Written by 
Are you in recovery? How does this average citizen's take on sober living residents make you feel?
I must say, having been sober now for over 5 years and after getting my feet solidly back on the ground, reading the following comment made me feel a little like a monster of some kind. This woman is not atypical — she represents what most of the people who fight sober livings think like when it comes to identifying residents as addicts. The word “addict” alone conjures up images that relate to emotions that are more negative than those stirred up by sex offenders in my opinion. She is definitely elderly, but that is the population we face when we openly allow ourselves to be identified or called an “addict” and want to live next door. I first reacted with anger towards this, but since those first few moments, it simply makes me feel sad. It is sad that people are so ignorant to what those of us in recovery must go through, and it hurts that they don’t recognize how good and honest and God-fearing we, too, can be in our hearts and heads (probably more so than the average Joe due to our histories). Then you get slapped with the reality of a stigma on a sober living resident that is so negative you honestly could read this and believe this nice, elderly lady was surrounded by cold-hearted , evil, murderers.
Read this — which she wrote back to me after I simply put a moderately positive article up about a sober living home in a new neighborhood:
“Well, whichever member of the local newspaper wrote this, certainly is on the side of the sober living folks. We are however, very thankful to have News10 and it’s reporters who are willing to represent the concerns of good Samaritans, with legitimate fears of having the unpredictable behavior of addicts next door to our children. This particular sober living home that was pushed back in Yuba City, had more than 6 people occupying it, and the residents who own homes around it, were not notified, they had to see it with their own eyes. This was primarily where the problems started, and do not blame it on the city council, because it should be the responsibility of these addicts to gain permission from the neighbors ahead of time, if they wish to carry out their treatment plan next door. If addicts would like to work their way into become good, trusted members of the community, they certainly aren’t getting anywhere with the approach of “Surprise, we are moving in, like us or not, and without fair warning!”. Truly, these sober living homes to do not take full accountability for the fact that despite random drug tests, neighbors have witnessed bags of booze being carried from the local mini mart back to these homes. I they really want to be accepted by mothers with young children living right next door, they need to gain permission in advance, and operate in a transparent way, sharing a copy of the Sober Living rules. And, if those rules were to include daily drug testing of occupants, instead of random drug testing, I can guarantee the reaction of many neighbors would have been more favorable.”
It stuns me that regular folks think of someone labeled an addict as such a bad and dangerous person. So bad, we must inform the neighbors of our presence – moreso than sex offenders are required to do – and “operate in a transparent way”? In other words, let us see everything you say, do, buy, know where you go, etc — because you are obviously a dangerous person who threatens women and their children. And 6 people to a house is a transgression of some sort. Addicts are automatically not accepted either. They must win acceptance.
Where did these perceptions come from? Ghetto images of the black riots in the 60′s, when everyone had a needle sticking out of their arm? What do you think of this? Does this surprise or hurt anyone else if this image is what the average folks think of sober living residents?
