"How do I find a good halfway house?" a newcomer asked me after the 12 step meeting the other day.

Of course my immediate response was to tell him that TLC has the best recovery program. But I didn't. Instead I gave him some ideas about what to look for before he chose one. I told him that there were several good places he could live while working on his sobriety. Some things I told him to look for were the quality and structure of the program he selected.

The first thing I suggested he look at was the management. How long had the operators been in recovery? This latter is an important question. Many times people will get sober for 90 days, then decide to open a halfway house. They do the math and decide this is a good way to make easy money. I told the man to be sure the management had been sober for at least a year and, hopefully, more like five years.

What was the focus of their program? Or did they even have a program? How long had they been offering services? For a halfway house or recovery program to help its clients there should be structure and rules. If a program only offers a bed and directions to 12 step meetings then that's not much of a program. While that structure might work for someone who's been in recovery for a year or two, it definitely will not work for a newcomer who's not highly motivated.

Several other things to pay attention to when selecting a program are:

-Does it offer meals?
-Is counseling available?
-Does the program have a license from the city or state?
-Is there employment assistance?
-Is public transportation available?

When interviewing the manager of a halfway house make sure you ask about other programs. It's the manager bad mouths other programs or tells you they're a bunch of crack houses, then you're probably talking to someone who is not very professional. When people ask us about other programs we have several to recommend. Addicts and alcoholics get sober in all kinds of places, many without a program at all. However, it serves no purpose to bash other programs. People get sober in all kinds of places. And even the worst help some people get sober. Often, it depends upon the motivation of the addict or alcoholic.

But the idea that we will improve our program, or elevate it in some way, by bashing the competition has never worked for us.