Choosing a Halfway House: Is It Right for You
A halfway house is often used after someone has completed an inpatient rehabilitation facility program for abuse of drugs or alcohol. Choosing a halfway house can be an essential next step in reinforcing the techniques and strategies learned from the 30 day program. Halfway houses are also used by those who have been sober for awhile, but have found that they have difficulty remaining so. These transitional homes provide living quarters for those recovering from drug or alcohol addictions. In this group home, different types of individuals learn or relearn the necessary skills to lead healthier lives. In comparison to the services these halfway houses provide, the cost is very inexpensive. Countless success stories have been documented by those who have been fortunate enough to choose them.
It is important to be aware that prior to being accepted and in a house, you need to have been clean and sober for a certain amount of time. Although it is easy to relapse into your old bad habits after leaving a 30 day program, the halfway house can provide a positive change and attitude. Halfway houses provide recovering addicts with a drug free setting, positive reinforcement and a sense of community. But you can’t just go to a halfway house in place of a rehab program as they are designed for those who have experienced being clean and being sober.
Halfway houses are equipped with trained professionals who can assist past addicts who are struggling to regain their lives. Allowing yourself to go through this process can mean the difference between years of healthily living or consistently relapsing. Leaving a drug and rehab facility and expecting to stay sober can be a daunting thought to a recovering addict. Then, returning to familiar surroundings where you abused substances can be too much for you to control. All around you there are triggers that can turn on the desire to want to use; this is a potentially dangerous situation. After being an addict for so long, you actually have to reprogram the brain to learn productive ways of coping with life’s troubles. A halfway house aids in this transformation. It picks up where the rehab center left off.
These structured recovery residences have their own set of rules like curfew, regular drug testing, going to recovery meetings and more. All with the one major goal, to help you follow through with the commitment not to use alcohol or drugs. So choosing a halfway house, transitional home, or recovery facility can determine whether the next phase of your life is sober or struggling. You can also find different orientations in different homes such as those with a strong religious approach and those that may be more new age oriented. Matching your personality to the home can be an important factor for compatibility with residents and staff.
A halfway house works if you already went to a drug rehab centre or alcohol clinic to detox and dry out. They don’t want people in halfway houses that are still using because it’s too tempting to the residents and there needs to be some success at staying away from substances. But a halfway house in California really helped me because otherwise I would’ve hung with my old buddies. They still are using and going nowhere.
I know someone from college who went to live in a halfway house and it wasn’t right for him because he said that he was like the father figure who drove people around and was the responsible one. The other people in the first place he went to were childish and not ready to grow up. When he found a 2nd place, it worked out better because the people who lived there were more similar to him in their goals. You have to find out about who is living in the half way house because that is going to be the people you are around.
When I lived in a halfway house it was the best thing I could’ve done. I would’ve fallen back into using coke and meth again if I didn’t. My best friend now is from there and I have married since I lived there too. A halfway house with the right people is awesome.