Recovering drug addicts/alcoholics are considered handicapped based on The Fair Housing Act of 1988. This means they’re able to live together in houses, in residential neighborhoods, referred to as 'sober houses,' the same as any other family. With the current attention given to the opioid epidemic, there will be a proliferation of these sober houses over the next 5 years.
Current users of illegal controlled substances, persons convicted for illegal manufacture or distribution of a controlled substance, sex offenders and juveniles are not protected based on the law. The problem is, no one is mandating drug tests of sober house residents (to ensure people are clean and sober when they move in), there’s no completion of formal rehab required (again, shows attempt at sobriety), no background checks to see if people have been convicted of drug crimes or are sex offenders (all mandates of this law). It’s almost like people in sober houses are on the honor system.
We need our Senators and Congresspeople to introduce and pass legislation, amending the Fair Housing Act of 1988, mandating the following for any sober house resident:
1. drug tests (before being granted accommodation and periodically after moving in)
2. background checks (so that no one convicted of manufacturing or distributing drugs, and no sex offenders are granted residency status).
3. legislation to include mandatory drug and alcohol rehab completion (at least 28 days) before being allowed to move in
4. mandatory rehab completion for anyone who relapses, prior to being allowed to move back into a sober house.
5. Periodic supervision from someone affiliated with the sober house, to ensure things are as they’re supposed to be.
We fully support the majority of sober house residents and want them to remain sober and to become actively engaged members in our communities. We are not in support of trying to remove these homes and their residents. Instead, we seek to add clarity to the existing law, which will aid in the recovery of these residents and provide optimal safeguards for the residents who reside in these communities.
Please sign this petition and share with everyone you know. Thank you.
