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Resident Rights and Responsibilities
Our recovery home is committed to maintaining an environment in which every resident is treated with dignity, fairness, and respect. Recovery housing is most effective when residents understand both the rights they possess as members of the household and the responsibilities they accept by choosing to live within a recovery community.
Resident rights and resident responsibilities work together to protect the individual, the household, and the integrity of the recovery environment.
Resident Rights
Every resident has the right to:
1. Dignity and Respect
Be treated with dignity, courtesy, and respect by staff, house leadership, volunteers, visitors, and other residents.
Residents will not be subjected to humiliation, harassment, intimidation, threats, exploitation, retaliation, or degrading treatment.
2. A Safe Living Environment
Live in an environment that makes reasonable efforts to protect the physical safety and well-being of all residents and that maintains clear standards regarding substance use, violence, threats, weapons, unsafe conduct, and other behaviors that could jeopardize the household.
3. Freedom from Discrimination
Receive fair and respectful treatment without unlawful discrimination based upon any status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.
4. Privacy
Have reasonable privacy in personal matters, communications, and belongings consistent with communal living, household safety, recovery-home requirements, and applicable law.
Any inspection or search permitted under house policy should be conducted for a legitimate safety or recovery-related purpose and in a manner that respects the resident's dignity to the greatest reasonable extent.
5. Confidentiality
Have personal information handled with appropriate confidentiality and disclosed only as authorized by the resident or as otherwise permitted or required by law and applicable program policy.
6. Personal Beliefs
Hold personal religious, spiritual, philosophical, or recovery-related beliefs without being coerced into adopting the beliefs of another person or organization.
Residents may be expected to participate in activities required by the recovery home, but the home will respect individual differences in beliefs and recovery pathways to the extent reasonably compatible with the home's purpose and requirements.
7. Participation in Their Own Recovery
Participate actively in establishing personal goals and making decisions concerning their recovery, future plans, employment, education, relationships, and other areas of personal development.
8. Access to Outside Resources
Seek appropriate medical, mental health, recovery, legal, educational, vocational, spiritual, and community resources according to their individual needs.
Residence in the home is not intended to prevent an individual from seeking appropriate outside professional assistance.
9. Clear Information
Receive understandable information regarding house rules, expectations, fees, financial obligations, drug and alcohol policies, testing procedures, consequences for violations, grievance procedures, discharge or termination procedures, and other significant conditions of residency.
Whenever practical, these expectations should be provided in writing before or at admission.
10. Fair and Consistent Application of House Policies
Have house policies applied as consistently and fairly as reasonably possible.
Consequences should be related to legitimate concerns involving safety, recovery, household responsibilities, or compliance with established residency requirements and should not be imposed arbitrarily or for the purpose of humiliation.
11. Voice Concerns and Grievances
Raise questions, concerns, complaints, or grievances regarding conditions within the home without fear of inappropriate retaliation.
Residents should have access to a clearly identified process for reporting concerns and requesting review when they believe a policy has been applied unfairly.
12. Personal Property
Maintain reasonable possession and control of personal belongings, subject to house policies regarding prohibited items, available storage, safety, and shared living arrangements.
13. Financial Transparency
Receive clear information concerning required fees, deposits, refunds, charges, and other financial obligations associated with residency.
Residents should be provided appropriate documentation of payments and should not be subjected to undisclosed or arbitrary charges.
14. Appropriate Communication
Communicate with family members, recovery supports, employers, healthcare professionals, attorneys, and other appropriate individuals subject to reasonable house expectations concerning quiet hours, privacy, safety, and household operations.
15. Leave the Recovery Home
Residents retain the ability to voluntarily leave the recovery home, subject to applicable financial obligations, agreements, and procedures.
Personal identification, medication, or other property belonging to a resident should not be withheld as a means of forcing the individual to remain in the home.
Resident Responsibilities
By choosing to reside in the recovery home, each resident accepts responsibility for contributing to a safe, respectful, and recovery-supportive community.
