Tag Archives: Sober Housing

Charitable Donations Needed East Coast Sober Living Facilities - ECHO Recovery

East Coast Housing Opportunities: Charitable Donations Needed for East Coast Sober Living Facilities

Sober Living and Recovery Housing

Finding a circle of support, living with others who understand where you’ve been, and connecting with those who have the same goals are a few reasons why sober living is successful.

Most sober living residents have met their addiction head-on in rehab, and have gone through a high level of treatment. But, transitioning back into a life without drugs can be challenging. Old habits, attachments to old acquaintances, and familiar places die hard.

Recovery housing offers a safe, stable alternative. With more freedom than a residential facility, yet the same accountability for a drug-free lifestyle, monitored recovery home programs provide a bridge between newfound sobriety and lifelong sobriety.

Sober Living Makes a Difference

Being accountable in recovery from addiction sets a precedent for maintaining a long-lasting recovery. This type of living environment positively impacts those working toward a better way of life.

Sober living residents are required to:

  • Follow rules.
  • Contribute to household chores.
  • Submit to drug and alcohol testing.

In the everyday world, successful people live according to a schedule. Similarly, sober living residents learn to create routine and live according to a daily schedule. They begin to go to work (or back to work, in some cases) and find success day by day in creating life out of the ashes of their destructive addiction.

Donating to sober living facilities makes you a partner in the fight against substance abuse.

ECHO Recovery is affiliated with ongoing support programs for people struggling with drug and alcohol abuse. Recovery housing comes with access to support group meetings and clinical, and even medical, services in the local community.

Opportunities for You to Help

The number of individuals and families who have gone through addiction troubles are staggering. Most people have been touched by addiction in one way or another.

We know many people want to give back to fight the disease of addiction. Even if you haven’t experienced it in a profoundly personal way, you probably have some idea of the destruction addiction can have.

Helping people heal has a tremendous impact on our world.

Where Donations Go

The donations we receive at ECHO Recovery go toward helpful causes like providing common household items to recovery housing residents. To begin to replace what they’ve lost, because the addiction has taken everything, we need your help.

Not just in monetary gifts, but the items you donate make a tremendous difference to those staying in recovery homes. Starting a life without substances includes being responsible for normal, everyday tasks such as washing and folding laundry, cooking, doing dishes, and making a bed. Believe it or not, many individuals coming out of addiction have forgotten or never learned the basic requirements of daily life.

We are grateful to receive items that are either monetary or non-monetary. Some of the non-monetary gifts we receive are:

  • Bedding for twin-size beds
  • Paper products: towels, toilet, cups
  • Soaps: hand, dish, laundry
  • Gift cards to stores: grocery, home improvement, gas stations

Items we graciously accept that can be gently used include:

  • Lawn equipment
  • Household cleaning utensils

Monetary Gifts

Do you want to help provide a scholarship an individual who’s embarking on sober living? That is an option available to you. Would you like to make a monetary gift to cover some expenses for a group of residents? That is also a possibility.

In simply giving what you can, rest assured that your dollars will be well appropriated where most needed.

East Coast Sober Living Donations

The national opioid crisis has put a premium on space at addiction rehab centers and, in turn, sober living homes. America can’t seem to meet the needs fast enough for those suffering from addiction to opioids.

Drug and alcohol addiction rips away relationships, jobs, family, finances and freedom. The emotional, spiritual, physical and financial bankruptcy caused by addiction devastates a person and destroys several lives. Many people have lost everything to this illness we know as addiction.

Some of those in rehab have absolutely nothing. And when you’re starting from ground zero, it’s not hard to be grateful for any little thing you’re given.

However, the one thing those recovering from drug and alcohol abuse do have is themselves. They survived. They are still here and they are fighting to keep their life and their recovery going. And, they need all the help they can get. We are here to provide that help, with your support, if possible.

East Coast housing can be expensive. And starting over from rock bottom is tough. We all need a little help once in a while, and this is your once-in-a-while opportunity to help.

You can help America fight this hideous epidemic right here on the East Coast.

No matter how or in what way you feel moved to align with the purpose of fighting back against the human condition of addiction, we love that you are considering helping finance our nonprofit work of assisting people in recovery.

Donate Now or See More Item Donation Ideas:

Recovery Home Donations

Sober Living Home Success Rates - ECHO Recovery

Sober Living Home Success Rates

Do sober living homes provide value when it comes to substance abuse recovery? Of course, we will always reply, “Yes,” to this question, but can we quantify it?

