Living Right in Lake Worth - Sober Home

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A few weeks ago, this house was featured for its colors and its Florida murals. The landscapers are just about finished and they just put up a little white picket fence.

Living Right Sober Homes. The owners, first opened their business with the State on 7-15-13 in the name of Living Right Consulting, LLC. They first learned of substance abuse by some family members going through an addiction problem. People in recovery have a greater chance of staying sober when they take up residence with other recovering addicts/alcoholics who are committed to staying clean or so they say. Is it the kids who are committed or is it their parents with good intentions and at their wits end?

"Living Right facilitates six sober living houses; three for men and three for women. With multiple tiers of structure, Living Right is now able to assist everyone, wherever they are in recovery. From the beginning, the drive to help those struggling with substance abuse still stands first and foremost in the hearts of Steve, Melissa, and the house leaders."

There is no scientific proof that sober homes work. As there is easy access to drugs today and heroin addiction is on the rise (the drug of choice), a lot of these kids have good intentions but soon relapse and are out on the streets. And just like a bloodhound, drug dealers know where these homes are located and addicts know how to get their fix. Anywhere there is money to be made, there are people with bad intentions.

"Four in five new heroin users started out misusing prescription painkillers. As a consequence, the rate of heroin overdose deaths nearly quadrupled from 2000 to 2013. During this 14-year period, the rate of heroin overdose showed an average increase of 6% per year from 2000 to 2010, followed by a larger average increase of 37% per year from 2010 to 2013". Source: the American Society of Addiction Medicine

My other concern I have with this particular house is its location--100 yards from Lake Worth High School's campus. There should be something in our code disallowing this type of business to be near a school.

Jeff Clemens and Bill Hager join forces in Sober Home bill

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We all have a fear of Sober homes situated in our residential neighborhoods and rightfully so. The homes are inhabited by addicts. On top of that, we have no idea how many are even in our city. They are popping up like kernels of corn as owners have found out that owning sober homes is a lucrative business.

State Senator Jeff Clemens has joined with Rep. Bill Hager, who was elected to Clemens House district after Clemens decided to run for state senator, and are teaming up to do something about Sober Homes. Together, they are working on a bill that was filed yesterday that will clean up and ban some corrupt practices and make conditions safer for the inhabitants who are being "helped."

Read Jeff's bill

The bottom-line goal, Clemens said, is to halt “a series of kickbacks” enriching unscrupulous sober home businesses and doctors, while keeping recovering addicts safe. The Legislature begins its two-month session Jan. 12.

Read about it...

Bill Hager on Sober Homes

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HB 21, also known as the sober home bill, was signed by Governor Scott on Wednesday. This bill was a priority for House District 89 and Palm Beach County and thanks to the support of so many of my constituents and the municipalities in Palm Beach County the bill will now become law on July 1st.

I am pleased that Governor Scott recognized the problem we have in Florida, especially South Florida, and that he agreed there is a need to establish regulatory framework for sober homes. The bill is already having an impact: last month my office began receiving calls from people out of state considering establishing sober homes who wanted to make sure they would be in compliance with the new regulations. It’s a win-win for our communities and the sober home residents.

 Bill Hager

Commissioner Amoroso lobbies in Washington

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Well, Washington is where everything happens when it comes to laws.  Sober Houses has been a constant and growing concern in Lake Worth and one that is in great need of systemic improvements. What better place to seek solutions than Washington D.C.? Read and view the video on Amoroso's meeting with Marco Rubio and Lois Frankel.

And in Florida, Bill Hager has successfully shepherded his HB 21 toward passage in the House by a vote of 113-2. Jeff Clemens is again running the Senate companion bill this year, SB 326 which now is in Appropriations, where it died last year without being considered.

CS/CS/SB 326: Substance Abuse Services GENERAL BILL by Appropriations ; Children, Families, and Elder Affairs ; Clemens ; (CO-INTRODUCERS) Sachs Substance Abuse Services; Requiring the Department of Children and Families to create a voluntary certification program for recovery residences; directing the department to approve at least one credentialing entity by a specified date to develop and administer the certification program; requiring background screening of owners, directors, and chief financial officers of a recovery residence; requiring the department to publish the list on its website, etc.

Effective Date: 7/1/2015
Last Action: 4/23/2015 Senate - Laid on Table, refer to CS/CS/HB 21 -SJ 597
Location: Laid on Table

Quote of the Day - Lois Frankel

“We’re not against sober homes. We’re going to try to find the right balance….We want people to get back into society, but you can’t have sober homes take over neighborhood after neighborhood.”

