Recruiting a house manager is difficult yet very important whether you are starting your first sober living or whether you are expanding to your 2nd or 3rd house.

There are several things to look for when trying to find a house manager. Below are the most important qualities to look for when finding a house manager.

1) Brand

Depending on what type of sober living (male, female, co-ed, MAT) you have, you want to make sure that the house manager is representative of your brand. If you have been operating sober livings for some time, many pull former residents into being a house manager. This can work well as they are already familiar with how things operate and have lived experience on the other side of things. If you dont have any former residents because you are starting a new sober living from scratch, you can usually find a house manager through your recovery network or by going to AA meetings and getting involved in the community.

2) Organized

Logistically, running a sober living is hard. There are a lot of moving parts so you want to make sure the person can stay on top of things. They have to remember to drug test all residents, keep track of everyones’ schedules, keep up with house matters. This is exactly why we created One Step – to make the house manager’s lives easier and give them a way to run everything on their phones.

3) Serious

You want to make sure that the person you recruit is serious about committing to being a house manager. They shouldnt be doing it only to assume a power position. They should genuinely want to help those trying to stay sober, they should be patient and they should be willing to take on all the responsibilities that come with being a house manager.

4) Sober

Most sober livings require at least 1 year of sobriety. It is important that you feel the house manager is ready to accept this position and that they have enough sobriety and discipline to help those newly sober, without being triggered themselves.

5) Past management experience

It is helpful if the house manager has a background in managing others or at the very least has been in a former consumer facing role. Being a house manager involves being a leader to the residents and being strict with them for their eventual benefit.

Do you have any other qualities that you look for when hiring a house manager? Email us at info@onestepsoftware.com to add to the list.

In March 2019, NARR released guidelines on how sober living homes should handle residents that are on MAT. Many sober livings are founded on the principles of AA and require abstinence of all drugs, including Methodone, Buprenorphine, Naltrexone etc.

More and more sober livings are opening MAT specific sober living homes. Some sober living homes mix MAT residents in with the rest of the residents and have said they have encountered no problems. One Step hosted a panel about MAT and how houses run programs inclusive of MAT residents. To watch this video click here.  

There are many misconceptions about MAT that NARR addresses in the article. Some truths that the article addresses is that MAT does work, that it decreases your cravings and reduces drug use, that those on MAT are welcome at AA and that taking Methodone or Buprenorphone is consistent with abstinence based approaches.

Sober living homes should not reject prospective residents because they use MAT to help them stay in recovery from drugs. NARR encourages sober living homes to accept MAT residents in their homes and treat them in the same way as others.

NARR tells sober living homes to become knowledgeable about the benefits of MAT. House managers should be cognizant of residents’ prescriptions and collaborate with prescribing doctors and clinics.

NARR also recommends that you train house managers on how to handle medication, take a daily log of medication, and have strict house rules around medication to prevent diversion (other residents taking another resident’s medications).

To read the complete NARR guidelines, here is the full report: https://narronline.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/NARR-C4-NCBH_MAR-RH-Brief.pdf

Sober Day Counters are popular for good reason. This simple little tool is a constant reminder of how far you’ve come, so let’s break down how a simple number can be so powerful.

It helps you know where you’re at in your community. Everyone has a number, and you’ve probably heard everyone’s number in meetings. The feeling of speaking at a meeting with a three digit number means pride and accomplishment, especially in front of your peers. Your high number may motivate others, so know your number and say it with pride! Here’s a scene from HBO’s the Wire where a few folks collect their keychains with pride. (The whole clip is a great watch too)

It’s a reminder of the capital you’ve built, and one sip or hit throws it all away. For many that’s powerful motivation. You worked your ass off to get that number where it is, but it can be thrown away in a moment, so stay strong and watch that number go up.
It will make you feel good! You’ve earned each of those days, and those are days you got your life back. For many that good feeling is enough to keep them going, so look at that number with pride and a big smile on your face.

BUT…sobriety day counters aren’t for everyone. If it induces stress or anxiety, then don’t use one! Simple as that.

If you do want to track your sober days, check out the One Step Mobile App where you can easily track your days sober. On top of that, count your weekly meetings, track other goals, and manage your schedule with a calendar tool!

Wire link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAakzl6s7QI&feature=youtu.be&t=221

The success metrics of your sober home is something you should be thinking about long before your first resident moves in. Sober homes across the country serve different purposes, so what constitutes ‘success’ in your home may differ from other sober homes in the area.

Starting a sober living house can seem overwhelming at first. Before are 6 things to consider when you are thinking about opening your own sober home:

Building awareness for a sober living is critical to the ongoing success of a home. With the plethora of knowledge and choices that are available on the internet, it is truly difficult for an individual seeking a sober living home to sift through and find exactly what they are looking for. That is why creative marketing strategies can be effective in building awareness of your sober living home in your community. If you are wondering where to even begin, check out some ideas that could provide useful for your sober living home.

