Sober livings West Palm Beach, Florida is a must know for anyone seeking a sober homes or halfway houses. 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.
Fighting Against Patient Brokering Sober Livings West Palm Beach
Below are the top 5 sober livings West Palm Beach, 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).
Trusted organizations for Halfway Houses and Sober Livings When Searching Sober Livings West Palm Beach
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. 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 West Palm Beach 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 and halfway houses must produce and maintain to have FARR certification. FARR works closely with law makers fighting for regulation of sober livings protecting the many that are in need of sober livings. You can contact FARR at 561-299-0405.
Carefully Pick Recovery Residences, Sober Livings or Halfway Houses in West Palm Beach, FL
Individuals seeking sober livings in the West Palm Beach, FL area or being recommended to a sober living by a treatment center, 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 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.
Rehab Patient Brokering Back Room Deals
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 tip line 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, and make you feel like they can help. However, they only care about the personal monetary gain from placing you, 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. We have written this article sober livings criteria South Florida” to help educate individuals seeking help and inform them to assist them in recovery journey.
These situations will put you at high risk for; relapse, homelessness, and death.
Confusion Over Patient Brokering Laws
There is much confusion for the sober living operators over the last legislation passed regarding regulation of “recovery residences.” Many operators do not clearly understand what is required from the loosely written regulation with several “loop holes.” However, there is new legislation in the process of being passed (House Bill 807), which is now in Congresses hands to get approved. These new changes will put much needed regulation in place to fight the vast, national underground network of “patient brokers”.
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. Florida is setting the precedence with the legislative steps that they are aggressively getting passed.
Addiction Treatment Patient Brokering Arrests Florida
The Sober Homes Task force is the most powerful force fighting patient brokering. Florida State Attorney Dave Aronberg, Head of Sober Homes Task Force and his large collection of law enforcement have closed many unethical operators and made many arrests fighting for and enforcing patient brokering laws. They are relying upon many to report any unethical activity with sober homes.
The corruption and unethical practices are widespread, and nationwide. They are not just isolated to sober livings West Palm Beach. 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.
We educate the addiction and behavioral health industry CEO’s, executives and marketing professionals at our Addiction Executive Thought Leader Conferences in (Riviera Beach, FL). This is a talk show host/town hall forum. Our industry panelists discuss the industry laws (including administrative and patient brokering) that are now in place, ethical business and marketing practices, what the future landscape is for centers and Sober Homes and the business of addiction treatment in general. Our next event is on June 26, 2018 and features topics including; ethical marketing strategies, aftercare, billing and collections.
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 Livings West Palm Beach, Florida
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 livings 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. They are focused on sober livings West Palm Beach, Florida. 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.
Be Careful When Searching Sober Livings West Palm Beach, FL on the Web
The purpose of this article “Top 5 Sober Livings West Palm Beach Florida” 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.
We’d love to hear what you have to say about sober livings, halfway houses and patient brokering. Please help others by posting your thoughts.
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Thank you for this timely article…one of the moves mad out here by sober living foundations out here is the disregard for any spiritual/ethical principles in that there is alot of age discrimination and placing personalities before principals. Sad to be sure.