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Recovery housing · Massachusetts

Sober Living in New Bedford, MA

Sober living in New Bedford includes VSL Chartered sober housing and independently run sober homes, listed below with who each one serves and what it costs. Each home sets its own rules and application process. New Bedford is a port city on Buzzards Bay with SRTA buses and commuter rail to Boston. AA meetings, a free peer recovery center and outpatient addiction treatment with medication are in the city.

Apply Now Call (844) 762-3747

We list six sober living homes in New Bedford, MA, for men and women: Zero Tolerance: County Sober House, a VSL Chartered home for men, and five independently operated homes. Sober living rent in the area typically runs $150 to $185 a week; Zero Tolerance: County Sober House, our VSL Chartered home here, is $185 a week, all-inclusive. You can apply to a VSL Chartered home online in about 10 minutes, and intake will help you find the home that fits.

Living in Recovery in New Bedford

Meetings and peer support

New Bedford AA meetings, including a morning meeting at PAACA on Coggeshall Street, are listed in the Eastern Massachusetts AA meeting finder, and the New England Region of NA lists NA meetings and runs a helpline. SMART Recovery offers online and in-person meetings. PAACA also runs the R.I.S.E. Recovery Support Center, which is free and peer-led, with support groups, one-on-one recovery coaching and workshops. For families, Learn to Cope holds an evening meeting at St. Luke’s Hospital, and MA Al-Anon lists Al-Anon and Alateen meetings.

Treatment and health care

New Bedford Community Health on Purchase Street runs an office-based addiction treatment program with medication for opioid use disorder, individual therapy, case management and peer recovery coaching. Gifford Street Comprehensive Treatment Center offers methadone and Suboxone. St. Luke’s Hospital on Page Street, part of Southcoast Health, has an emergency department, and the Massachusetts Substance Use Helpline answers calls, texts and chats around the clock.

Getting around without a car

The Southeastern Regional Transit Authority (SRTA) runs buses in New Bedford, Fall River, Dartmouth, Fairhaven and smaller nearby towns. MBTA Fall River/New Bedford Line trains run from New Bedford and Church Street stations to South Station in Boston, with a stop at East Taunton, so a job, a court date or an appointment in Boston does not depend on a car. SRTA’s downtown terminal is the hub for most city routes.

Work and the waterfront

Most people in sober living in New Bedford work while they live there. MassHire Greater New Bedford Career Center on Elm Street offers free job search help, training programs and a resource room with computers and phones, and the Massachusetts Legal Resource Finder matches people with free civil legal help. On a day off, New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park covers the historic downtown waterfront, and Fort Taber Park in the South End has walking paths along Buzzards Bay.

Sober Living Homes in New Bedford, MA

VSL Chartered Home in New Bedford

Zero Tolerance: County Sober House is on County Street, west of downtown New Bedford. New Bedford Community Health on Purchase Street, SRTA's downtown terminal and the New Bedford Free Public Library are each about a 12-minute walk, and the MassHire career center on Elm Street is about 15 minutes on foot.

Other Sober Homes in New Bedford

These homes are run independently, and each one sets its own rules, rent and application process.

VSL Chartered Homes Near New Bedford

How to Apply for Sober Living in New Bedford

There is no shared application for sober homes in New Bedford. Independent homes such as Tyler's Home, Flip Side Sober Housing and Traci's Home handle their own, so reach out to them directly. Applying to Vanderburgh Sober Living is different: one application covers every VSL Chartered home, and intake helps you choose between Zero Tolerance: County Sober House here, our homes in Taunton and other VSL Chartered homes in Massachusetts.

Applying to a VSL Chartered home

  1. Apply online or by phone. The online application takes about 10 minutes. By phone at (844) 762-3747 it takes about 5, and the screening can often happen on the same call.
  2. Phone screen. An intake coordinator calls you, usually within a few hours, to talk through your recovery, your move-in date and how you will pay.
  3. Decision. Approvals are same-day on weekdays. You hear which home has a bed for you and what you need to bring.
  4. Move in. Many residents move in within 24 hours of approval. You pay the first week and the deposit at move-in.

Start Your Application

Who qualifies for a VSL Chartered home

  • 18 or older and in recovery from addiction
  • At least 14 days since last use
  • Medically, physically and mentally stable
  • Able to pay rent
  • No arson or sexual offense convictions

For Referral Sources

For case managers, treatment and detox teams, hospitals, courts, probation and parole officers referring someone to sober living in New Bedford.

How to refer

Call intake at (844) 762-3747, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern, with your client, or have your client apply online. A printable application can be faxed to (508) 901-4615.

What we need

Your client’s name and phone number, date of last use, the move-in date you are aiming for, how the first week and deposit will be paid, and your name and number so intake can reach you.

How fast we respond

A phone screen usually within a few hours, a same-day decision on weekdays, and a move-in often within 24 hours.

Zero Tolerance: County Sober House is about a 12-minute walk from SRTA's downtown terminal and New Bedford Community Health's addiction treatment program, and about a mile and a half from St. Luke's Hospital. The home's operator has a particular focus on men coming home from incarceration. Mention probation or parole on the first call so New Bedford intake can plan around reporting requirements.

What Sober Living Costs in New Bedford and How to Pay

Sober living rent in and around New Bedford typically runs $150 to $185 a week. Zero Tolerance: County Sober House, our VSL Chartered home here, is $185 a week, all-inclusive: utilities, WiFi, laundry and drug screening are part of the rent. To move in at a VSL Chartered home you pay the first week plus a deposit.

