Halfway Legal - Part 2 | Drug Treatment Center Finder

For many local, long-term residents of Delray Beach, the rapidly increasing number of halfway houses and residential treatment homes prove to be nothing more than a nuisance, compromising the safety and peace of family neighborhoods and draining the city of resources. In 2009, Delray adopted a series of laws geared towards restricting sober houses from operating in single-family neighborhoods. Despite efforts, very little progress has been made in terms of regulating the location or the prevalence of halfway houses within the community.

Anyone with a little extra cash in their pocket can rent out a home, shove seven or ten desperate dope-fiends into a couple of blandly furnished bedrooms, and walk away with $8000 in profit per month. The client turnover rate is unbelievable, and with each client forking over a nonrefundable deposit the profit level proliferates still. Many times, the clients do not choose to leave on their own accord. They are often kicked out based on breaking a seemingly insignificant house rule – left with no nearby family, no money, and no place to go.

Living in Delray has opened my eyes to the abundance of illegal and immoral activity surrounding halfway houses. I was lucky enough to stay at one of the few reputable houses in the area. Despite the ridiculous cost of rent, the house owner was involved and deeply cared for each individual client. She paid for the weekly urine tests herself, avoiding the illegality of everything insurance-based. A client would only be asked to leave if proven active in her addiction, and not without fair warning and a list of recommended places to go.

Mine is a rare case. I have friends at one exceptionally popular halfway house that charges a $50 relapse fee. Essentially, an addict can go on a three-day run, scrounge up fifty dollars, and return ‘home’ with minimal (if any) consequences. Not only does this not promote actual change, growth, or recovery, it promotes the notion that if you have enough money you can fundamentally do what you want regardless of ethics.

I was at a halfway house in Lake Worth before moving to Delray, a fairly newly established house that was based on the standard model rather than experience. I was kicked out for missing curfew by 20 minutes and made to leave the next morning. I had no friends outside of halfway houses who happened to be in the program, and I could not afford a hotel, so I was forced to stay with a coworker who was actively using. I was in a vulnerable state and if not for sheer willpower I would have easily relapsed that evening. A male friend of mine was kicked out of his house simply because I was standing on his property. Many house owners search frantically for any excuse to reel in the next deposit, not taking into consideration the fact that the client they are kicking to the curb is in no state to be wandering the Delray streets alone.

Where as I am a firm believer in the benefit of transitioning from a treatment center directly to a halfway house, I advise a great degree of weariness when choosing one that will best benefit you and your recovery.