What kind of program do you offer?
Marvin’s Sober Living is a zero-tolerance drinking or drug-using Sober living environment. We are a beginning step for men who have made the decision that they want to live a clean and sober life. Our residents come to us from Detox, Rehab, Drug Courts, House Arrest, or 12 Step Groups. Our primary purpose is to provide a drug and alcohol-free environment and a safe place where our residents can enjoy the necessities of living.
We provide a clean comfortable bed, sheets, and towel. Each resident has closet and dresser space as well as ample cupboard and refrigerator space in our kitchen and dining area. We provide lockers to store medicine and valuables in. We also have a fully functional computer workstation with WI-Fi, printer, and landline telephone. Our residents are responsible for providing their food, hygiene products, and clothing.
We do not provide counseling services on-site, transportation, job training, or any other type of community resource
Do you provide food?
We do not provide food or hygiene products for our residents. We do have a small food pantry made of donations from former residents or community donations that may include clothing, food stuffs, and even hygiene products.
How long do I have to be sober to move into your sober living?
While we do not have a time limit on how long our residents must be sober before move-in, we do require a clean drug test before admission. We do require our dual diagnosis, or residents on psych meds, to show a pattern of consistently taking meds as prescribed and having a smooth baseline behavior pattern.
How long can I stay in the home?
We do not place a time limit on length of stay. However, we do require that every resident obey the following:
- Remain clean and sober from drugs and alcohol.
- Attend a minimum of 3 recovery meetings weekly.
- Sign in and out as they come and go.
- Strive to get along with all housemates.
- Keep their rooms clean and tidy.
- Perform their daily house duty.
- Pay rent on time.
Do you have weekly rates?
We require a full month’s rent and the processing fee to be paid upon move-in and prefer collecting rent on a month-to-month basis. We do allow residents to pay bi-weekly thereafter, if it is a burden to pay monthly, but ask them to strive to budget accordingly so they may pay month to month. We have found that when our residents take this step and pay monthly, it helps them as they prepare to move on to an apartment or home when they are ready.
How do I secure a bed?
We do not put a “hold” on beds but we will allow you to pay for a bed in full, in advance, and will not begin deducting from the rent paid until the bed is occupied.
How do I get approved to live in your home by House Arrest or Drug Court?
Each jurisdiction, drug court program, or Judge is different. However, we have found that each of them wants to know the name of the home, address, and occasionally will want to inspect the home to see if it is suitable for their defendant. Many of them will require a letter from us on our letterhead that states the name of the person seeking to live in our home who has been accepted as a resident and that their rent has been paid in full.
Do you provide transportation from jail to the home upon release from house arrest or drug court?
No, we do not provide any kind of transportation. If the court initiates the release, they will provide transportation by an officer of the court and they will arrange with the manager of the home a drop off time.
Do I have to go to meetings while living in the house?
Absolutely! Our purpose is to provide a safe clean environment in which our residents can recreate a sober way of life and this begins with Recovery meetings. We require a minimum of 3 meetings per week. We do not tell you which meetings you must attend and allow counseling sessions, IOP, and Behavioral Health sessions to count as meeting attendance.
What is your medication policy?
We are not licensed to dispense medication to our residents. We do have lockers to secure prescribed and over the counter medications so long as they are non-narcotic. We understand many “psychiatric” meds, while not habit forming, can be abused and require them to be secured by the residents.
What if I relapse?
We understand relapse can be a part of recovery and we KNOW it does not have to be. When a resident relapses, whether caught by the house, manager, owner, or admitted to when confronted with a drug test or breathalyzer, we allow 15 minutes for the resident to pack a bag and vacate the premises.
Violence or bullying behavior will not be tolerated and will result in charges being pressed if applicable and the resident being banished from the property indefinitely.
If the resident who relapsed attends detox or treatment after relapse and had a pleasant exit from the property, they may be given another opportunity to return to the home as a resident in good standing. A resident who relapses or is violent or is forced to leave the house due to negative behavior automatically forfeits all rent that has been paid.
What do I do if I know a housemate has relapsed?
If you know a housemate has relapsed, it is your duty and responsibility to notify the manager of this situation. Your information will be anonymous. A resident who drinks or uses drugs while in the sober living home places every resident, manager, and even the owner of the home at risk of relapse. This behavior will not be tolerated.
When a resident is known to have not turned in a housemate who has relapsed, we consider the resident who has not turned in the housemate in violation of our sober living home rules and therefore subject to immediate dismissal.
