowed to engage in drugs
- All members must play their part in keeping the house, facilities, and environment clean
Final Thoughts
Residents in halfway houses may take alcohol, but sober living homes do not allow this. They are also mandated to pay expenses such as rent and can stay as long as they are able to pay. Halfway houses are typically for people ordered to stay there by court order, and this can run between six to eight months.
The duties and obligations of residents of halfway houses and men’s sober living homes are different. Their similarities lie in helping struggling people become productive members of society.
