Written by: Charles Davis

At the same time, there are 5 Legal Things Addiction Professionals Must Know in order not to have serious legal issues. These 5 things do not have a boundary that is only in Florida. Anyone who is referring into Florida from another state faces the same charges as if they were in Florida. CLICK HERE for the "Top 5 Legal Things Addiction Professionals Must Know" and a break down of the 5 new laws.

Sober Living plays a critical role in the recovery process. Individuals that decide to drive the road to recovery encounter may detours and obstacles that can sidetrack their recovery. While there are many choices of sober living homes, you’ll want to make sure the home you choose offers the highest level of care, qualities, features that foster total support for your recovery success, and are not operating unethically.

Sober Living West Palm Beach Rocommendations 

Below are the Top Five Criteria when picking a recovery residence in Florida, however the recommendation to contact the following organizations will help reduce the risks of being in the wrong hands and life-threatening situations. There are two very important organizations that one should contact or meet while in the process of picking a sober living. These organizations are; Palm Beach County Substance Awareness Coalition (PBCSAC) and Florida Association of Recovery Residences (FARR).

The PBCSAC is a collection of ethical treatment centers, government organizations, and individuals setting the framework protecting against "patient brokering", and better treatment for the addiction treatment industry. This organization has many ethical centers, meets every Tuesday from 9:30 am - 12 Noon at 2300 High Ridge Rd, Boynton Beach, FL., and you can contact them at 561-374-7627.

FARR is an organization that holds sober livings at a higher level and is extremely concerned about patient brokering and a high-quality care. They have intense and strict guidelines that sober livings must produce and maintain to have FARR certification. FARR works closely with law makers fighting for regulation of sober livings protecting the many that need sober living West Palm Beach. You can contact FARR at 561-299-0405. You may also be interested in treatment centers addiction professionals should visit.

Be Aware of Patient Brokering

Individuals seeking sober livings or being recommended to a sober living by a treatment center, or individual, must be careful and cautious before making the decision. Unfortunately, there are "unethical" players out there preying on many addicts that are vulnerable, scared, and clueless to what is actually happening by letting these scumbags place them in a sober home or treatment center. These situations are serious enough that law enforcement,  by the Florida State Attorney, Dave Aronberg have been prosecuting (felonies with long jail sentences) dozens, fighting for addicts and individuals seeking help.

These individuals have back-room deals with treatment centers, or several treatment centers brokering addicts for $500-$2,500 a head. The treatment centers can gain anywhere from $10,000 - $100,000's of dollars on a single patient. If you are ever offered money to go into treatment, you need to report them to the Sober Homes Task Force toll free tip line at 844-324-5463, and get far away from that individual and centers associated with them. You can read the patient brokering act (CLICK HERE for Florida Patient Brokering law) and you will be able to determine exactly if you are being taken advantage of and if you are in danger.

While this seems to be a great opportunity to get some much needed cash, they are placing you in the hands of people that do not care about you, your treatment, your future, or regards to your life. They will talk a great game, be your best friend, connect with you sharing their recovery story, pose as a recovery advocate, and make you feel like they can help. However, they only care about the personal monetary gain from placing you, and how they can manipulate the insurance to continue to pay for "treatment". These entities have been known to allow drug and alcohol use, entice relapse so you go back to a higher level of care, extortion, and use tactics to keep you in their hands.

These situations will put you at high risk for; relapse, homelessness, and death.

There is much confusion for the sober living operators over the laws regarding regulation of "recovery residences." Many operators do not clearly understand what is required from the loosely written regulation with several "loop holes." These new changes have put much-needed regulation in place to fight the vast, national underground network of "patient brokers". When you are on-line typing in sober living west palm, it would be wise to also call the organizations below to help you make the best possible decision on finding a residence that is safe, and fits your individual needs.

The corruption and unethical practices are widespread, and nationwide. These unethical entities are doing patient brokering, illegal drug testing, enticing to use, and shuffling patients from one center to another to name a few. However, Florida is setting the precedence with the laws that were put into place July 1, 2017.

BHNR has been educating CEO’s, Executives, Directors and Outreach professionals since 2014 with their Addiction Executive conferences. Their talk show host/town hall forum enables the audience to control the content in an open forum. Each event has at least 5 Executive thought leader panelists, providing proven business, and marketing strategies. You can check out their last “EMP” Addiction Professional Conference where they welcomed Addiction Campuses to South Florida in front of 180 addiction professionals attending the event. They provide many business, and marketing tools for CEO's, Executives, Directors, and Outreach professionals, gaining knowledge for your organization to survive the difficult changes occurring in our industry. This event focused on the future of patient brokering, website structure, SEO, branding, organic marketing, and tools for Outreach Professionals. If you would like to sponsor one of our 2018 events, contact Behavioral Health Network Resources CEO, Charles Davis at 561-235-6195.

When you decide to get clean and sober you need to have the best possible level of care in treatment and in a sober living. You are setting up the foundation for your life long journey of sobriety. When you first decide to start your recovery journey, you are scared, confused, and over-whelmed. You must have the confidence that your treatment and sober living choices give you the necessary tools, highest quality of treatment, and assists in your recovery process.