Do you accept a resident on Methadone or Suboxone?
We can accept a resident on Methadone or Suboxone, so long as they do not keep the drug in the home or on the property. We require them to dose at a clinic. As a medicated resident, they are subject to additional drug testing and may be responsible for the cost of up to 2 tests per week.
How often do you drug test or breathalyze your residents?
We always test them upon admission and then randomly thereafter. We reserve the right to test them every day if need be. We occasionally will test the entire home, but usually just test a few at a time randomly, and additionally test residents when they exhibit a change in behavior that would trigger concern.
Can we have visitors?
Absolutely. We want our residents to experience every sense of normalcy as they walk the path of recovery. We allow visitors including children in our “set aside” front rooms between 9AM to 9PM. We do require our residents to always accompany their visitors and strictly prohibit them from entering resident rooms.
Is there a curfew?
Curfew for the first 30 days is 10PM, unless the new resident has an existing 2nd or 3rd shift job. While we want our residents to show they can obey our simple rules, we also want them to be able to support themselves.
Can I have overnight stays or go on trips?
We allow overnight stays or trips after 30 days. We do require our residents who leave overnight, or plan to go on vacation, to give us advance notice and to check in with the house manager DAILY. We want our residents to have as much normalcy as possible while living with us and also know how easy it is to relapse when away from home.
We do ask for a plan of action and will give a drug test and breathalyzer test upon return. We consider 24 hours of unaccounted for time a relapse trigger and 48 hours may result in immediate dismissal from the home.
Can I have a car on the premises?
Cars are allowed, so long as they possess current insurance and registration.
I have a bunch of stuff, including furniture. Do you have storage?
We do not allow a new resident to bring furniture or excessive amounts of baggage, boxes, or totes. Our room are spacious but we really only have 3-4 feet of closet space and 1 large dresser per resident.
We do not have any onsite storage and we declutter our yard weekly. If clutter or debris begins to accumulate, which can include spare tires, moving boxes, etc., we give 1 verbal warning and then donate clutter to Republic Services. We also strictly prohibit working on cars or scooters on site or on the street in front of houses.
Do you accept service animals or pets?
No. While we recognize the value in companion animals, we cannot guarantee the safety of residents or animals due to the many personality types we house.
Do you accept house-arrest residents?
We do accept house arrest residents and have been approved by the City of Las Vegas Jail, Clark County Detention Center, and Henderson Jail to do so.
Do you work with Drug Courts?
We do work with drug courts.
Can my friend, family member, or significant other parole to your home?
We can accept a resident on parole from the Alabama Department of Corrections or from another State so long as The State of Alabama Department of Corrections approves of their placement.
Do you accept more than 1 month’s rent at a time?
No. We are month-to-month and the nature of our homes require a resident to leave immediately upon relapse and we do not want to cause any undue financial hardship for a resident who has paid more than one month’s rent upon them forfeiting their bed due to relapse.
Do you accept sex offenders?
We can accept sex offenders, so long as they are compliant with current state requirements and their living in our home would not jeopardize the standing of a current resident. In other words, it may be possible a probation officer, or a parole officer, or a court may not allow their defendant, who already lives with us to live with a sex offender. In this case we could not accept the sex offender as a resident.
In the case we do not have any legal conflict with residents, we can accept a registered sex offender in the home and would require them to stay compliant with any state laws or codes of conduct established by the jurisdiction or court or officer. We ask our sex offender residents to be open and honest with management and mindful of the value of their anonymity as to their convictions with other residents to avoid possible negativity in the home.
Do you accept LGBTQ?
We can accept LGBTQ residents.
Do I have to see the home before I move in?
You don’t have to see the home before you move in, but we do recommend touring the home, meeting some of the residents, and allowing yourself to have confidence in your move into our home or in deciding you may want to find a different home.
Do I have to fill out the application online?
No. The application can be filled out in person when you are touring the home and you decide you are interested in signing our behavior and rules pledge and becoming a resident in our home.
How do I pay rent?
We can accept cash but prefer our residents use Cashapp at $Valuehousing
Do you accept rent vouchers?
Yes and No. We require our residents who qualify for and receive a rent voucher to cash the rent voucher check and deliver the amount of the rent voucher check to the manager. We do not cash rent voucher checks. The amount of the rent voucher check does not cover the full move-in cost; however, as a service to the new resident who has followed through with the tedious process of obtaining a rent voucher, we will absorb the rest of the move in cost and consider their first month’s rent paid in full.