VFOR Essex Men Unit 1 Men's Recovery Home

About this Recovery Home

VFOR Essex Men Unit 1 is a men's sober living home in Essex Junction, Vermont, in Chittenden County, operated by Vermont Foundation of Recovery. It is a four-bedroom, two-bathroom house at Fort Ethan Allen, with two single rooms and two doubles for a total occupancy of six.

A Six-Man Sober House at Fort Ethan Allen

Six residents is a deliberate size. It is large enough that no one is the only person in the building on a hard night, and small enough that a missed chore or a missed meeting is noticed the same day. Two of the men get single rooms and four share, which holds the weekly cost down. The exact address is not published, and placement runs through the operator.

What Certification Establishes for This Recovery Residence

The house is certified by the Vermont Alliance for Recovery Residences. That certification obliges the operator to hand an applicant its fees and house rules in writing before move-in, to keep a written relapse and discharge policy, to submit to an annual onsite inspection, and to accept complaints reviewed outside the house. For a family in another state helping someone choose, that record is what separates a certified recovery residence from a landlord renting rooms to people in early sobriety.

Recovery Homes in Chittenden County

Fort Ethan Allen sits between Essex Junction and Colchester, minutes from Winooski and about eight miles from downtown Burlington. That places a resident inside Vermont's densest job market, on Green Mountain Transit routes, and within reach of the University of Vermont Medical Center, outpatient providers and the Turning Point Center of Chittenden County. Chittenden County recovery housing carries a waiting list most of the year, and location inside the county is part of why.

Structure and Expectations at This Essex Junction Sober Living Home

Members are expected to spend at least twenty hours a week working, volunteering or in school, to attend recovery meetings, and to follow house rules that are the same across every home the operator runs. Medications prescribed by a licensed medical professional are accepted, including medication for opioid use disorder. The typical stay runs from one to twelve months, after which a member can apply to move into a transitional apartment.