There are a lot of variables in play when it comes to sober housing and determining what constitutes success. Nevertheless, we will draw upon a longitudinal study as well as other relevant statistics in order to demonstrate the great benefit of sober living homes.

If you’re looking for the universal success rate, there’s not one easy number to point to, but we can provide several related stats and facts that help paint a pretty close picture.

Sober Living Longitudinal Study in California

One of the most wide-ranging studies of sober homes came out of California last decade. Douglas L. Polcin, Ed.D., led a group of researchers who studied two different models of sober living houses from 2005 to 2010. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) funded this study, called “the first examination of sober living house residents using a longitudinal design.”

The Journal of Psychoactive Drugs published Polcin and co.’s findings in December 2010. The study tracked the results of 300 individuals who entered one of the two sober living communities on which Polcin’s team focused.

The two disparate models of sober living homes were:

  • A group of homes located in Berkeley, California with a direct connection to an outpatient addiction treatment program. At the time of the study, there were four houses and 58 beds in total.
  • A community of 16 “freestanding” houses (136-bed capacity) in Sacramento County, California. The first 30 to 90 days of residency were heavily structured, while residents enjoyed more personal freedom if they stayed longer than that. All residents had to abide by a curfew and attend 12-step meetings.

The research team interviewed all participants within their first week at one of the two sober living communities, and then conducted follow-up interviews at the 6-, 12- and 18-month marks. The study noted, “Average lengths of stay in both types of sober living houses surpassed the National Institute on Drug Abuse recommendation of at least 90 days to obtain maximum benefit.”

The average length of stay in the Berkeley sober living community was 254 days. The Sacramento County community boasted a still-impressive average length of stay of 166 days.

Sober Living Home Success Rates: The Findings

In the Berkeley sober living community, only 11 percent of interviewees said they were completely abstinent from drugs and alcohol over the six months prior to their initial (“baseline”) interview. During their stay in the sober home, that rate improved to:

  • 68 percent at the 6- and 12-month marks
  • 46 percent after 18 months

That’s right: The rate dropped between 12 and 18 months, but the researchers noted it was still significantly better than the baseline rate.

In the Sacramento County sober homes, 20 percent of interviewees said they were completely drug and alcohol abstinent over the six months prior to first entering the home. Over time, that rate improved to:

  • 40 percent at 6 months
  • 45 percent at 12 months
  • 42 percent at 18 months

Yes, the rate decreased here between 12 and 18 months, also. Why? The study noted that 68 percent of the Berkeley participants and 82 percent of the Sacramento County participants had left the homes by the 12-month mark. Arguably, the residents who stayed past that time may have been the ones who were struggling more with complete abstinence and needed extra time, driving down the rate over that final six-month period.

Sober Living Benefits: Additional Takeaways

The study noted that the alcohol and drug severity was already low among residents first entering one of these sober homes.

“Because severity was low there was limited room to improve on these measures. Nevertheless, we found significant improvement at 6 months for both alcohol … and drug (abstinence). Those improvements were maintained at 12 and 18 months,” the report said.

The researchers also found no statistically significant differences in outcomes among demographic subgroups (age, gender, ethnicity, education level, etc.) and different referral sources (self, family member, criminal justice, inpatient program, etc.)

The study also noted, “By 18 months nearly all had left, yet improvements were for the most part maintained.”

Researchers could not conclude that one model of sober living was better than the other, due to the differing demographics and objectives each model had. Ultimately, it comes down to what’s best for the individual.

In general, however, the researchers concluded that sober living houses are beneficial for people who are:

  • Completing residential treatment
  • Attending outpatient treatment
  • Seeking non-treatment alternatives for recovery (a sober, structured environment)
  • Entering a community after recent incarceration

Longer Programs Equal Reduced Relapse Rates

A related study worth pointing out has to do with the length of addiction treatment programs. For those who went to treatment for 90 or more consecutive days, the relapse rate was only 15 percent within the first year after completing treatment, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Compare that to the nearly 40 percent relapse rate within the first year among those who only received 30 days of treatment. Findings like these are why the NIDA has declared 90 days to be the new gold standard for addiction treatment program lengths.

The NIDA has never stipulated that patients need to complete all 90 days in an inpatient rehab facility. A combination of inpatient and outpatient treatment, uninterrupted, can be just as effective, especially if the individual takes advantage of sober living accommodations while participating in an outpatient program.

