Recovery housing is one of the few businesses where doing good and doing well are the same decision. We’ll show you how to start a sober living home: the demand, the numbers, the certification, the day-to-day. No experience required.
High demand. Proven impact. Strong returns.
Free Operator Assessment
Twenty-five questions, about 10 minutes, and you will know which two areas to work on first. No pass mark, no cost.
Take the AssessmentAlready have a property?
Put your address through the calculator and see the beds, the rent roll, and the return before you commit to anything.
Evaluate my propertyWant a step-by-step plan?
The Launchpad is the self-paced path: training, state blueprints, and the document library, on your own schedule.
Explore the LaunchpadReady to open with us?
Mastery is done-with-you. We build the plan, the entity, the website, and the certification path alongside you.
Apply for MasteryConnect with us
Every one of them was once where you are now. Here they are, in their own words.
“I’ve been working with VSL since 2018, and in that time I’ve grown from my very first home to seven thriving recovery communities across Rhode Island. I couldn’t have done it without VSL.”
“What I love about VSL is that I get to run Taylor Made Recovery my own way—as an independent operator who treats every resident as an individual—while still having all of their support and structure behind me.”
“I’m grateful for VSL’s support and how available they always are whenever I need help dealing with a legal issue or resident concern, any time of the day or night.”
The next one on this list
Every operator here started with one conversation and no experience running a recovery home. Tell us where you are and we’ll come back within one business day.
Talk With Our TeamWhy people do this
The people who do this well come at it from different directions. Most recognize at least one of these.
You get to build a business around the reason you’re doing it. Most operators tell us it’s the first job they’ve had where the work and the reason for it were the same thing.
Ordinary residential property, run well as a recovery home, produces durable income. Put your own address in and see what the numbers look like against a standard rental.
10.2 million Americans received treatment for substance use disorder in 2024. Most of them need somewhere safe to land afterward, and there isn’t enough of it.
Structured sober living moves sustained recovery from 11% to 68%. You’re not renting rooms. You’re providing the piece that keeps the rest of someone’s treatment from coming apart.
Recovery homes run on resident rent, not grants or subsidy. No fundraising cycle, no waiting on a government budget.
If recovery and housing stability are things you care about, this is how you put money and work behind the belief. And you’re not choosing between the mission and the return.
See if this is right for you.
A national network, experienced leadership, and proven systems for sober living.
Our Members
Our members are dedicated recovery housing professionals from Maine to California, united by a shared desire to create profound community impact and build profitable sober living businesses.
VSL is the largest network of NARR Level II sober living homes in the US.
Our Leadership
Our leadership brings decades of experience in recovery housing, real estate, and social enterprise. Dr. Hunter T. Foote and the VSL team ensure every operator has the tools and insight to succeed.
Dr. Foote has written more than 100 books on recovery housing.
Our Systems
For over a decade, VSL has built systems that make recovery housing more effective, transparent, and sustainable, empowering operators to focus on what matters most.
VSL systems offer a simple, repeatable, scalable process.
More than a network, VSL is a growing community with a proven track record in recovery housing.
Serving Communities
More than a decade building, operating, and strengthening recovery housing.
And Growing
Operators in more than 30 states, connected by shared standards and support.
Level II Network
VSL is the largest network of NARR Level II sober living homes in the United States.
Get your free copy of Path to Purposeful Recovery Housing, a practical guide to building homes that change lives and last. Learn the systems and strategies that unite purpose, sustainability, and community impact.
Written by Dr. Hunter T. Foote, it turns years of hands-on experience from the VSL network into actionable insights for anyone who wants to build a profitable and impactful recovery housing business.
Learn From People Who Do This Every Day
A multidisciplinary team of experienced operators, clinicians, facilities experts, and strategists who have spent more than a decade building and supporting recovery housing across the United States.
Executive Director
Dr. Hunter T. Foote
Dr. Foote is a multifaceted leader, author, and entrepreneur whose work spans real estate, social enterprise, law, and education. As founder of Vanderburgh Sober Living, he pioneered a national network of recovery homes using a social franchising model that blends business discipline with compassionate care.
Sober Living Operations
Kate Saad
Kate is an experienced leader in the recovery field and serves as VSL’s Director of Operations. With a background in clinical addiction treatment in residential settings, she brings deep expertise across the Continuum of Care and coaches emerging recovery home leaders to provide safe, structured, and compassionate support.
Real Estate
Michelle Ngila
Michelle is a real estate entrepreneur and recovery housing developer who has built community-focused residential properties across the East Coast. She brings practical experience in property acquisition, financing, renovation, and operator partnerships, translating the sober living model into housing projects that are financially sustainable and mission-aligned.
Community Development
Jim Lamorge
Jim brings decades of experience in property management and renovation. He leads major upgrades, strengthens building systems, and ensures every home is safe, compliant, and efficient. As a coach, he teaches the operational essentials of recovery housing with practical, sustainable guidance.
Charitable Foundation
The Vanderburgh Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation in Webster, Massachusetts. It sets the standards for recovery housing operation and grants a Charter to operators who meet them. The Foundation commits to supporting its operators; operators commit to running with integrity. That is what keeps a VSL home consistent from Maine to California.
Talk With Our Team
Messaging frequency may vary. Message and data rates may apply. You can opt out any time by texting STOP. For assistance, text HELP or visit our website at https://www.vanderburghhouse.com. Visit https://www.vanderburghhouse.com/privacy-policy/ for privacy policy and https://www.vanderburghhouse.com/privacy-policy/ for Terms of Service.
