Sober living environment

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Sober living environments (SLEs) grew out of a need to have safe and supportive place for people to live while they were in recovery. They are primarily meant to provide housing for people who have just come out of rehab (or recovery centers) and need a place to live that is structured and supporting for those in recovery.^[1] However, it is not necessary to come from rehab.

1 Description
2 Resident requirements
3 Results
4 Notes
5 External links

[edit] Description

The SLE (sober living environment) movement began on the west coast of the United States and has spread around the country. SLEs provide much more than other transitional living environments. Many of them are structured around Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and sound recovery methodologies. Residents are often required to participate in recovery meetings, take drug tests and show demonstrably that they are taking important steps to long lasting recovery.

The concept of Sober Living reached a wider audience during the 2008 VH-1 series Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, where the concept was discussed extensively in episode #8.^[2]

[edit] Resident requirements

Each individual SLE will have different requirements for the residents, but many will have these typical requirements:

No drugs or alcohol
Mandatory AA meeting attendance
Random drug tests
On-time bill payments
General acceptance by peer group at the SLE

[edit] Results

SLEs are a relatively new phenomenon, so there are not many studies about their success rates. However, they are growing all over the country, so the amount on new options for people is a testament to their success.^{[citation needed]}

Many people who have lived in SLEs find that their stay has been an important part of the recovery process. They provide the support and understanding that many people need to stay clean and sober.^[2]