Even the previously mentioned NIAAA-funded study concluded, “there are several significant advantages” when pairing outpatient treatment with sober living accommodations. Among the many benefits is the lack of arbitrary discharge dates by the program, allowing the individual to decide when he or she is ready to transition to greater independence.

“Some residents probably benefit from the mandate that they attend outpatient treatment during the day and comply with a curfew in the evening,” according to Dr. Polcin and his research team.

Sober Living on the East Coast

ECHO Recovery believes strongly in helping people find access to recovery homes that are tied to structured outpatient programs. Through the generous donations we receive, we also may be able to offer financial aid to certain clients to cover a portion of their costs for staying in a sober home.

Whether you’re brand new to rehabilitation or currently in an inpatient program, ECHO Recovery can help you find sober living accommodations on the East Coast along with ongoing outpatient treatment. Contact us if you’re ready to start or continue your journey to addiction recovery.

Learn the Rules of Sober Homes

How To Pay For Sober Living Recovery Home Stays - ECHO Foundation

How to Pay for Sober Living and Recovery Home Stays

When you come to the end of a rehabilitation program, your funds may be drained from not working, and your insurance company has likely payed for all of the treatment it’s going to pay for. Perhaps you can get your insurer to cover outpatient treatment, but any other resources you may need – such as sober living accommodations – will probably be out of pocket.

So, what are your options if returning home is untenable at this time and you need to stay a few more weeks in a drug- and alcohol-free environment? A recovery home is the ideal situation you’re looking for, but paying for it won’t be easy.

Unless you have a few thousand dollars lying around after completing rehab, here are some tips for helping you pay for a recovery home stay as you continue to become accustomed to sobriety:

Will Insurance Cover Sober Living? Try to Use Your Insurance Plan

Just because the chances aren’t great that your insurance plan will cover a recovery home stay doesn’t mean you should avoid looking into it. There are so many insurance companies and unique plans out there that it’s hard to say with 100 percent certainty that you will or will not be covered.

Perhaps you have a higher-end policy that might cover this kind of expense, or if you’ve had a doctor deem sober living as medically necessary, then there’s a higher chance your insurer may cover it. Another possibility is you’ve had the foresight to add on certain options to your insurance plan, which may now cover extended care and accommodations for drug addiction.

You can’t know for sure unless you call up your insurance company directly and ask them if sober living is specifically covered, or what you have to do to get it covered. If you employer provides your insurance, you may be able to get your answers through a human resources representative at your workplace.

The moral of the story is: Don’t rule it out until you’ve asked.

Explore the Recovery Home’s Payment Options

If you’re interested in a specific recovery home, contact them to explore their payment options. They may be able to find a solution that works with your budget. They may offer financing so that you don’t have to put down the money all at once. Perhaps they will also offer a grace period before you start having to pay the loan back.

Some recovery homes are able to offer scholarships and financial aid in order to offset some of your costs. At ECHO Recovery, we take monetary and household good donations in order to help clients afford their fees and to so we can keep our recovery homes stocked with everyday communal items.

The takeaway here is to communicate with your desired recovery home and explore their payment plans before ruling out sober living completely.

Work While You Reside at the Recovery Home

Many recovery homes require you to work at least a part-time job while you enjoy their accommodations, so this can factor in to how you pay for their fees. Although the job you find (or resume) likely won’t cover the entire cost of recovery home living, it will certainly help. It may also factor into the loan terms they offer you if you approach them about a payment plan.

Seek a Private Loan

By no means are you relegated to the recovery home when it comes to seeking a loan. You can approach a bank or another reputable lender in order to seek one of the following types of loans:

  • Personal
  • Medical
  • Hardship

In fact, you may want to do this and secure your terms and then approach a recovery home and ask about their payment plans. This way, you can choose the best terms possible for your budget, and you won’t regret not exploring more payment options.

Please note that while you can take out a loan for sober living and possibly qualify for a scholarship from the recovery home itself, there are no federal grants available for “drug-free supportive housing” at this time, according to the federal Center for Substance Abuse Treatment.

Look into Nonprofit Scholarships and Sponsorships

There may be nonprofit organizations either in your hometown or located near your desired recovery home that can offer you financial assistance for sober living. It’s doubtful they will be able or willing to cover the entire cost, but any aid they can offer will help.

