'Sober house' can be an asset in a community

By Dan Boyle

The overdose and death of Brian Fetterman, a resident of Providence Recovery Living in Wallingford, is a deep tragedy and sad reminder of the loss experienced by too many families.

This tragic death has been met with fear and anxiety by some neighbors, but to conclude that Providence Recovery Living represents a risk to the community is to fail to understand the function of a sober house or the nature of addiction.

I am not a professional in the areas of health care, addiction, or law. However, I do have personal experience with addiction and recovery, and firsthand knowledge of the Providence Recovery Living sober house.

An individual in recovery has a right to privacy despite neighbors' desires to know what is happening next door, even if those desires are driven by fear or misunderstanding.

In keeping a low profile, Providence Recovery Living is merely respecting the wishes and rights of the residents, who understandably hope to avoid the stigma and shame associated with addiction. The residents are not required by any authority to live in this sober house. They have chosen of their own accord and cost to live in an environment offering structure, accountability, and support of others in recovery as they strive to maintain a life free of drugs and alcohol.

Residents join a sober house only after a sustained period of sobriety, typically a month or more of inpatient rehab, and they are subjected to random drug and alcohol testing and room searches while in residence. Evidence of relapse results in immediate removal from the house. Sadly, no sober house can prevent a relapse should an addict be intent on using again.

It should be emphasized, however, that this heartbreaking incident does not lend credence to the widely promoted image of the addict as a criminal and predator. The overwhelming majority of addicts do themselves great harm in isolation but do not pose a significant threat to the larger community.

On a superficial level, the immaculate condition of the house and grounds suggests high operating standards. More important, and unseen by neighbors, is the exceptional quality of this sober house in its management and enforcement of rules and standards. Providence Recovery Living is likely the highest-quality sober house in Southeastern Pennsylvania. While this is well-known in the recovery community, the residents' need for privacy shields such information from the local community.

Sadly, what has not been part of the coverage of Fetterman's death is that Providence Recovery Living has facilitated the successful recovery of numerous residents. Having returned to the community, they now enjoy stable sobriety. They are demonstrating productivity at work and healthy relationships with family.

No township, no community, and no neighborhood, regardless of demographics and wealth, is unaffected by addiction. And to claim that excluding this sober house would somehow protect our community is simply to deny the reality of addiction.

So rather than attempting to drive away those in need, does it not make our community a better, more desirable, and more attractive place to acknowledge and accept the value of a responsible sober house?

Should your loved ones suffer from addiction, I hope they are not met with fear and misunderstanding. I hope, rather, that they are met with compassion, acceptance, and support so they might have a chance to recover and return to health and be productive members of the community. And I hope they find a much-needed haven in a responsibly run sober house.

I urge the community and township officials to allow Providence Recovery Living to continue its valuable function.

Dan Boyle lives in Havertown. dmboyle@betterbp.com