If you have ever been to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, or know anyone who has, you are probably familiar with the Twelve Step program.

The Twelve Steps have proven time and time again to help people break free from alcohol and other addictions. But sometimes the Twelve Steps aren’t enough. In journey toward sobriety, a halfway house in Chicago may be part of your strategy.

Stairway to Freedom is a halfway house alternative that provides a safe place for people to live who are recovering from addiction. Sometimes, in your journey to sobriety, where you live can be part of the problem. Maybe your roommates or family are perpetuating your drug or alcohol problem. Moving into one of our halfway houses can help you break the cycle, and move forward with the Twelve Steps.

Step One is admitting you are powerless over alcohol and that your life has become unmanageable. If you can admit your life in unmanageable, living in a halfway house could be a step to regaining control of your life. Getting into a new home, where you have roommates that have the same goals as you and you have more accountability will only help you after to admit you have a problem.

Step Four involves doing a deep, moral inventory of your life. This kind of thing cannot be done if you are living in an environment that keeps trying to suck you back into your old habits. You need serenity, time alone, and positive influences to accomplish the introspection involved in the Twelve Steps.

If you think reprieve from your current living situation could help you on your path for sobriety, contact us today at Stairway to Freedom. We can give you a free consultation to see if one of our halfway houses could be right for you.

When it’s time for a new start, we are here for you. We are your Stairway to Freedom, a group of recovery homes in Chicago. Our focus is not to assist with rehabilitation from substance abuse; our area of expertise is in the all-important “Now what?” stage after a stay at a rehabilitation facility.

We agree that there is cause to celebrate recovery from substance abuse, especially when that substance has controlled the life of the addict for far too long. However, recovery does not end there, because of the high degree of recidivism of recovered addicts reverting back to their addiction. That is where Stairway to Freedom comes in. We are a vital part of the second stage of recovery. Our goal is to help our clients become re-acquainted with society so that they can regain full functionality and achieve peace of mind.

The crucial part of this second stage of recovery, or the after-rehab stage, is found at the Recovery Homes Chicago after leaving a rehabilitative facility. We function as a “bridge” from rehab to re-entering society.

There are many recovery centers at all socioeconomic levels in the U.S. However, there are relatively few institutions that truly help to “bridge” the gap between addiction and a new life in society. We assist our clients with re-entry, which may include help in finding a job, an apartment, having access to education on basic life-skills such as paying bills, learning social behaviors that do not include the use of drugs or alcohol, and learning to trust again.

These are only a few of the many issues faced by former addicts. And we are passionate about helping them to help themselves.

If you or someone you know has completed a recovery program and wants to take the next step toward complete recovery, let us help. We are ready to be a bridge to sustained sobriety. Please contact us for more information.

We’d like to offer a success story shared with us by a recovering addict:

“What makes this time any different?” I know that’s what my loved ones were thinking when I entered treatment for the last time. I didn’t blame them for thinking that. I was scared, I was tired, and I was thinking the same thing.

• I was told the same things in treatment I’d always been told. I was given the same books. The same 12-Steps were posted on the wall. The counselor asked me the same questions.

• I’d recently overdosed, but that was nothing new. Naloxone and I had met a few times already.

• I was the same trembling shadow of myself I’d been for years. My mom was still heartbroken, my ex still had my kids, I was still empty, alone, and doing the exact same things over and over again every single day with the same miserable results.

The game hadn’t changed, but something else had. It took me a while to figure out what that something was, and even longer to believe in it. I had changed. I was finally truly sick and tired of being sick and tired. I heard and saw things differently. I was starting to relate to the stories I heard in meetings. I saw a tiny glimmer of hope embedded in those 12-Steps. I understood that Naloxone may not magically show up next time. I started to get that my family didn’t leave me, that my ex didn’t steal my kids, and that I’d let my own pain and addiction rob me of everything I loved.

I was ready and I wanted it to work in a way that it hadn’t before. I stayed and finished treatment, and when it was time to leave, I pointed myself in the direction of success. I needed, more than anything, all the progress I’d made in treatment this time to stick. I went to a sober living recovery house in Chicago and stayed as long as they would have me.

And so far, it’s working . . . one day at a time.

If you think you’re ready, if you want the best chance at long-term sobriety, and if you understand that a strong foundation is required to build your new life upon, please contact us today.

An encouraging story comes out of the Cook County Temporary Juvenile Detention Center in Chicago about a poet teaching young people to use creativity to express their issues.

If you are looking into men’s and women’s sober living, or need some encouragement on your journey of sober living, follow this uplifting story of how incarcerated youths are learning how to look past the events that put them in jail, and focus on the bigger story of their lives.

Reginald Dwayne Betts is a man who was incarcerated at age 16 for carjacking and spent eight and a half years in prison. But instead of letting those years define his life story, he dug deeper and found that writing poetry about his past gave him a path for his future. Now Betts is 35, and completed both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees and is attending Yale Law School. He wrote two poetry books and a memoir. And now he is encouraging young people to think about their experiences differently, and write about them.

Betts is only one poet however who visits the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center through the Free Write Jail Arts and Literacy program. The program has been around for 15 years and provides tutoring and teaches creative writing. The youth, who are predominately African-American, are taught to explore and be proud of where they come from, instead of being ashamed.

Poetry and creative writing are helping these young people, many moving on from drug and alcohol related crimes. Perhaps a creative outlet is one step that can help you in your process of sober living.

For more ideas on sober living, and to get connected to a recovery home in Chicago, contact us at Stairway to Freedom. We have a number of recovery homes that may be just right for you.