The recovery facility you look into may bring up this option if you talk to them about payment plans; they may work with local nonprofits in order to help their clients afford the accommodations. Otherwise, do an independent search online for a charity or nonprofit that may offer financial aid for your sober living stay.

Other Potential Options to Pay for Sober Living

And, if all else fails, or if there’s a certain dollar amount that you’re having trouble covering, there a few last-ditch efforts you can try, such as:

  • Ask a friend, family member or close neighbor if they would be willing to lend you the money until you can pay them back.
  • Sell off personal property or assets that can help you cover the sober living costs.
  • Dip further into your checking account or into your personal saving account, if you haven’t done so already. Be sure to leave enough to live off when you return home.

We understand that you would have to set aside some pride and personal comfort in doing any one of these three things, but consider what’s at stake here: your life and your health. If you finish rehab before you’re really ready and then you relapse, most of the work you did and most of what you’ve spent will have been for not. We say “most” because sometimes you can get right back on track quickly.

Think of the long-term implications of not following through with your recovery, and also think of the success you could find if you maintain sobriety for years on end. Look at rehab and sober living as an investment into your future.

Recovery Housing on the East Coast

ECHO Recovery can help you with a stable place to stay as you pursue outpatient addiction treatment or if you simply want more time in a sober environment before returning home. Our recovery homes emphasize life skills and encourage employment in addition to any treatment you’re receiving and support groups in which you’re participating.

Through various generous donations, we’re able to offer financial aid to many of our clients, as well. Find out more about the services we can provide to support you or your loved one’s walk toward recovery by clicking below.

Explore Our Recovery Housing Services

Pennsylvania Faces a Lack of Addiction Treatment and Sober Living Options for Addicts in Recovery

Pennsylvania Faces a Lack of Addiction Treatment and Sober Living Options for Addicts in Recovery

How the Lack of Addiction Treatment Care is Affecting Pennsylvania
With over 20.1 million Americans over the age of 12 suffering from substance use disorders (SUD), and only roughly 14% of those seeking treatment, you would think that there would be a sufficient availability of addiction treatment options in the United States. This is not the case; in fact, lack of access to treatment is the number 1 reason that addicted individuals don’t receive any type of mental health or substance abuse treatment.

With provisions in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requiring insurers to cover substance abuse treatment in policies, it would seem like more people would have access to treatment. However, while the ACA rules did initially cover some forms of addiction treatment, and did give some easier access to substance abuse treatment, shortfalls in availability of treatment again resurfaced.

Fraudulent practices among certain addiction treatment providers – looking to take advantage of insurance provisions for substance abuse treatment set-forth by the ACA – actually worsened things in the long run. Today, many insurance companies are delaying payments to addiction treatment providers, or are scrutinizing the types of treatments that they cover.

The Need for Affordable Addiction Treatment and Transitional Housing in United States

The mistakes that were made in the wake of the ACA requiring addiction treatment to be covered by insurance have led to lessons-learned. The initial abuses taught us that insurance covering lengthy stays at 5-star luxury residential addiction treatment centers was not a sustainable option – and dried up funding available for treatment. In order to effectively treat the addiction epidemic in America, we need affordable addiction treatment options that are sustainable and easily accessible.

Pennsylvania Transitional living and housing for those that are in treatment and recovery from addiction is one of the most sustainable forms of residential treatment that has been considered recently. By making housing available for those that are receiving outpatient treatment for addiction, the housing costs can be separated from the treatment costs.

Residential addiction treatment centers often bundle the services they offer into a sort of rehab package. The package might offer treatment at a set price and for a set amount of time. Residential treatment is often not covered by insurance because the housing is bundled into the price of treatment. With outpatient addiction treatment, however, there are no housing costs – only the cost of treatment. This makes outpatient treatment the most attractive option of treatment to insurers, and can make treatment available to more people, more quickly.

Do Transitional Housing Addiction Treatment Facilities Have a Bad Reputation?

Transitional housing facilities, sober living homes, and halfway houses got a bad reputation in the early days of the opioid epidemic and the Affordable Care Act. Those abuses and fraudulent behaviors in the addiction treatment industry that we mentioned? Many of those cases occurred under the guide of “sober living homes.”