~ Lois Frankel

Talking to the Mayors about regulating Sober Homes that are creeping into residential neighborhoods.

Bill Hager and Sober Homes

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Channel 12(WPEC)  does an excellent job reporting the news especially when it comes to Lake Worth.  But this one is something that will affect all of Florida--

Recently, Bill Hager was re-elected to our state legislature. "He has been pushing for a Sober Home law but it failed in the Florida senate last year. Since sober homes are unregulated, there's no way to know exactly how many are out there, but Hager believes laws need to be in place," says Channel 12.

Read about it...

Doing the Right thing - Protecting single family neighborhoods

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I knew it would happen sooner or later...in today's Palm Beach Post, the editorial addresses all the concerns that we have regarding protecting our single family neighborhoods. It is hard enough when you have to deal with local politics and fight some of them all the way just to keep your neighborhood single family. Every neighborhood association in Lake Worth should 100% support this concept.

More sober houses and vacation rentals are popping up. Investors are buying entire blocks or even entire condo communities and converting them to housing for recovering addicts.  Vacation rentals are changing our neighborhoods into overnight hotels and competing against licensed places of lodging. These investors are motivated by greed and pay no attention to our zoning rules and could care less about our laws.

Read about it... and the Palm Beach Post's opinion that government must protect and preserve the local neighborhoods.

A Sobering Crack-down in West Palm Beach

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Read about the raid...

Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell stated on Tuesday that he wanted tougher regulations for Sober houses...wants to know who the operators are and if they are providing the services intended.  That is a "must" for our neighborhoods.

In the above article, FBI investigators and West Palm Beach police are on the scene at Green Terrace Condominiums on Georgia Avenue in West Palm Beach regarding a company that operates Sober Housing there.

Guy arrested for threatening to slit woman's throat

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Residing at a substance abuse halfway house, this guy was just arrested for wielding a knife and threatening another house member. This is why we have a lot of reservations regarding these types of houses. Read about it...

SHURKIN, ELLIOT	.Race:  White
Address:    633 SUNSET DR, LAKE WORTH, FL 33461
Facility:  Main Detention Center	OBTS Number:  5002271163 DOB:  11/19/1995 Gender:  Male Booking Date/Time:  07/03/

On Sober Houses

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Letters to the Editor
Palm Beach Post

June 24, 2014

Just read the article about the pending Greenacres sober home. I am not affected by this decision. I like to think of myself as a common-sense individual and with an advanced college degree who can think on my own two feet. Who in their right mind would ever consider this type of business proper for a residential community? It makes no difference if it’s a sober, drug, senior assistance, child care, etc. home; it’s a business.

None of these businesses belong in a residential community. There is a reason residential communities were zoned as such, and that zoning should be respected and followed. Zoning laws need to be tweaked to prevent this situation and to protect private residences from sharing the neighborhood with private business. There are so many abandoned businesses, especially in Greenacres, on Lake Worth Road. Look to these type of properties as a win-win solution for all.

The other issue I have, as a retired fire chief, is that these types of occupancies, with larger groups, should require commercial or residential fire sprinkler systems that are generally provided in commercial buildings and would require extensive modification in a residential structure. An effective means of escape or rescue is tougher when large groups must be moved in the generally narrower confines of a house.

Private businesses should be treated like all other businesses and kept out of a residential neighborhood.

BOB ROWAN, LAKE WORTH

SB 582 - Regulation for Sober Houses Dies in Florida Senate

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It crashed and burned for 2014 passage. Jeff Clemens' bill was posed for approval in the Senate Appropriations Committee until one Democrat and one Republican threw him curve ball amendments at the last minute. Clemens would not accept the amendments. One would have stripped his bill from proposed regulations and the other was to create a crisis stabilization database to track the use of beds at public mental health stabilization units. Joe Negron, chair of the committee, said they simply ran out of time which contradicts Clemens' explanation that Negron told him his bill would not be heard unless he agreed to the two amendments.

CS/SB 582: Substance Abuse Services

GENERAL BILL by Children, Families, and Elder Affairs ; Clemens ; (CO-INTRODUCERS) Sachs

Substance Abuse Services; Prohibiting a sober house transitional living home from operating in this state without a valid certificate of registration from the Department of Children and Families; requiring a sober house operator to annually apply for a certificate of registration with the department; requiring certain sober house transitional living homes to apply for a certificate of registration by a specified date; requiring the department to adopt rules pertaining to the application process for obtaining a certificate of registration, etc.

