The Basics
Recovery in Action Sober Housing runs two non-clinical residences in Minneapolis catering to the recovering GLBT community. Founded by Dan Knutson, a recovering substance abuser himself, RIASH strives to provide a comfortable environment for a population with specific challenges to recovery.
Accommodations and Amenities
RIASH runs two houses, the Grand House and Park Avenue House. Grand has two-and-a-half bathrooms and shared bedrooms, with a mixture of single and double rooms for residents. Most residents share rooms. There are twin beds and one bedroom with a bunk bed. Who sleeps in the single-occupancy rooms is determined by seniority and successfully working a recovery program.
Neither house provides any kind of programming beyond a weekly in-house AA or NA meeting and a set of house rules. All residents are required to be sober for at least 30 days and actively participating in a 12-step program of some kind.
There is no employed staff at either house. Instead, a resident who has been sober for at least a year acts as the house manager in exchange for a discount on program fees.
Rules and Regulations
Both houses require adherence to house rules, including staying sober, attending at least three 12-step meetings a week, maintaining a full-time job, school or volunteer schedule and keeping up with house chores.
According to Grand house manager Virginia Townsend, RIASH is strict when it comes to maintaining sobriety. “In some halfway houses, they’ll give you an extra chance,” Townsend explains, “but we’re really clear about this: If you use, you’re out.” Residents who relapse are invited to re-interview once they’ve met the requirement of being sober for 30 days.
Because RIASH is all about independence, residents are expected to provide their own food and cook their own meals.
Park House programming fees are $500 per month, while Grand costs $550 per month.
Extras
While RIASH isn’t all that different from many halfway houses in the services it provides, the community it serves is unique. According to house manager Townsend, being a gay, lesbian, transgender or bisexual person provides distinctive challenges to recovery. “It’s one more thing that other people don’t have to deal with,” says Townsend. “For many people, this is the first time they go somewhere where they’re not different.”
According to Townsend, the recovering GLBT community in Minneapolis is tight-knit. Residents of other GLBT halfway houses know each other and attend the same meeting, and that sense of community can be a powerful tool for maintaining sobriety.
Townsend says RIASH’s houses don’t discriminate against people identifying as straight, however, and an applicant who identifies as heterosexual would be considered for residency using the same criteria as anyone else.
In Summary
RIASH’s sober houses provide a stable environment for recovery. This could be a great residential situation for an in-recovery gay, lesbian, transgender or bisexual person who is looking for a living situation among people who understand the unique challenges that can come with a non-traditional sexual or gender orientation.
Recovery in Action Sober Housing Cost: $525 or $575 (30 days). Reach Recovery in Action Sober Housing by phone at (612) 669.0940 or by email at virginia@sobermn.com. Find Recovery in Action Sober Housing on Facebook and Google+
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