How Much Does Sober Living Cost?

Recovering from a drug or alcohol addiction often takes more time than most people realize. Once a person completes a detox or inpatient program, ongoing treatment becomes necessary to prevent an untimely relapse down the road.

Sober living homes offer those in recovery a bridge between drug treatment and real world living. While these facilities do serve a valuable purpose, like any form of treatment, there are cost factors to consider.

Sober living programs run according to their own guidelines in terms of costs, amenities and house rules. These factors influence the costs involved with running a program as well as how much any one program will charge. Payment assistance options may also be available for eligible applicants.

Sober Living Programs

A destructive or chaotic home environment can quickly undo much of the progress a recovering addict has made in drug treatment. The urge to use drugs can only but intensify in the midst of everyday life pressures and stress, let alone inside a destructive home environment.

Sober living homes operate as drug and alcohol-free environments. These facilities give recovering addicts the time and space they need to apply the tools and practices learned in drug treatment inside a stable, recovery-focused environment.

According to the National Institutes of Health, characteristics of these programs include –

• Residents pay for room and board
• House rules
• Curfew requirements
• Weekly chores
• Attendance at house meetings
• Weekly 12-Step meeting attendance

House residents can stay at the home for as long as they need provided they abide by the rules of the program.

Cost Factors

Learning to function in everyday life without drugs becomes the overall purpose of a sober living program. Likewise, residents are expected to pay living costs from wages earned through employment. Some programs may allow full-time students to cover costs through a school loan and/or from family members.

In terms of actual program costs to residents, rent values will likely coincide with neighborhood property values. This means programs located in affluent areas will have higher rent costs with programs in less affluent areas charging accordingly. Program costs may also factor in groceries and other incidentals, such as paper products and cleaning supplies.

Program amenities can also influence cost factors as some programs may lean more towards luxury-type accommodations. While property values will definitely have a bearing on overall costs, luxury sober living programs offer resort-like accommodations, which may include –

• Fine cuisine
• High-end furnishings
• High-definition television
• Jacuzzis

Program costs for luxury-based programs can easily run $2,000 a week on up.

Assistance Options

The cost of a sober home depends on the services provided and the area it’s in.

Some people may still be in the market for a job when applying to a sober living program. Others may be unable to afford program costs with the wages they do earn. In these cases, other payment assistance options can help cover program costs.

Payment assistance options may include –

• Health insurance
• Payment plans
• Grants
• Sliding-fee scale payments
• Scholarships

When all is said and done, the costs of not getting needed treatment help through sober living can far outweigh the costs of paying for treatment. For many people, the structure, support and life experience to be gained from these programs becomes a much needed training ground for building a drug-free lifestyle.