The Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress (ASAP) has partnered with Thrive Alliance to open its first sober living home for women who are trying to overcome substance use disorders.
The home, located along Central Avenue in the Lincoln-Central Neighborhood, will house up to eight women, with the first residents expected to move in next week, ASAP officials said.
ASAP expects that the number of residents at the home will likely start slow and gradually increase toward full capacity, similar to what has happened at two sober living homes for men that the organization operates in Columbus, said retiring ASAP Executive Director Doug Leonard.
“Our experience with the men’s homes was that we had maybe two, three, four (residents) to start with, and then as the word got out, more referrals came and started building up,” Leonard said.
The idea of the home is to allow residents to build a support network and establish job and financial stability while going through recovery.
The length of stay will vary, but there is no time limit. Residents will pay a $500 monthly fee to help sustain the home financially which covers everything except food, ASAP officials said.
Residents are expected to attend recovery meetings, complete treatment recommendations, strengthen personal relationships, maintain employment, develop financial accountability and participate in some community service projects.
Additionally, the house has a curfew and residents will undergo random drug testing. ASAP has hired a house manager, who is already living there.
“We do have agreements with a number of employers in the area and they will hire these people living in these homes and really work with them to support their recovery,” said ASAP Executive Director Sherri Jewett.
Launched in 2017, ASAP is a community-wide response to address substance use disorder, including the opioid crisis, in Bartholomew County. ASAP was formed through a partnership of Columbus and Bartholomew County governments and Columbus Regional Health.
The opening of ASAP’s third sober living home comes amid a push for recovery housing and expanded treatment options in the community, with several recovery housing and sober living transitional homes opening over the past year.
It also comes as local officials attempt to counter a rise in fatal drug overdoses in the community last year and a surge in relapses largely attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.
So far this year, drug overdose deaths have decreased compared to the same point last year but are still trending higher than at the same time in 2019.
As of July 20, there had been 12 confirmed drug overdose deaths in Bartholomew County, according to the Bartholomew County Coroner’s Office.
By comparison, there were 21 fatal drug overdoses during the same period last year and nine at the same in 2019.
The new sober living home was purchased and developed as a public/private partnership using resources from a local private company, federal Community Development Block Grant funding through the City of Columbus, Horizon Bank, ASAP and Thrive Alliance.
