New safety guidelines in the works for sober living homes

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Recovery residences open their doors for people dealing with substance abuse and allow them a safe and substance free living environment. Wednesday, the Alabama Alliance for Recovery Residences, or AARR, a non-profit, became certified as an affiliate of the National Alliance of Recovery Residences, or NARR.

“It’s going to raise the bar on how recovery residences operate in our state by having these standards,” said Curt Lindsley, the president of AARR.

Some homes have had reputations for being dangerous or unkept living facilities.

“It’s pretty scary,” said Stephanie Jennings, the Women’s Program Director at Best Life Recovery. “Some of the homes that are out there, a random person will open and people will have no idea how to check it out.”

New standards could mean adding food preparation guidelines, implementing bathroom to resident ratios and even properly marking home exits. These are practices Best Life Recovery Residence in Huntsville has already implemented.

“Anybody can open up a house and they might try to have 15 residents and that’s just subpar living,” Jennings said.

The Alabama Department of Mental Health said in a statement that they are “committed to ensuring individuals who are seeing a life of recovery have the supports to do so.” ADMH partners with AARR to make sure residents will benefit from new safety guidelines.

Thursday, AARR is hosting a training event to help people prepare to become a certified recovery home. You can find more information here.

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