What is a halfway house ?

Halfway houses have several purposes.  People who have addictions (addicts and alcoholics) need a safe place to live where there is no drugs or alcohol permitted. After inpatient rehabilitation treatment, where there is little or no contact with the outside world, it is recommended that people stay in safe places that do not have the temptation of access to drugs and alcohol.

 As well as serving as a residence, halfway houses provide social, medical, psychiatric, educational, and other similar services. They are termed “halfway houses” due to their being halfway between completely independent living on the one hand, and in-patient or correctional facilities on the other hand where residents are highly restricted in their behavior and freedoms.

Halfway Houses are normal  houses in the suburbs. Usually, there are several bedrooms where separate areas are demarcated for men and women. The kitchen and bathrooms are communal. The people who live there are responsible for the upkeep and cleanliness, just as a normal household needs upkeep and cleaning.

Getting into a halfway house is not difficult. Usually you call the manager of the halfway house and schedule an appointment to meet and view the halfway house. This is when you will be shown around and the rules and expectations are explained to you. 

It’s a good idea to look for a couple of halfway houses and visit as many as you can to see which living arrangement feels right for you.

You can put your name down on a waiting list if there is no bed available, but you will get in if you can cover the monthly rentals and produce a clean drug test and pass a 0 blood alcohol reading on a breathalyser.

Halfway houses’ purpose is to strengthen your recovery from drug and alcohol abuse. There are no drugs or alcohol allowed on the premises or the people there, and rules stipulate that if anyone is found to have drugs or alcohol on their person, they are suspended for a period of time and have to find other accommodation. They are welcomed back if after a period of time they produce a clean drug test and 0% blood alcohol levels on a breathalyzer. 

The average length of stay at a halfway house varies from 3 months to 2 years, depending on circumstances. If you come from a home where there are family members drinking and using drugs, it’s not recommended that an addict or alcoholic who is newly abstinent stays in this environment that is “unsafe”. 

It is a place of clean living and maintaining contact with likeminded people who are in a similar stage of drug and alcohol abuse recovery

Every Halfway house has their own rules and regulations. The one rule that all halfway houses have is that there are absolutely no drugs or alcohol allowed in the house or on the residents. 

Many halfway houses insist that the residents seek employment and are out and busy during the day, and return home before a curfew every evening. Generally each resident gets a chore and it will be each resident’s turn to prepare dinner for everyone, at least once a week.

Rules usually insist on cleanliness in private and communal living spaces. 

There are also random drug and alcohol tests. If a resident has drugs or alcohol detected in the results of a test, there are consequences that get the danger off-premises until drug tests are clear. In this way the halfway house is kept safe for all residents.

The rules sometimes allow for visitors over weekends, and overnight outings are allowed by arrangement. Most often there is searching of visitors for the safety of the house, and drug tests when residents return from a night out.

all of these rules keep halfway houses safe places for addicts and alcoholics new to recovery.