Just because “Sober living homes” are what the fraudsters marketed themselves as, does not mean that all sober living homes are involved in negative behaviors. In fact, cases of abuses in the system were found in many types of addiction treatment programs including residential treatment centers, luxury rehabs, and even in urinalysis and drug testing clinics.

So Why Did Transitional Housing and Sober Homes Get a Bad Name?

In the backlash against the programs that were at the center of fraud claims after 2008 and the Affordable Care Act offering treatment coverage, a marketing campaign was born to paint sober living homes in a bad light. The general public was made to believe that they could avoid fraudulent behavior and dangerous scams with addiction treatment if they only sent their loved ones to a “residential treatment center.”

While many residential treatment centers were able to use these unfortunate past events as a sales point to get concerned families to pay more for a program that was not labeled as sober living; in essence, the residential treatment centers were offering the same type of treatment as sober living programs: an addiction treatment program offering substance abuse counseling and treatment with housing (room and board).

The Need for Affordable Addiction Treatment and Transitional Housing in Pennsylvania

In Pennsylvania specifically, a lack of available housing options is making access to affordable addiction treatment even scarcer. Many Pennsylvania residents are from poorer communities, and even some of those families from the “middle class” communities can’t afford the $20,000+ price tags of residential addiction treatment programs in PA.

Those living in towns like Braddock in Allegheny County, or Edgewood in Northumberland County need access to more affordable forms of substance abuse treatment and care – and transitional housing and sober living homes are a great option for these communities.

Why Transitional Housing and Housing for Substance Abuse Treatment Needs Funding in Pennsylvania

Transitional housing options are more affordable, but that means that they don’t make as much money as luxury and private for-profit treatment centers do. This means that they cannot expand, or cannot keep up with the demand they have for families seeking treatment. This is also why so many transitional housing facilities and sober living homes rely on the public for assistance, donations, and volunteering.

In order to bring more transitional living options to Pennsylvania, Maryland, and the areas of the East Coast that have been hit hardest by the addiction epidemic, it takes donations. ECHO Recovery (East Coast Housing Opportunities), is currently accepting donations to bring our dream of having more available housing in Pennsylvania available to families that are struggling with drug and alcohol addiction.

We humbly ask for donations of time, money, or supplies to help us expand our availability of housing options to Pennsylvania and the East Coast.

Donate Time, Money or Supplies for Echo Recovery Addiction Treatment
Make a Charitable Donation to Our Cause
See a List of Supplies We Need
Sober Living

Sober Housing Crisis: Sober Living in the Wake of the Opioid Epidemic

Stemming from over-prescription and abuse of opioid-based painkillers and medications, the Great Opioid Epidemic spread across the United States in the 21st century, contributing heavily to the more than 64,000 drug overdose deaths in 2016.

While the epidemic’s true roots reach far back to the late 1990s, the problem with prescription drug abuse didn’t seem to gain much notice or mainstream attention until around 2015. This is when several started to declare a state of emergency regarding the growing number of deaths attributed to addiction.

As of late 2017, the issues with prescription drug abuse and addiction are out in the open, and real discussions are happening on how best to treat those that are already addicted to opioids and how to prevent an epidemic of drug addiction – which started from legitimate prescription use in many cases – from happening again.

As 2018 approaches, the public’s view of opioid addicts and their needs is softening, and our society is offering more compassion toward these individuals. States have readied funding for opioid detox and addiction treatment programs, and real help is more readily available for addicts than ever before.

Still, there are some shortfalls in providing current addicts and recovering addicts with everything they need to fully recover from addiction and become productive members of society again. One major deficit is in the availability of housing for those recovering from addiction, aka sober living houses.

What Is a Sober Living House?

Stop Looking in the Same Place

Sober living houses are one of many types of transitional living facilities that offer a safe and structured environment to allow recovering addicts and substance abusers to live on the property while practicing relapse-prevention skills and being held accountable.

Most sober living homes and residences have strict, zero-tolerance policies on drugs and alcohol on the premises, providing an environment free from addictive substances and negative influences that are often the catalysts for relapse.

Common types of sober living residences include:

  • Sober Living Homes
  • Sober Living Apartments
  • Sober Living Dorms
  • Halfway Houses
  • Sober Living and Transitional Facilities
  • Oxford House Residences

Sober Housing Rules and Guidelines

Each sober living home will have its own set of amenities and offerings, as well as its own set of rules. However, the rules within a sober living house should promote health, positivity, and healing, while keeping residents as free as possible from negative influences.

