A sober address can support recovery, but a residence should never imply that an address alone replaces qualified care.

Housing versus treatment in Georgia

Georgia’s current rules distinguish housing-only facilities from residential transitional treatment programs. The state rule says facilities that only provide housing, such as halfway houses or temporary shelters, are not subject to licensure as residential transitional treatment programs unless they offer treatment services or are controlled by a licensed program.

That distinction describes House of Hope’s boundary: we provide housing. We do not diagnose, treat, detox, prescribe, provide psychotherapy, or claim clinical outcomes. A resident may work with an outside licensed provider, mutual-aid group, sponsor, or recovery professional, but those services are separate.

What a recovery-compatible home can provide

A substance-free residential environment can reduce the daily friction of returning to a setting where alcohol or drug use is present. Shared expectations, ordinary routines, and peer community may help a resident protect the work he is already doing. Exact sobriety expectations, screening practices, medications, outside meeting requirements, and responses to a return to use must be confirmed before placement.

  • Ask for the written substance-use and testing policy.
  • Confirm whether medication-assisted treatment is accepted and how medications are handled.
  • Understand whether outside treatment or meetings are required.
  • Ask what happens after a positive test, suspected use, or a medical emergency.
  • Verify who is on site, what training they have, and what they are authorized to do.

Certification and accreditation are not interchangeable

Georgia does not currently issue a general recovery-residence license simply for providing housing, according to the 2025 Georgia Senate Study Committee report. Voluntary certification is available through organizations such as the Georgia Association of Recovery Residences. House of Hope does not claim that certification.

For any residence, ask for the exact name of a credential, who issued it, whether it is current, and what it covers. Phrases such as “aligned with” or “approval underway” are not the same as active certification.

When housing is not enough

Someone at risk of severe withdrawal, overdose, self-harm, violence, or acute psychiatric crisis needs immediate professional help—not intake into a shared residence. Call 911 for immediate danger. Call or text 988 for a mental-health or suicide crisis. For treatment navigation, use a licensed provider or the official SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

  1. Georgia Rule 111-8-19: Drug Abuse Treatment and Education Programs
  2. Georgia Senate Study Committee on Recovery Residences, 2025 final report
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