Once you are in treatment at a well-qualified center that fits your individual needs, you will be basically inside a bubble and exposed to that facilities best options for your treatment plan. While you are in treatment you need to start planning for your second phase which is sober living.

Again, the choices will be over-whelming and some treatment centers will bait you with ‘FREE Rent” (this is illegal), or force you to a facility they recommend. If that facility is shady it is usually owned by the treatment center as a LLC, or DBA, or receiving a kick back from the sober living facility. This is considered patient brokering and is illegal.

Finding the Right Sober Living Home

Sober living facilities are needed to provide a supporting and pro-active healthy transition, allowing you to leave the safety of rehab and enter a less-restrictive living environment while maintaining a focus on recovery. Residents enjoy a less structured atmosphere while developing the tools and skills to sustain sobriety in the “real world.”
While there are many sober living facilities in Florida, especially sober living West Palm Beach, you need to make sure the home you choose offers the highest level of care, qualities, and features that support recovery. You should never commit to living at a sober living home without visiting and talking with the owners and residents.

Top 5 Criteria Sober Living West Palm Beach

#1 FARR Certified Residence

Picking a FARR certified residence is one of the best possible choices because they are regulated with the highest standards currently available. This is a critical decision that affects your recovery. You are faced with an overwhelming amount of decisions each day; many affect your sobriety. You need to know the sober living has a proven structure to assist and support recovery. That’s why it’s so important to find a sober living home that implements a higher level of care. It should also implement rules and regulations, such as mandated curfews and a zero-tolerance drug-free environment.

#2 Safety

Being in a safe environment is an absolute necessity. Look for things like; 24/7 staff, if the entire staff is trained in CPR, do they have an emergency kit in case of an overdose, and a protocol for emergencies. What steps and measures do they have to absolutely make sure there are no drugs or alcohol on the premises? Is there a zero tolerance for possession and use of alcohol and drugs? Check out and speak to the people currently living in a sober living facility. Ask them about the technology and safety measures used by the facility.

#3 Connecting Atmosphere

The camaraderie, atmosphere, mood, energy, and vibe at the sober living house with its current residents are very important. During your tour ask to speak with the current residents, they will be valuable in your decision to pick the right place for you. What types of activities are there to help you develop new skills; assistance with job search, life skills, better eating habits, health and fitness. Make sure you feel a positive vibe; your gut will tell you if it is the right place for you.

#4 Supports and Assists Recovery

A solid support system is crucial for anyone in recovery. 12 step recovery is not for everyone, however the sober living should have other actions on and off the property in place like; relapse prevention, AA, NA, and counseling to assist you in recovery. When evaluating a sober living support team, it’s important to find a staff that truly cares about you and your success…but you also want a staff that’s unafraid to enforce necessary rules and regulations.

Everyone’s recovery path is different and at proceeds at different paces, however individualized recovery plans are essential for staying sober. The employees should be professional, and be there to keep you on the road to recovery. They should be encouraging 12 steps, AA, NA meetings or a support system that fosters sobriety. There should also be some sort of drug testing policy in effect.

#5 Take Responsibility; Own It

Remember, you must own your sobriety. That means that you may not always like following rules and regulations like a curfew, structured events, meetings, etc. You must be willing to do the difficult things to maintain sobriety. The sober living home should challenge you to be able to make that step to be fully functional on your own.

You can be confident that if the sober living is certified by FARR that the above are addressed completely by the sober living facility.

For many people, the most difficult aspect of an addiction recovery program is remaining clean and sober after the inpatient program ends. In fact, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 40 to 60 percent of drug addicts revert to drug abuse after rehab. For some drugs, the statistics are even more grim, with relapse rates for drugs such as opiates approaching 85 percent in some studies. The reasons for this vary, but the most common factor is a lack of preparation for the outside world. Recovering addicts are caught off guard by triggers from which they were protected during treatment, such as drug-abusing friends, old party hangouts, and the stress of everyday life.

The purpose of this article "Top Five Criteria Sober Living West Palm Beach" is to make you aware of some things to look for when seeking a sober living. The more research you do, the better your chances of finding an ethical recovery residence. It would be wise to contact the Sober Homes Task Force, FARR, or the PBCSAC to vet any sober homes.

LIKE THIS CONTENT...

CLICK to JOIN THESE ADDICTION FACEBOOK and LINKEDIN GROUPS

FACEBOOK Addiction Professional Referral Group 18,000 Members (1,200 pending approval)

FACEBOOK Generation "X" Addiction Unleashed 9,300 Members

FACEBOOK South Florida Recovery Community 6,600 Members

FACEBOOK The Busines Side of Addiction and Behavioral Health 2,400 Members (1,000 pending approval)

FACEBOOK Addiction Rescue; Help Before It's Too Late 6,000 Members

LINKEDIN Florida Addiction and Behavioral Health

CLICK HERE for 30 addiction, and behavioral health health groups with over 120,000 members.