Common sober housing rules include:

  • Residents must remain sober – to support the main goal of the residence, and to protect others living on the premises.
  • Drugs and alcohol are not permitted on the premises, and certain types of contraband may also be banned – if they are thought to negatively affect the sobriety and well-being of the residents.
  • In some cases, the residence may require ongoing treatment, therapy or participation in group meetings to support a full recovery and ongoing sobriety.
  • Employment: Some residences may require the individual to be employed a minimum number of hours per week. Enrollment in school may be considered a substitute for employment in some residences and in some cases.
  • Sponsorship: Some residences will require the resident to have a sobriety sponsor.
  • Chores: Many residences require each of the residents to perform ongoing chores to help keep up the property and to build a sense of pride and community.

The specific rules and regulations will assuredly change from one house to another, but the rules are implemented to keep the core values proposed by the residence. This helps keep a safe and positive environment conducive to the healing and recovery of each individual.

Why Addicts in Recovery Need Sober Living Homes

Simply put, recovering addicts who transition through a sober living house into living on their own have higher success rates in recovery, and lower rates of relapse back into old habits, including substance abuse. Addicts and substance abusers need help in all phases of their recovery to achieve successful rehabilitation and to be able to live a life of sobriety.

Individuals who detox from drugs and alcohol with the help of a professional and structured detox program are more likely to outlast withdrawal and move on to residential care and addiction rehabilitation. Likewise, those who attend a structured rehab program helmed by professionals are more likely to have a successful recovery and move on to aftercare and sober living.

The individuals who enroll in a sober living program and live in a sober home with peers under the supervision of, and with the help of, sober living house administrators are more likely to successfully transition out of these arrangements into living on their own without the risk of relapse.

Sober living is just another phase in the recovery process, and it’s a crucial one. Sober living is often the pivotal point where the responsibilities of continued sobriety begin to shift back to the individual in recovery – rather than on the treatment center staff.

Availability of Sober Living Homes and Sober Living Options

It has been established that sober living homes are an integral part of the recovery process, and actually help raise the chances of full, successful rehabilitation while lowering the chances of relapse and recidivism. So why – especially when we are entrenched in one of the greatest addiction epidemics in history – do we have a lack of sober living options for those seeking recovery?

Public Fears About Rehab Facilities and Sober Living Homes

Stigma and lack of understanding about drug addiction are two of the main reasons the recent opioid epidemic grew so out of control for many years. Many in the public – but not all – who don’t have personal experience with addiction, or haven’t had addiction strike close to them, take a very hard stance on addicts and substance abusers. They might believe that it is the individual’s fault, and that the addict does not deserve sympathy or help to make recovery easier.

The opioid epidemic introduced the general public to the fact that addiction is a disease that can start innocently enough. In the case of opioid addiction, many addictions began through the legitimate prescription of opioid-based pain medications given by a doctor.

Being that addiction could stem from an individual who innocently follows the advice of a medical professional, compassion seemed to grow for the problems that some addicts face. Many Americans who previously took a hard stance against addicts appeared to soften their stance.

While such compassion has led the most of the nation into understanding that treatment – not punishment or jail sentencing – is what is needed to stem the opioid crisis, the stigma of addiction has not completely dissolved.

Myths About Sober Living Homes in Communities

“We don’t want a facility that houses addicts in our neighborhood, or near our schools, or where our children play…” is an often-heard argument when an addiction treatment facility or a sober living facility is proposed in a neighborhood or town.

This type of argument bases itself on the fallacy that addiction treatment and sober living houses invite addicts into the community that weren’t previously there. If the opioid epidemic has shown us anything, it’s that addiction and substance abuse is not just a “big city problem,” nor limited to neighborhoods with low incomes or certain demographics.

Addiction – much like a disease – infects people. Addiction affects people, regardless of their personal qualities, income, address, or any other social characteristic.

And much like any other disease, addiction needs to be treated. Part of that treatment includes reintroducing the recovering addicts back into society. The fact of the matter is that recovering addicts will be introduced back into neighborhoods and cities regardless of whether they enter a sober living home, or simply return to an apartment complex down the street or the home right next door.

What sober living homes do is provide a safe and structured environment for these individuals to return to – one that gives them the highest chance for success and a lower risk of relapse. Sober living homes are often called “transitional living” for a good reason: They act as a buffer to help ease individuals back into the neighborhoods and cities.