Social Media – Instagram and Facebook

In the age of millennials, social media is all of the rage. Creating a profile for your sober living home on any of the social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) will certainly build not only traffic for sober living home seekers, but also build a sense of community with your current residents. Host events, have your residents post pictures and tag the sober living home, and start getting creative with the hashtags! This is great way to reach a target market of active social media users. #soberlivinghome #community #soberforlife #soberliving #alumni

The Old School Networking Approach

We are all familiar with what networking is. You attend a meeting with some people you may know, some people you may not, and you try and meet as many people as you can to inform them of what you have to offer. Yes, it can be a bit awkward and uncomfortable at times, but nothing can replace a face-to-face connection. With everything going on in the day-to-day, it is easy for people to stick with what they know and refer to who they know. The more connections you build in person, the more likely you will be referred by a fellow colleague in the community. Not only that, but you have the power of helping someone too. Maybe your sober living could be full and you now have another place to refer residents in need or vice versa. Networking and building solid relationships is effective and certainly cannot be replaced.

The Power of Paper

If you can believe it, there is still a place for paper. Flyers, brochures, business cards, anything paper with your brand still has a place in the world of technology. I cannot tell you how many times that I have had someone call me wanting to know more about my business and when I ask how they heard about me, they refer to the flyer that I left behind. Keep it simple, short, to the point, and highlight the features and benefits. As they say, “KISS” – keep it simple, stupid. Leave your marketing leave behinds at AA meeting locations, networking events, rec centers, treatment centers – anywhere that you believe has the potential to reach your target market.

Get Involved

The last approach that I suggest to be an effective marketing strategy is getting involved in your community. Volunteer in your surrounding neighborhood with causes that mean something to you and not only give back and extend a helping hand, but meet fellow like-minded people. You never know who they may know and you get the added benefit of making an even bigger impact in your community!

There are tons of ways to market a sober living home and the above are just a few ideas. What have you tried that has proven effective? Please share with us!

There are several factors that can quickly drive up the cost to operate a sober living house, and as an operator, you need to be certain that these basic expenses are properly understood and accounted for as you determine what you will be charging your residents.   

When you operate a sober living home, how are you gauging the success of your residents? Are you looking at relapse rates? Or perhaps length of stay? There are a variety of ways to track KPI’s to determine how you’re doing.

Length of Stay

This is an interesting metric to pay attention to. If someone stays in your home longer, are they more likely to maintain a lasting recovery? Are you doing any follow up with residents after they leave to determine long-term recovery metrics? This could be something that’s very telling, as you can track based on length of stay to determine if that has any factor in a resident’s long-term sobriety. For example, if a resident stays in sober living for a year vs. three months, does it actually make a difference? By tracking this data you can find out and utilize it as a selling point for long-term success.

Relapse Rates

This is important to track and to consider why, when and how a resident relapses. Are you finding that relapses consistently happen between certain hours of the day, or on certain days of the week? If so, sober homes can put more preventive measures into place to proactively address potential relapses. If you’re finding that 70% of relapses occur on a Friday evening between 10PM-12AM, maybe that’s a good time to schedule a meeting or community activity to keep residents engaged with their sobriety. You should also consider what substance residents are relapsing with. Is there an issue with alcohol vs. opiates vs. benzos? By tracking these occurrences you’ll be able to see what the trend is at any given time and implement measures to address the potential situations before they occur.

How You Source Your Residents

Where are they coming from? Are past residents singing your praises and helping fill your beds? If so, that’s excellent and shows that your house is developing a solid reputation in the recovery community! It may be that treatment centers are reaching out to you as well. Asking where and how clients found you is important and helps you to better target your marketing to keep the home full. Your reputation within the community is important and you want to do all you can to build it in a positive way, so keeping those relationships fresh and healthy is important.

Reviews & Exit Interviews

Talk to your residents when they’re living in your home and when they leave! Ask them for feedback. They’re on this recovery journey and can tell you what worked for them, what didn’t, and what could be improved. You can’t implement every suggestion but you can track the feedback you’re receiving and implement items that consistently come up as a way to improve your offerings. By asking your residents for feedback on their experience, they’re also taking some accountability for their own success within the home. If there’s something that doesn’t work for them, they have a chance to share that concern and work with administration to address it.

Hearing your residents out is so important and through tracking these KPI’s you can utilize scientific data to showcase your home. This can be utilized to help potential residents make the decision to come to your sober living house, as well as to share with treatment programs and family members of residents how solid your home truly is.

One Step helps sober livings keep track of these KPIs and more. If you want to see how One Step can help you, reach out to us to learn more by filling out the form below.

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Below is a recording of the panel at C4’s Cape Cod event in September 2018. Featured are prominent individuals in the recovery industry discussing how best to market your sober living program.

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Networking, Referral Sources, and Marketing

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Want to know what else you missed check out the other videos from the conference:

Allowing MAT Residents in Your Sober Living Program
Regulations and Legal Issues Affecting Sober Livings
What is Recovery Coaching

We will be doing another sober living conference in Los Angeles in January. If you want to learn more details about this upcoming event, email Eva at eva@onestepsoftware.com

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