Sober Living: Structure is Paramount
Los Angeles, California—April 21, 2009
Why does Liberty House succeed where other sober living facilities fail? Josh S. Director of Liberty House has over 15 years of sobriety and has worked in recovery for most of that time says, “The structure of the house creates an environment where the residents are able to develop a sober support system based on an honest desire to help another alcoholic and based on true feelings of love and respect for each other. Through the structure and rules of the house the residents are encouraged to change. Nick J. who is one of the resident manager's of Liberty House has over a year clean told me why this program got him sober when others couldn’t.
“The structure allows the residents to be held accountable for their actions and to hold others accountable for their actions as well. Basically it doesn’t let me get away with my crap.” He says with a smile of someone who knows what he’s talking about.
“What the house does is it holds me to a line that I can’t hold myself to. I used to be the guy who if there was an opening to do something sleazy I’d take it. If my parents where at home I would go through the motions just to look like I was doing what they wanted me to do. It was the same at school. It was all a big act. But once my parent’s left or the teachers weren’t looking, it was on. I was out of control. Now, I’m surrounded by guys who want to be sober. These guys have lives, they’re sober and they’re cool and it’s all because of the house. We don’t focus on money and looking good. We focus on real stuff, program, staying sober and changing behavior, and changing lives.”
Larry Luttrell, founder and director of Liberty House for over 15 years says, “One of the biggest hurdles facing new guys and their families when they enter the house is surrendering to all the rules, and having faith & trust which is a process and gets the alcoholic and their family surrendered so they can start following direction.
"They can’t possibly understand why we do what we do, and we certainly couldn't explain everything during the initial interview, so they have to trust us. What this means is that they are a little more open and teachable upon entry to the facility. It’s a learning process, not just for the recovering addict but the families as well. We have seen alcoholics/addicts do well in our structure and want to be here, but because some family members were unwilling to let go of control or take a look at their own behavior, they would pull the guy out of the house and put him someplace else. Many of those parents realized their mistakes and brought their sons back to us vowing never again to get in the way.”
The structure of Liberty House is fine tuned and over 20 years old. Larry and his mentor Perry Petaccia worked diligently to fine-tune and hone the program while working together from 1990 to 1994. Some of these rules, guidelines, and statuses have not changed since then. The structure/program of Liberty House is able to encompass most work schedules and problems an individual may have upon entry into the facility. It changes over the length of time an individual is in the house to fit around or provide support to them in they're ever changing lives and issues. The type of support one needs at 30 days is different from the type of support needed at six to nine months, when the problems are very different. Says Luttrell, “Liberty House provides the necessary support to continue living and developing a productive sober life. Many sober living home operators lack the knowledge, skills and expertise to structure a long-term program geared toward sobriety and change. One in which residents "want" to remain until they graduate because they are inspired and "dig" the program.” Chris C. a recovering crystal meth addict, who’s been in the house for nine months wants people to know why Liberty House is different from all the other places and programs he’s been through.
“It’s love, tolerance and patience, man. To be willing to sit for four or five hours just to help somebody else get honest and stay sober. That’s what it’s all about.” Each Saturday, there is an Alanon meeting at the house that starts at 8:30am and then a family meeting at 10:00am. It’s a great way to meet other families and develop a support group and share with people that have gone through same thing.
If you’d like more information about the Liberty House program, please contact us.
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