About this Sober House
James House is a men's sober house in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in Ramsey County, operated by Stepping Stones Sober Living. The residence is certified by the Minnesota Association of Sober Homes. Saint Paul is the county seat and the state capital. No street address is published for the house.
A Men's Sober House in the Capital City
The house serves men in recovery, and that one restriction settles a great deal for someone comparing options. Bathrooms, house meetings and common space belong to a single-gender household, and one set of rules covers everyone under the roof. Men come into a house like this from detox, from residential treatment or from a county facility, usually with a job to keep and a schedule to hold, and the household is built around the assumption that everyone has somewhere to be during the day.
What a MASH Certificate of Compliance Commits This Recovery Residence To
Minnesota's certification program is voluntary under state law, which means a certified house asked to be measured. The certificate is issued against the NARR Quality Standards maintained by the National Alliance for Recovery Residences, and it obliges the residence to publish a code of ethics, disclose fees and house rules in writing before anyone moves in, keep a documented relapse and discharge policy, and accept complaint review from outside the household. A referring counselor can verify all four from a desk, which is why certification carries weight in a placement decision made at a distance.
Getting Around Saint Paul Without a Car
Most men arriving in sober living do not have a vehicle, and Saint Paul answers that better than most cities its size. Metro Transit runs frequent bus service across the residential neighborhoods and the Green Line light rail links the capital to downtown Minneapolis, so a job on one end of the metro and a treatment appointment on the other stay compatible. Groceries, pharmacies and an evening meeting schedule that fills church basements seven nights a week sit inside walking distance across most of the city.
Ramsey County Services Within Reach
Ramsey County human services, the county courthouse, probation, the workforce center and Regions Hospital are all inside Saint Paul, and the state's own health and human services offices are here too. A resident carrying a probation obligation, a benefits application and a treatment schedule can service all three without leaving the county or the transit system.
One Application Across Nine Recovery Homes
Stepping Stones Sober Living runs nine certified houses in Saint Paul, and placement runs through the operator instead of house by house. One conversation is measured against every opening, and a resident who needs a different household later deals with people who already know him. Ask which houses have room now, who manages them, and how the households differ from one another.