Sober living ensures that the individual has the skills to avoid temptations, has become accustomed to sober living and abiding by community rules, and is not prone to criminal behaviors that often accompany active addiction. In short, sober living houses make sure that a recovering addict– who is going to return to the community either way – is prepared for re-entry.

Why the United States Needs More Transitional Housing and Sober Living Homes Now

While an end to the opioid epidemic is still far off, there are more treatment options for current addicts in 2017 than there were a year ago. More drug and alcohol users are seeking treatment every year, and with their treatment comes the inevitable re-entry back into society, cities and communities.

These recovering “addicts” are human beings that cannot simply be shunned, quarantined or confined outside of the rest of society. They have no other choice but to return, and members of the community shouldn’t hesitate to continue to live and work beside them.

The only choice available that we have in the matter is to decide if we want to help them as they return (and ensure that sober living options are available when they return to help keep communities safe for both the addicts and those living around them) or simply let them return without proper preparation and skills for a successful transition.

ECHO Foundation

Welcome to the ECHO Recovery Blog

In 2014 veteran addiction treatment executive Jim Haggerty spearheaded the effort to form the nonprofit ECHO Recovery, and after much time and effort, we are thrilled to present this brand new website to the public.

With the advent of this blog as part of the new site, our goal is to cover such topics as:

  • Rehab Industry Advancements
  • Best Treatment Practices
  • Breakdown of the Different Levels of Care for Addiction
  • Recovery and Relapse-Prevention Tips and Strategies
  • Sober Living News and Advocacy
  • Drug Use Stats and News (especially regarding the opioid epidemic)

What Does ECHO Mean?

The “ECHO” in ECHO Foundation stands for East Coast Housing Opportunities. In short, our goal is to help people going through rehab find safe and reliable sober homes while actively enrolled in a treatment program – especially outpatient and aftercare. Online donations play a major role in allowing us to help these individuals locate and finance their sober living accommodations.

ECHO Recovery is getting our start by offering our services in The Old Line State of Maryland. We have plans to quickly expand our sober living offerings throughout the East Coast (hence our name), especially to New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New York – states hard hit by the opioid epidemic.

According to Haggerty, there are not enough long-term sober living options available on the East Coast for individuals who have graduated residential addiction rehab programs. So, ECHO Recovery is prepared to help solve that problem.

Ultimately, we aim to expand services nationwide to help as many people as possible become and stay sober.

Why the Focus on Outpatient Addiction Treatment?

Outpatient addiction treatment is the critical step between graduating a residential program and returning to so-called “normal life.” Studies show that the longer someone is in treatment for addiction, the better his or her chance for long-term recovery. Since many residential programs are only 30 days, most aren’t getting the breadth of care they truly need to be able to go forward in life substance-free.

Partial hospitalization and outpatient programs help fill the void, but many clients are in need of a stable place to stay as they continue receiving outpatient services. Sober homes encourage accountability in each client’s sobriety and remove the temptation of substance use. They also provide a solid base for the client to return to after attending outpatient sessions. Clients are even encouraged to work part-time or continue their formal education.

If you need a refresher on the services commonly offered in outpatient rehab services, they include (but are not limited to):

  • Individual Therapy
  • Group Therapy
  • Family Therapy
  • Faith-Based Support Groups (such as 12-Step Meetings)
  • Nutrition Counseling
  • Relapse Prevention Education
  • Life Skills Counseling
  • Alumni Events
  • Holistic Therapies (such as Yoga, Massage, etc.)

Offering Much More than Sober Housing

Providing sober living opportunities is just a portion of what we do at ECHO Recovery. Our overall mission is three-pronged:

  • Advocacy – We want to advocate on local and national levels for expanded and easier access to addiction treatment services for those who need the help.
  • Education – We want to educate individuals and the public on what addiction is and how treatment can make the difference. This will have the ancillary benefit of helping end the stigma surrounding addiction.
  • Support – We pledge our unwavering support to individuals and families who need to cease the destructive cycle of drug and alcohol abuse. This is where sober housing comes into play.

Stay Tuned for Much More

The best is yet to come from ECHO Recovery. We invite you to follow us on our journey as our site continues to grow as we expand our reach throughout the East Coast and on to the rest of the country. There’s an opioid epidemic that needs to come to an end, as does the stigma surround drug and alcohol addiction. There’s much work to be done.

Subscribe to Our Blog