Arcuria 92-1007 Alaa Street #103; Kapolei, HI 96707; Phone: 707-778-8582 administrator@arcuria.net
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Sober Living and the Law
Sober living has been discriminated against and fought in neighborhoods throughout the United States even though sober living is comprised of disabled adults as defined by The Fair Housing Act and The American with Disabilities Act. Everyone knows that you can't discriminate against renting or selling housing based on disability but it seems that cities don't know that zoning laws and conditional use permits (CUP) also must be acting within the law.
Genuine Sober Living is comprised of adults that are in recovery from addiction from drugs or alcohol and are clean and sober. They are quality homes with people that just need the support of others in recovery to help them through tough spots in life that we all encounter. The homes are well taken care of inside and out, and neighbors have few complaints, if any and usually comment that the sober living homes are the best neighbors they have.
Sober living homes are controlled environments with curfews, random drug and alcohol testing and good neighbor policies. They have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to using any drugs or alcohol or any kinds of violence, acts of violence or threats of violence. Any violation results in the immediate expulsion from the property. People who relapse are usually taken straight to detox. 99% of all sober living homes do not allow sex offenders or violent offenders. Megan's Law is fully supported and respected.
Unfortunately, there are bad so called sober living homes where these controls are not in place and are only there for the purpose of lining the pockets of slumlords. Although these homes may be called sober living, they are not. They are also not protected by the Fair housing laws or the American with Disabilities Act because the people in them are using drugs and alcohol. These homes create difficulty for all real Sober Living Homes which is unfortunate for those working hard on their recovery.
The only recourse disgruntled neighbors have is to make known the actual REAL problems with the individual house. You should be able to talk to the house manager about any complaints and should feel like your concerns are heard and will be addressed. Noise, high volume of people coming and going, suspected or real drug use or selling of drugs can all be addressed by calling the local police department. Large impacts on traffic or parking can be brought to the city council. This means that the home should already be up and running and causing problems within the community.
It has been found that true sober living homes do not affect the home values of the neighborhood and they can not be disclosed during the sale of a home as they are a protected class. It would be just as wrong to tell a prospective home buyer that there is a sober living home nearby as it would to say there is a person with AIDS in the neighborhood or an African American family living next door.
As for the thought of neighbors that having clean and sober homes in your neighborhood causing more crime, that is untrue. The most thorough study, conducted for the State of Illinois, concluded that the residents of group homes are much less likely to commit a crime of any sort than the average resident of Illinois. It revealed a crime rate of 18 per 1,000 people living in group homes compared to 112 per 1,000 for the general population.
I think people are confusing people that are clean and sober and those addicts that are still using. People that are clean and sober don't commit crimes, are good citizens, and good for the community. The average American household has at least one person in it that has wine with dinner, a beer after work, takes xanax for anxiety, or something for pain or sleep. To live a completely clean and sober life is unusual in today's society and to discriminate against those that do is absurd. The problem isn't with people in recovery, it is with those that aren't. We need to draw our attention to those that are using, committing crimes and bringing down our communities. Clean and sober people don't hang in groups at children's parks, drug dealers and those that are using do.
So if you are having a problem with a so called sober living home that isn't clean and sober, contact the local police department or take it up with the city council. Remember, if they aren't clean and sober, they aren't protected. With your help we can get bad places closed down and support the quality sober living that is a benefit to everyone.
Genuine Sober Living is comprised of adults that are in recovery from addiction from drugs or alcohol and are clean and sober. They are quality homes with people that just need the support of others in recovery to help them through tough spots in life that we all encounter. The homes are well taken care of inside and out, and neighbors have few complaints, if any and usually comment that the sober living homes are the best neighbors they have.
Sober living homes are controlled environments with curfews, random drug and alcohol testing and good neighbor policies. They have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to using any drugs or alcohol or any kinds of violence, acts of violence or threats of violence. Any violation results in the immediate expulsion from the property. People who relapse are usually taken straight to detox. 99% of all sober living homes do not allow sex offenders or violent offenders. Megan's Law is fully supported and respected.
Unfortunately, there are bad so called sober living homes where these controls are not in place and are only there for the purpose of lining the pockets of slumlords. Although these homes may be called sober living, they are not. They are also not protected by the Fair housing laws or the American with Disabilities Act because the people in them are using drugs and alcohol. These homes create difficulty for all real Sober Living Homes which is unfortunate for those working hard on their recovery.
The only recourse disgruntled neighbors have is to make known the actual REAL problems with the individual house. You should be able to talk to the house manager about any complaints and should feel like your concerns are heard and will be addressed. Noise, high volume of people coming and going, suspected or real drug use or selling of drugs can all be addressed by calling the local police department. Large impacts on traffic or parking can be brought to the city council. This means that the home should already be up and running and causing problems within the community.
It has been found that true sober living homes do not affect the home values of the neighborhood and they can not be disclosed during the sale of a home as they are a protected class. It would be just as wrong to tell a prospective home buyer that there is a sober living home nearby as it would to say there is a person with AIDS in the neighborhood or an African American family living next door.
As for the thought of neighbors that having clean and sober homes in your neighborhood causing more crime, that is untrue. The most thorough study, conducted for the State of Illinois, concluded that the residents of group homes are much less likely to commit a crime of any sort than the average resident of Illinois. It revealed a crime rate of 18 per 1,000 people living in group homes compared to 112 per 1,000 for the general population.
I think people are confusing people that are clean and sober and those addicts that are still using. People that are clean and sober don't commit crimes, are good citizens, and good for the community. The average American household has at least one person in it that has wine with dinner, a beer after work, takes xanax for anxiety, or something for pain or sleep. To live a completely clean and sober life is unusual in today's society and to discriminate against those that do is absurd. The problem isn't with people in recovery, it is with those that aren't. We need to draw our attention to those that are using, committing crimes and bringing down our communities. Clean and sober people don't hang in groups at children's parks, drug dealers and those that are using do.
So if you are having a problem with a so called sober living home that isn't clean and sober, contact the local police department or take it up with the city council. Remember, if they aren't clean and sober, they aren't protected. With your help we can get bad places closed down and support the quality sober living that is a benefit to everyone.
707-778-8582
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