About this Sober House
Oak Street is a men's recovery residence in Lewiston, Maine, operated by Journey House Recovery. It stands in Androscoggin County, in the mill city on the east bank of the Androscoggin River, and it opened in May 2018 as the first recovery house in the county.
Sober Living in Lewiston, Androscoggin County
Lewiston is the largest city in Androscoggin County and, with Auburn across the river, the center of gravity for services in this part of central Maine. Before Oak Street opened there was no recovery house in the county at all; people leaving treatment or leaving a hospital bed in the Lewiston area had to look south to Portland or to the York County towns for structured sober housing. The house's arrival in May 2018 changed that, and it put a men's recovery residence inside the county's largest city rather than an hour away from it.
A recovery residence is not treatment. It is a home — a place where the people living alongside you are also in recovery, where alcohol and other illicit drugs are not present, and where the ordinary business of rebuilding a life takes place. Being in Lewiston means being within reach of the city's employers, its clinics, its public transport and its meeting rooms without a car, which is often the practical difference between a plan working and not working.
Who Oak Street Serves
Oak Street is a men's house. It serves adults in recovery from substance use disorder, and it accepts residents who are on medication-assisted treatment; Journey House Recovery states that it supports multiple and diverse pathways to recovery, MAT included. Nobody at Oak Street is asked to adopt a single named program of recovery in order to keep a place.
That matters in a county where a large share of people entering recovery are stabilised on buprenorphine or methadone. A house that closes its door to medication closes it to a great many people who are doing exactly what their prescriber asked of them, and Oak Street is not one of those houses.
Daily Life and House Expectations
The house is peer-run and low-barrier, with a house manager on the staff. Residents are required to abstain from alcohol and other illicit drugs.
The other standing expectation is straightforward: residents are expected to obtain and maintain employment, to be enrolled in school, or to volunteer their time to the community. Journey House Recovery notes that many residents end up doing all three. There is no fixed length of stay attached to a place at Oak Street — residents may stay as long as they wish, so a man can take the time he actually needs rather than the time a program calendar allows. Staff help residents connect with employment, healthcare and social services, and with the move to more independent housing when the time comes.
Certification and Standards at Oak Street
A July 2020 Maine recovery residence directory listed a MARR-certified men's residence on Oak Street in Lewiston under Journey House Recovery. The operator states that all of its houses are certified by MARR, the Maine Association of Recovery Residences, and that they adhere to the evidence-based standards set out by NARR, the National Alliance of Recovery Residences. Journey House Recovery is a NARR member and a registered MARR affiliate.
Finding a Place at Oak Street
Journey House Recovery handles applications for all of its houses centrally rather than house by house, so an inquiry about Oak Street goes to the organization rather than to the front door. The organization runs four recovery residences in Maine — two in Sanford, this one in Lewiston, and a women's house in South Portland — and an applicant who is flexible about town has more than one place to be considered for.
For men in the Lewiston and Auburn area who are leaving treatment, coming out of a hospital stay, or trying to get out of an unsafe living situation while staying in recovery, Oak Street is a men's recovery home run by an established Maine non-profit, in the county's largest city, with no clock running on how long a resident may stay.
Journey Sober House Lewiston- Maine
Every participant in the Journey House is required to abstain from drugs and alcohol and to interact positively and productively with new housemates and community members. Residents are expected to either be employed, be enrolled in school or volunteer. Residence perform household chores and make every effort to become productive members of their new community.
Residents may stay as long as they wish, however during the first 30 days there is a probationary period where residents must be in the house between 10:00 PM and 6:00 AM. If they miss curfew, violate house rules or are otherwise disruptive they will be placed on 'contract'. Residents in need of healthcare, psychiatric care or social services will receive referrals for services upon entry.
Sober living houses, also called sober homes and sober living environments, are facilities that provide safe housing and supportive, structured living conditions for people exiting drug rehabilitation programs. Sober houses serve as a transitional environment between such programs and mainstream society.
