Is There a Need For Three Quarter Housing

1. Is There a Need For Three Quarter Housing? For recovering drug addicts and alcoholics, it's not just what's in a home that matters, but actually what isn't. "Three Quarter Housing which is sometime referred to as Straight housing,", is critical for anyone trying to stay clean and sober. That means a place to live where any alcohol or drugs are strictly forbidden and, usually, where the other residents are also recovering substance abusers -- people who understand the trials of staying straight and support each other in the effort. Such housing is at the end of a recovery chain that begins with detox and treatment centers, then, customarily, moves on to halfway houses Sober Living Near Me. At each step along the way, facilities are in short supply. Millions of Americans in need of treatment aren't in the system or are stuck on waiting lists. But even for those who manage to get help, unless they are able to get the aftercare housing to reinforce what they learned in treatment, the failure rate is still too high. In 2007, 23.2 million persons aged 12 or older needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem. Of the 23.2 million, 3.9 million Americans (1.6 percent of the population) received some type of treatment for a problem related to the use of alcohol or illicit drugs. Of these, 1.4 million received treatment for the use of both alcohol and illicit drugs, 0.8 million received treatment for the use of illicit drugs but not alcohol and 1.3 million received treatment for the use of alcohol but not illicit drugs. Of the remainder, 28.5 percent reported that they made an effort to get treatment, according to the 2007 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, the latest edition of the government's annual tally. According to U. S. Department of SAMSHA, which stands for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, no health care coverage and could not afford the cost was the number one reason for 35.9 million when asked why they did not receive treatment and another 6.9 percent cited they did not know where to go for treatment Sober Living Homes. Imagine how many of these clients could have been serviced at $400.00 per month, the average monthly rent a Three Quarter House charges, an affordable figure for 85 percent of them. A disproportionate share of people with alcohol or drug problems end up homeless or incarcerated. One survey of homeless youths in Los Angeles found that 71 percent had an alcohol- or drug-abuse problem. The Office of National Drug Control Policy has estimated that 70 to 85 percent of inmates in state prisons need treatment for addiction Halfway House. The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence advocates alternatives to incarcerating those with alcohol or drug dependencies -- but, says Council president Stacia Murphy, the reality of addiction is that "rich people go to the Betty Ford clinic and poor people go to jail."

2. Most treatment facilities and halfway houses are intended as short-term shelter, with 30- or 90-day limits. Straight housing has proven effective, however, if recovering abusers are allowed to stay long enough. An independent study has found that an individual who stays in an Three Quarter House for 15 months or more has an 80 percent chance of staying clean and sober.