Effective Date: 7/1/2014
Last Action: 4/17/2014 Senate - On Committee agenda-- Appropriations, 04/22/14, 9:00 am, 412 Knott Building --Not Considered
Location: In committee/council (AP)
Bill Text: Web Page | PDF

Let's sober up

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On the Consent agenda tonight: the registration of Sober houses--

Just what we want and need in our city-- worse than vacation rentals. Why are they coming here?  Because property is cheap. And what is more unbelievable are all the sessions that the Florida Legislature has had to take just to get a semi-sensible bill passed.  I say "semi-sensible" because these houses should not be in residential neighborhoods.  But recovering alcoholics and drug abusers have rights too. Just think, you might end up living next to Lindsay or worse, her father.

Currently the State Legislators are considering House Bill 479 requiring sober house transitional living homes to annually register with the Department of Children and Families. The House Bill also authorizes them to deny, suspend, or revoke the Certificate of Registration of a sober house transitional home.

CS/CS/HB 479 - Substance Abuse Services General Bill by Health & Human Services Committee and Healthy Families Subcommittee and Hager (CO-SPONSORS) Berman; Brodeur; Combee; Edwards; Harrell; Kerner; Lee; Magar; Moskowitz; Murphy; Pafford; Peters; Pigman; Powell; Pritchett; Rooney; Stewart

Substance Abuse Services: Requires DCF to create voluntary certification program for recovery residences & recovery residence administrators; authorizes department to approve credentialing entities to administer programs & requires such entities to establish process for certifying recovery residences & residence administrators; requires background screening of recovery residence employees & volunteers & applicants for certification as administrators; provides for denial, suspension, or revocation of certification; provides criminal penalty for misrepresentation in advertising; requires list of all certified recovery residences & administrators to be published on department's website. Effective Date: July 1, 2014 Last Event: Added to Second Reading Calendar on Monday, April 07, 2014 3:49 PM

And if you are in need of a really good transitional home--

Pow Wow at Bryant Park

A source has said that managers from area halfway houses conducted a meeting this morning at our Bryant Park. The parking lot was filled; some were bussed in. According to Facebook, Occupy Palm Beach was supposed to be meeting there as well. At 11:30, all was quiet.

A halfway house is a place to allow convicted criminals to begin the process of reintegration with society. According to Dr. Howard Samuels of the Hills Treatment Center--

Sober living houses are often confused for halfway houses. A halfway house is generally provided for those released from jail or prison, and serves as a reintegration tool. Many halfway houses treat substance abuse, although this may not be their primary focus. Some are reserved solely for those with severe mental disorders. Halfway houses often involve a program of treatment with daily groups and meetings. These facilities are government funded, and may be free or low-cost.

Sober living houses are private residences, usually providing support for those struggling with a substance abuse problem. They differ in structure and prices, but generally have less structure than a halfway house. Sober livings are attended voluntarily, and are not usually court-mandated. Provided as a means for reintegration of recovering addicts, sober living houses give the recovering addict a healthy peer network and model of recovery.
 

FL Senate bill 582 - Sober Houses - Jeff Clemens

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A Jeff Clemens bill--This will be law by July 1, 2014. See them popping up in your neighborhood as we can't do much about them unlike the vacation rentals that this city has never addressed...(afraid of lawsuits). At least Clemens is putting some restrictions on Sober Houses. According to a source--Did you know that we have executive offices for half-way houses opening up in our downtown?  Our downtown for Godsakes!

Sober Houses (SB 582): Would require sober houses to be certified by the Department of Children and Families annually; DCF must adopt rules for certification.

(10) It is recognized by the Legislature that a person suffering from addiction has a higher success rate of achieving long-lasting sobriety when given the opportunity to build a stronger foundation by living in a supportive, sober environment  after completing treatment.
(11) It is the intent of the Legislature to protect persons who live in a sober house transitional living home while they undergo treatment as provided in s. 397.311(18) at a licensed facility. These persons represent a vulnerable consumer population in need of adequate housing, whom this state and its subdivisions have a legitimate state interest in protecting.

CS/SB 582: Substance Abuse Services

GENERAL BILL by Children, Families, and Elder Affairs ; Clemens

Substance Abuse Services; Prohibiting a sober house transitional living home from operating in this state without a valid certificate of registration from the Department of Children and Families; requiring a sober house operator to annually apply for a certificate of registration with the department; requiring certain sober house transitional living homes to apply for a certificate of registration by a specified date; requiring the department to adopt rules pertaining to the application process for obtaining a certificate of registration, etc.

Effective Date: 7/1/2014
Last Action: 2/13/2014 Senate - Now in Community Affairs
Location: In committee/council (CA)
Bill Text: Web Page | PDF