Make a short list of facilities from search and reach out directly to the program, complete an intake interview, and agree to the house rules. Be honest during the intake process and ask questions about structure, support, and daily expectations. Choose a home that aligns with your lifestyle and recovery goals. Do not pay anything until you arrive for move-in. Tip: Look for homes with regular meetings, clear accountability, and a supportive peer environment.

Make sure to ask for certifications when calling and also clarify all costs up front. For women, make sure to clarify if the house is co-ed or women-only.

If any place says you can't cash pay that is a red flag also. 

F23: When I finally had the motivation to walk into detox in Long Island, I literally walked in actually lol. But I honestly had no clue how it would work or what I was going to do after. I didn’t go to inpatient rehab, and without savings, I thought I'd have to like plead with a cringe ex to let me stay with him a while (not ideal for recovery...) But someone in detox told me to ask my insurance and call some houses in NJ, Massachusetts, PA and see what options there are out of state because NY is tricky. I have  PPO insurance so that was plausible, I found a place in NJ that called my insurance for me and it actually ended up covering 28 days at their sober living that worked with an ambulatory detox program. It was way cheaper than inpatient, and still gave me structure and a safe place to stay. Without that coverage, I don’t think I would’ve made it through those first few weeks clean.

@MrsCoffee
Yeah ok so I’m not trying to be a jerk but people put way too much weight on sober livings these days. You don’t need to anything more than AA and the big book. Or NA if preferred. That’s where the real work happens. The two aren’t one in the same

James! You're right in spirit and I’m not confusing the two. But where exactly was I supposed to go, sleep in my car and attend a noon meeting? Like come on. You can’t get serious about recovery when you don’t even have a safe place to go at night. I needed the structure too majorly and the up-start support group that was provided by my sisters in the sober living environment. Meetings helped me, yes 100%, they still do, butfor me there was a whole recipe with several ingredients I needed early on. One of those was having somewhere safe to lay my head that didn’t smell like dope or vodka which helped immensely to make it possible to get another 24 in the books incrementally that first month or two.