Recovery Housing New England long term programs?!

[Minerva_]

Anyone have any kind of input or advice regarding long term residential recovery in New England (IV heroin recovery)? I’m thinking of detox with methadone then do a long term residential program while continuing methadone, and or some type of housing where I can use my phone and have a job and some freedom as long as im doing well.
There’s a place in New Hampshire, granite recovery center, which is currently my top interest.
Thanks!!
Minerva

 

[Jabberwocky]

hey @Minerva_ and welcome to BL

unfortunately i am in the UK so don't know answers to your specific question but i have recovered from IV heroin (and crack) addiction so if you would like some general advice on that i can help. the most important thing is to find out why you are using. drugs are doing something for you, otherwise you wouldn't have got addicted. in my case i was self medicatng severe ptsd. to be able to get into long term recovery it was necessary for me to get specialised help for the ptsd, because the heroin was really effective at masking it. luckily my rehab offered this.

i didn't go to a sober living place out of rehab, went back to my parents. i have heard mixed things about them. there's a lot of drama cos its a lot of emotionally immature adults in a difficult place, but i've seen some people thrive in the community they offer and go on to live independently. they can be very harsh though, i've seen people use once, get caught and chucked out, so they end up homeless which isn't exactly conducive to staying in recovery.

can you check out the place you are interested in? i went to visit my rehab before committing to going. i took a long list of questions with me. tbh i was basically trying to get a reason not to go. i ended up not having a choice (my parents changed the locks to my house so it was rehab or being homeless with nothing but the clothes on my back) but when i was doing my rattle at my parents before going in i was glad to know where i was going. i'd been advised to detox at home cos we were going privately and it would be a waste of a weeks rehab to just be clucking in bed rather than able to attend therapy.

also if you do go, write shit down. i was told you got multiple 1 to 1s per week and wrote this down. when i got there they said it was on a 'needs basis' well i fucking needed it and was not being given it. in the end i told them that i had written evidence that this had been advertised and would be asking my parents to contact a lawyer. so they gave in. if there is a particular therapy or facility you are interested in, ask about it and write down what you are told.

we are wondering if this thread might get better responses in the north america specific sub forum, so if it gets moved that is why, but we will make sure there is a redirect here so that people canstill see it when they come to this sub forum.

 

[VerbalTruist]

There are plenty of places in New England. If you’re thinking long term maintenance my recommendation would be Subutex or Suboxone, for several reasons. From a freedom standpoint you aren’t checking in daily and “getting your fix” so to speak. It helps take you out of the daily need and ritual of addiction.

You should ask yourself some questions when you’re looking for a facility like the one you mentioned. Do you have any religious preferences? How long do you want to be there? Do you have a place that you can go to afterwards that will be supportive for long term recovery? How old are you? How long have you been using? What brought you to seeking inpatient treatment? One of the most important things that I wish I had considered and given more weight to was that the treatment center I went to be far away from where I was using.

I went to a month-long program when I was fairly early in my addiction. It definitely gave me some things to think about, but I wasn’t ready to be there and it would take me another five years or so to get there. By “there” I mean, into and active in recovery.

Honestly, if you can get far away from the people, places, and things that help you support your addiction that’s a pretty good start. Why not look at places elsewhere?
Ideally, moving away both mentally and physically replace the old structures f your addiction and at the same time you’re building a support system in your “new place”. That support system looks like a lot of things for a lot of people.

 

[VerbalTruist]

Also, I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, There are often waiting periods for recovery centers. You can’t usually just call and get in the next day. That is because of the residential long-term nature of the treatment.