Stepping Stones | I St. House Men's Recovery Home

About this Recovery Home

Stepping Stones - I St. House is a certified men's sober house in Bellingham, Washington, in Whatcom County, on I Street.

A Men's Sober House on I Street

This sober house sits on I Street, part of Bellingham's older lettered-street grid near downtown. That location puts the house within easy reach of the city center, where most of Whatcom County's outpatient providers, courts and social services are concentrated, so a resident does not need a car to keep an appointment or make a meeting.

What WAQRR Certification Establishes

Certification through the Washington Alliance for Quality Recovery Residences commits a residence to a published code of ethics, written disclosure of fees and rules before move-in, a documented relapse and discharge policy, and review through a complaint process outside the house. Washington does not require certification, so a certified men's sober house has chosen on its own to work inside that framework.

Sober Living in Bellingham and Whatcom County

Bellingham is the seat and largest city of Whatcom County, and it carries most of the county's outpatient treatment capacity, recovery meetings and social services. A men's sober house here draws on that concentration in a way a smaller Whatcom County town cannot, and Whatcom Transportation Authority's local routes connect most of the city without requiring a resident to own a car.

Applying to Stepping Stones in Bellingham

Applications for this house go through Stepping Stones. The questions worth asking are the ones certification obliges an answer to: what the weekly fee covers, whether a house manager lives on site, how bedrooms are assigned, what happens after a relapse, and whether medication for opioid use disorder is accepted. A certified sober house has to put those answers in writing before anyone signs.