5 Tips for Choosing Transitional Housing

Transitional housing is a place for people to call home while they are assisted by people who can help them transition to independent living after suffering from homelessness, substance abuse, domestic violence, or other life altering events that put them in bad living environments.

Specialized Help of Transitional Housing

Most transitional housing environments specialize in a distinct area of problems and are able to provide the resources most beneficial to the resident. Addiction is a leading cause for homelessness. It depletes finances and causes job loss, mental and physical health impairments, damage to relationships, and imprisonment. In specialized environments, the addict can learn to adjust to living soberly, reintegrate with society, and find help to cope with their addiction. Victims of domestic violence are unable to safely live within their old environments and they are another leading cause of the need for transitional housing. Finding safety, assurance, and help for the unique issues of the individual is the goal for Transitional Housing specializing in domestic violence. Other environments may specialize in physical or mental health issues, they may be gender-specific, or they may have certain other availability requirements.

5 Tips for Choosing Transitional Housing

You’ll want to choose a sober home you will feel comfortable in.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “A person’s environment includes many different influences, from family and friends to socioeconomic status and quality of life in general.” People need Transitional Housing for a variety of reasons beyond drug abuse. Knowing where to go is the question and the following tips can help:

1. Determine what type of facility would have the necessary resources you need. Does it specialize in circumstances relating to you?
2. Determine how long you think you will need to stay in a Transitional Housing until you can safely and productively live on your own. There are places that offer 2 weeks to 24 months and you want to be sure that you allow yourself time to heal and adjust.
3.  Determine the living arrangement that you would feel most comfortable in and which one is most conducive to your needs. There is halfway housing, shared housing, and group housing and each setting is different with different requirements.
4. Look for places where you can build relationships with people you can trust to have your best interest at heart. Learning from experienced professionals and others who have similar situations will be encouraging and can last a lifetime in helping you to resolve ongoing situations once you leave the environment.
5. Ask questions about the availability of counseling and other programs that may help you regarding any co-existing issues. You may have concerns regarding children, access to legal counsel, medical concerns, etc. Whatever it is, make sure that the housing administrators can help you find the resources necessary to satisfy those concerns.