When a typical patient in recovery leaves treatment they are in most cases severely challenged with two profoundly practical impediments to leading a successful sober lifestyle.

Finding and holding on to a decent job. In many cases even those who were working prior to going to treatment have burned those bridges and cannot go back to their former place of employment, and for those who haven’t had stable employment before it unfortunately doesn’t get much easier afterward. Your standard employer is extremely reluctant to hire high risk employees, and by that I mean employees who have a background of instability and chemical dependency. The result of which leaves the recovering addict with very narrow prospects of finding a decent job in an already competitive workforce. This unfortunate reality leaves the recovering addict in a financially strained situation, coupled with an overall feeling of helplessness and despair. Add to the equation – a lack of productivity (never good for self esteem) with an over abundance of idle time and you have fertile ground for a very immanent relapse.

Finding a safe and affordable form of housing. More often than not recovering addicts do not have great credit, nor do they have co-signers lined up to sign an apartment or studio lease with so many of their family and friends having been burned in the past. Staying in a sober living for on a long term basis is also not a viable option in most cases once their clinical care comes to an end and the well of funding dries up. The inevitable and unfortunate result is that they are very close to being homeless, with all of the unhealthiness and vulnerability that this prospect brings. Many will start couch surfing and staying by friends. Besides for the lack of stability and a safe and sober environment this makes them reliant and codependent and susceptible to falling into the wrong crowd again.