That range comes from the weekly rates sober homes in southeastern Massachusetts publish, from about $150 at a women's home in Taunton to $180 at Whaling City Sober House and $185 at Zero Tolerance: County Sober House in New Bedford. Other homes in the city do not publish rates, so call. A private room, utilities in the rent or live-in staff raise the price in New Bedford.

Federal Recovery Housing Program money pays for Massachusetts vouchers that cover weekly rent at certified sober homes for New Bedford residents with little or no income or a lost job. MASH handles it as the Rent Assistance Program (RAP), sending approved rent straight to the home. RAP stops taking applications when demand is high and works only at certified homes, so ask which New Bedford homes qualify. People on probation can ask their probation officer about Trial Court funded sober housing.

Sober living rent is not covered by health insurance. Most residents pay from work, and families often cover the first few weeks while someone gets back on their feet.

Certification in Massachusetts

Recovery residences in Massachusetts are certified by the Massachusetts Alliance for Sober Housing (MASH), the state affiliate of the National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR).

Our home in New Bedford is certified. Ask any other home whether it is certified before you move in.

New Bedford families can check a home in MASH's public directory of certified sober homes. Under state law (M.G.L. c. 17, s. 18A), state agencies, their contracted vendors and anyone setting terms of release or parole may refer people in New Bedford only to certified alcohol and drug free housing. Certification is still voluntary, so an uncertified home in New Bedford can operate.

Recovery Resources in and Around New Bedford

Meetings, treatment and practical help for people in recovery in New Bedford, whichever home you live in.

Meetings

Family support

Treatment

Hospitals and crisis

Recovery community

Work and legal help

Getting around

Help and benefits

  • Mass 211Dial 211, 24/7, for housing, food, benefits and other local help
  • Recovery Housing ProgramWeekly rent vouchers at certified sober homes for people with little or no income

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988.

Sober Living Near New Bedford

Sober Living in New Bedford: Frequently Asked Questions

How much does sober living cost in New Bedford, MA?

Sober living rent in and around New Bedford typically runs $150 to $185 a week, depending on the home and the room. Rent at Zero Tolerance: County Sober House starts at $185 a week or $800 a month and covers utilities, WiFi, laundry and urine screening. To move in you need $385: the first week plus the $200 deposit. Sober living rent is not covered by health insurance; most residents pay from work, with family help or with a state or local program.

How many sober living homes are in New Bedford, MA?

We list six sober living homes in New Bedford: Zero Tolerance: County Sober House (men), which is VSL Chartered; and Ethel Rose House of Refuge, Flip Side Sober Housing, Forward Path Sears Street House, Traci's Home and Tyler's Home, which are independently operated. There are six more VSL Chartered homes within 40 miles.

How do I apply for sober living in New Bedford?

Each sober home sets its own application process, so for an independently operated home, contact the home directly. To apply to a VSL Chartered home, apply online (about 10 minutes) or call (844) 762-3747. Intake usually calls for a phone screen within a few hours, approvals are same-day on weekdays, and many residents move in within 24 hours. If the home you want is full, intake will tell you which VSL Chartered home nearby has a bed.

Who qualifies for a VSL Chartered sober home?

Adults 18 and over in recovery from addiction, at least 14 days since last use, medically, physically and mentally stable, and able to pay rent. People with arson or sexual offense convictions cannot be placed.

Are sober living homes in New Bedford certified?

In Massachusetts, recovery residences are certified by the Massachusetts Alliance for Sober Housing (MASH), the state affiliate of the National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR). Our home in New Bedford is certified. Ask any other home whether it is certified before you move in.

Where can I find AA meetings in New Bedford?

In the Eastern Massachusetts AA meeting finder at aaboston.org, filtered by New Bedford. On Mondays, for example, it lists a New Bedford meeting at 8 a.m. at PAACA on Coggeshall Street, one at noon on Acushnet Avenue and two in the evening on Purchase Street and Mount Pleasant Street. Check times the week you go.

Can I get from New Bedford to Boston without a car?

Yes. MBTA Fall River/New Bedford Line trains run from New Bedford and Church Street stations to South Station in Boston. Around the city, SRTA buses connect New Bedford with Fall River, Dartmouth and Fairhaven.

Is there a sober house for women in New Bedford?

Yes. Ethel Rose House of Refuge, Forward Path Sears Street House and Traci's Home are independently operated homes for women in New Bedford; contact them directly. The closest VSL Chartered home for women is Zero Tolerance Sober House in Taunton, and intake can tell you which women's homes have a bed.

Is there help paying for sober living in New Bedford?

Sometimes. Massachusetts' Recovery Housing Program, run by MASH as the Rent Assistance Program, pays weekly rent vouchers at certified sober homes for people with little or no income and for residents who lost a job. Its online application pauses when demand is high, so check the MASH site each week. People on probation can also ask their probation officer about Trial Court funded sober housing.

Is there medication treatment for opioid use in New Bedford?

Yes. New Bedford Community Health on Purchase Street offers medication for opioid use disorder with counseling and peer recovery coaching, and Gifford Street Comprehensive Treatment Center offers methadone and Suboxone.

Ready to Apply for Sober Living in New Bedford?

Apply in about 10 minutes. Intake usually calls within a few hours.

Apply Now Call (844) 762-3747