Each resident is expected to:
1. Maintain a Substance-Free Lifestyle
Refrain from possessing, using, distributing, or being under the influence of alcohol, illicit drugs, or other prohibited substances as defined by house policy.
Residents are expected to comply with established alcohol and drug screening requirements consistent with the resident agreement and house policies.
2. Protect the Recovery Environment
Avoid bringing substances, prohibited items, unsafe individuals, illegal activity, or behaviors into the home that could jeopardize another resident's recovery or the safety and integrity of the household.
3. Treat Others with Respect
Treat fellow residents, staff, house leadership, neighbors, visitors, and community members with dignity and respect.
Threatening behavior, violence, bullying, harassment, intimidation, exploitation, theft, and deliberate interference with another person's recovery are inconsistent with membership in the recovery community.
4. Follow House Rules
Become familiar with and comply with established house policies concerning curfew, visitors, meetings, chores, cleanliness, quiet hours, substance testing, overnight absences, medications, vehicles, smoking, employment or productive activity, and other conditions of residency.
5. Participate Actively in Recovery
Take meaningful responsibility for personal recovery and participate in recovery-supportive activities consistent with the expectations of the home and the resident's individual recovery pathway.
Residents are encouraged to build a recovery network that extends beyond the residence itself.
6. Fulfill Household Responsibilities
Complete assigned chores and participate in maintaining clean, sanitary, and safe common areas.
Residents share responsibility for the condition and atmosphere of the home.
7. Meet Financial Obligations
Pay agreed-upon program or residency fees in accordance with established policies and communicate promptly when circumstances arise that may interfere with meeting financial responsibilities.
8. Respect Property
Respect the property of other residents, the recovery home, neighbors, and the surrounding community.
Residents may be held responsible, consistent with applicable policies and law, for damage caused intentionally or through serious negligence.
9. Respect Privacy and Confidentiality
Respect the privacy of other residents and refrain from unnecessarily sharing another resident's personal circumstances, recovery history, or private information outside the home.
What residents learn about one another through shared recovery experiences should be treated with appropriate discretion and respect.
10. Communicate Honestly
Communicate honestly regarding matters that affect household safety, recovery, residency requirements, and personal responsibilities.
Residents are encouraged to acknowledge mistakes and seek assistance when problems arise rather than conceal circumstances that could become more serious.
11. Practice Accountability
Accept responsibility for personal choices and behavior, including reasonable consequences resulting from violations of established house policies.
Accountability should be viewed as an opportunity for growth rather than simply as punishment.
12. Work Toward Personal Independence
Make reasonable progress toward greater stability and independence through employment, education, vocational development, financial responsibility, life-skills development, volunteer activity, or other productive goals appropriate to the resident's circumstances.
13. Be a Responsible Neighbor
Respect neighboring properties, parking requirements, noise expectations, community standards, and the rights of individuals living near the recovery home.
Residents represent not only themselves but also the recovery community of which they are a part.
14. Address Conflict Constructively
Make reasonable efforts to resolve disagreements through respectful communication rather than aggression, threats, retaliation, gossip, or disruptive behavior.
When residents cannot resolve a conflict appropriately, they are encouraged to seek assistance from house leadership.
15. Participate in Transition Planning
Prepare responsibly for eventual independent living or transition to another appropriate environment.
Residents are encouraged to develop plans for housing, finances, employment or education, transportation, continued recovery support, healthcare when necessary, and other resources needed to maintain stability after leaving the home.
Shared Commitment
Living in a recovery home represents a shared commitment.
The home accepts responsibility for maintaining reasonable structure, safety, consistency, dignity, and an environment supportive of recovery. In return, residents accept responsibility for their choices, behavior, recovery, obligations, and contribution to the household.
Neither residents nor house leadership can create a successful recovery community alone. It is built through mutual respect, appropriate accountability, honest communication, healthy boundaries, and the understanding that each person's actions can affect the well-being and recovery of others.
The purpose of these rights and responsibilities is therefore not simply to establish rules, but to create an environment in which residents can safely practice the responsibility, independence, cooperation, and decision-making necessary for a successful life in recovery.
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