Substance Abuse Treatment & Recovery Housing (also called “Sober Living Environments”)

If you suffer from past addiction or alcoholism, you may be eligible for special housing and/or funding programs that provide residential treatment for substance abuse. These are also called “Sober Living Environments” (SLEs). More information about funding and these residential facilities can be found on CDCR’s website here: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/rehabilitation/substance-abuse-services-coordination-agencies.html.

    FUNDING: If you are on state parole, you may be eligible for temporary funding through CDCR’s Substance Abuse Service Coordination Agencies (SASCA) funding or another source.[1204] SASCA funding is generally limited to 6 months of assistance. Ask your state parole officer for more information.
    SPECIAL HOUSING: There are transitional housing programs that focus on substance abuse treatment and/or sober living conditions for people with former addictions. They may also take SASCA funding. Be aware that many of these programs are only available for short- or medium-term stays.
My conviction was for past drug or alcohol use. Is past addiction considered a legally protected disability?

Yes. Past (BUT NOT CURRENT) drug addiction and alcoholism are considered disabilities under state and federal law. This means you may have the right to request reasonable accommodations for your disability.[1205] Reasonable accommodations might include an extended curfew so that you can attend treatment or AA/NA programs, permission to take methadone if prescribed by your doctor, or access to special rehabilitative services. Moreover, a landlord may not deny you housing or discriminate against you based on your past addiction or alcoholism.

For more information on housing protections for people with addiction-based disabilities, including what information a landlord CAN and CANNOT ask or consider, the following guide may be helpful: Fair Housing for People with Disabilities, by Mental Health Advocacy Services, Inc., pages 18-20, available online at: http://www.mhas-la.org/FH%20Manual%20rev.4-07.pdf.

For more information on asking for reasonable accommodations—where you could ask a landlord to make an exception to their policy banning former addicts from housing (since past addiction is a protected disability), go to Appendix E, PG. 419.

  1. 1204

    Office of Offenders Services—Community and Reentry Services, Fact Sheet (Feb. 2014), http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/rehabilitation/docs/Factsheets/OS-CRS-Factsheet-SASCA-Feb2014.pdf; Substance Abuse Services Coordination Agency (SASCA), Cal. Dep’t of Corr. & Rehab., http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/rehabilitation/substance-abuse-services-coordination-agencies.html.

  2. 1205

    Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 126, 12112(b)(5)(A); 29 C.F.R. §§ 1630.9, 1630.10, 1630.15(b), (c). However, current illegal drug use is not considered a disability and does not provide any legal protection against discrimination. A landlord may deny or terminate your housing based on current drug use, even if you are also previously or currently addicted.