About this Recovery House
The Mann House is a coed recovery residence on Williams Street in Bel Air, Maryland, the seat of Harford County. It stands in downtown Bel Air, in the Baltimore metropolitan area, within walking distance of the county courthouse and the town's churches and employers.
A Coed Recovery Home in Downtown Bel Air
Men and women both live here, in a house on a residential street a few minutes from the center of town. Downtown placement is the whole design. Residents walk to churches, to local employment and to 12-step meetings, which means the daily routine that keeps someone sober does not depend on a car, a bus schedule or a ride from a housemate. In a county where most recovery housing sits along the highway corridors, an address inside the walkable core of the county seat is uncommon.
Fifty Years of Sober Living in Harford County
Mann House, Inc. was founded in 1971 and operates as a private nonprofit. Half a century in the same town is a fact worth sitting with. It means generations of Harford County families have sent someone here, that the alumni network is deep and local, and that the house has survived every change in how addiction has been treated and funded since the Nixon administration. Recovery housing turns over quickly. Very little of it lasts fifty years.
What Certification Establishes for This Recovery Residence
The Mann House is a certified Maryland recovery residence, credentialed through Maryland Certification of Recovery Residences. Certification under the state's regulations binds a residence to a published code of ethics, written disclosure of fees and house rules before anyone moves in, a written relapse and discharge policy, and a complaint process that runs outside the house. For a family helping someone choose from out of town, that record is what separates a certified recovery residence from a landlord renting rooms to people in early sobriety.
The Program Inside This Bel Air Sober House
The house is direct about its method: strict discipline, accountability, and close connections to alumni and to the wider recovery community. The elements it names are hard work, counseling, spirituality, proper diet, exercise, 12-step programs and time. That is a demanding household, and it will not suit everyone. A resident who wants to be left alone should look at a lighter model. A resident who has already tried the lighter model twice usually knows why he is here.
Meetings Hosted at This Recovery Home
The house hosts AA and Al-Anon meetings on a regular weekly schedule, open to the community as well as to residents. A residence that runs meetings on its own premises is doing two things at once: giving residents a meeting they cannot skip for logistical reasons, and keeping the house connected to Harford County's recovery community instead of walled off from it. The Al-Anon meetings matter for a different reason, because families rebuilding alongside a resident need somewhere of their own to go.
Sober living homes are group residences for people who are recovering from addiction. In most instances, people who live in sober homes have to follow certain house rules and contribute to the home by doing chores. Most importantly, residents must stay sober throughout their stay in the home.
The Mann House, a private 501 (c) 3 non-profit established in 1971 sober living house, has been serving the community successfully for over 40 years. We have been successful at helping those residents that are reluctant to recover from addiction, find success where only failure existed in the past. This is accomplished through strict discipline, accountability, close connections to alumni and the recovery community at large. We emphasize a combination of hard work, counseling, spirituality, proper diet, exercise, 12-step programs and time as our path to successful recovery from devastating addictions. We are located in downtown Bel Air, Maryland, walking distance to churches, local employment, 12-step meetings and all major shopping centers and local restaurants.
Expectations
1. 30 day probationary period
2. No vehicles or cell phones
3. Attend AA/NA meetings daily, obtain a sponsor and work the 12 step program of recovery.
4. NO relationships! Residents in an existing relationship will meet with Director to set boundaries.
5. Obtain full-time gainful employment. Residents are expected to establish a budget plan and save money.
On a typical day, residents would arise by 7:00 AM, eat breakfast, walk or ride to work, return home by 5:30 PM, dinner at 6:00 PM, do daily chores, attend 12- step meetings or group, work on recovery-related assignments and lights out at 11:00 PM.
