Vanderburgh Sober Living

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Vanderburgh Sober Living Vanderburgh Sober Living (VSL) is a 501(c)(3) membership organization supporting independent sober living and sober house operators.

VSL is a 501(c)(3) membership organization supporting sober living operators with a proven model, standards, and community—creating structured, recovery-focused homes for those seeking housing and those called to lead them. Through a structured model, defined standards, and ongoing support, VSL helps operators start, grow, and sustain recovery-focused homes. Our network of Chartered Operators provides structured sober living environments designed to support accountability, stability, and long-term recovery. Homes are independently operated and united by shared principles, systems, and best practices. Organized by The Vanderburgh Foundation, VSL exists to expand access to quality recovery housing by equipping operators with the tools, training, and community needed to serve residents effectively.

10/13/2026

Question we got recently: Should you provide a printer along with a computer for participants in your sober house?

Short answer: yes. A basic Brother printer from Walmart or Amazon runs $120-170 and handles the job fine.

We answer questions like this live every Friday at 2PM Eastern; come with whatever you're stuck on.

Fill out the form to join: https://hubs.ly/Q04zcTR00

When someone leaves treatment and needs a safe place to live, the referral they receive should be about one thing: what’...
10/13/2026

When someone leaves treatment and needs a safe place to live, the referral they receive should be about one thing: what’s best for them.

That’s the standard we hold ourselves to. At Vanderburgh Sober Living, we earn referrals by running homes people can trust. That means meeting clear standards, being open about how our homes work, and letting results speak for themselves.

We never pay for referrals, and we never will.

If you’ve been calling treatment centers and hearing nothing back, here’s what’s likely going on.Discharge planners are ...
10/12/2026

If you’ve been calling treatment centers and hearing nothing back, here’s what’s likely going on.

Discharge planners are juggling a lot of people at once, and every placement reflects on their program. A new home with no track record and unclear policies is a risk they don’t have to take, so they keep using the homes they know.

The fix isn’t calling more. It’s making it easy for them to say yes. Have your bed availability updated weekly, your certification and insurance ready to send, and your drug testing and medication policies in writing. Know your intake timeline, your weekly fee and the funding you accept, and have one person who always answers the phone.

We put it all into one checklist you can work through this week.

Read the full checklist. The link is in the pinned comment.

10/12/2026

"Private pay" makes Level 2 funding sound like there's no outside money involved. That's not quite accurate.

There's real funding available, scholarships, grant programs, even opioid settlement funds in some areas. But none of it goes to the operator directly. It flows through the resident, tied to programs like Catholic Charities or St. Vincent de Paul.

The catch: if that person leaves your house, the funding leaves too. Nobody's paying you to keep a bed reserved.

We break down questions like this live every Friday at 2PM Eastern; come ask us anything.

Fill out the form to join: https://hubs.ly/Q04zcPcY0

10/11/2026

If you're dreading your first certification inspection, here's some context that might help.

Inspectors check things you should already have handled: bedroom capacity, working smoke detectors, fire extinguisher placement near the stove. Nothing surprising. A big part of the process is actually just a conversation: what you're doing, whom you're serving, what got you into this work.

Most inspectors genuinely want to see sober housing become more available. They're not out to rack up violations, but they also won't sign off on a house that isn't ready. It's tough but collaborative, not adversarial.

Join our live session every Friday at 2PM Eastern, where we cover topics like this. Come with your questions
Fill out the form to join: https://hubs.ly/Q04zRKfC0

10/10/2026

A lot of operators assume bedroom capacity rules change based on house level or resident age. They don't.
Most states follow the same building code here: 70 square feet for the first person in a bedroom, 50 square feet for each person after that. Want three people in one room? You need 170 square feet, no exceptions for level 2 vs. level 3, or 18 vs. 58.

We cover questions like this live every Friday at 2 PM Eastern. This week's topics include zoning, certification, legal, and insurance. Come ask us anything.

Fill out the form to join: https://hubs.ly/Q04zbJkG0

10/09/2026

Here's a mistake we see a lot of new operators make: doing months of outreach before they've even secured a house.

It should go the other way. Get the house, then start the calls.

And when you do call, don't lead with a pitch. Try something like: "We're pending our certification and we're eager to do this right. What should we know to be a good partner with you?" That question disarms people immediately. It's not a sales call; it's you asking them to be the expert in the room, and people genuinely love sharing their ideas when you ask.

Then two weeks later, when you follow up and say "we got certified," you're not a stranger anymore; you're someone they already gave advice to.

The full breakdown of how to build these partnerships the right way is up now!

Fill out the form to learn how it works: https://hubs.ly/Q04zbywn0

10/08/2026

If you're opening a recovery house in Maryland, here's something worth knowing early: this isn't a state where you can just figure it out as you go.

Maryland has actual infrastructure and requirements in place. You probably don't need the standard NARR affiliate certification, but if your house involves any medication management, that requires approval through the state itself, a completely separate process from certification.

Every state handles this differently, which is exactly why assuming your state works like the last one you researched can get operators into trouble.

Want to know what your state actually requires? Fill out the form to learn how it works: https://hubs.ly/Q04zbpDB0

10/07/2026

A question we hear a lot from new operators: how strict should a visitor policy actually be?

The honest answer is neither extreme works well. Locking it down completely creates resentment. Leaving it totally open creates chaos.

What tends to work: visitors allowed at set times, like Saturday afternoons or weekends, with requests going through a house mentor who has 48 hours to review them. Only residents in good standing. Visitors stick to common areas, no bedrooms, no upstairs, an hour or two max.

Structure means everyone knows what to expect.

Want to see how this fits into running a well-structured home? Fill out the form to learn how it works: https://hubs.ly/Q04zbhMS0

10/06/2026

A lot of people assume there are only two ways to get involved in recovery housing: buy a property or run one yourself.

There's actually a third path. Some folks don't qualify to buy. Others don't want to manage operations. But they still want to use what they have, property, resources, time, to genuinely help.

That's where we step in and help match people to the role that actually fits them.

If that sounds like you, visit our website and fill out the form to learn how it works: https://hubs.ly/Q04zb7pj0

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Webster, MA

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