Platform Services
To fully benefit from Charter membership, many operators leverage Platform Services. These services are designed to support you in meeting VSL’s standards and making the most of your affiliation with VSL.
A suite of services to fit your stage of growth
Whether you’re just starting out, managing a few homes, or operating a large sober living portfolio, VSL offers specialized services designed to support you at each phase. From foundational support for new operators, to scaling strategies for those managing a few homes, and advanced optimization tools for those with an extensive portfolio, our services are tailored to solve the unique challenges and opportunities you face at each stage of developing your recovery homes.
How Platform Services can help you open your first home:
- Forming a Business Entity: Assistance in forming an LLC, corporation, or non-profit.
- Strategic Planning: Develop a step-by-step plan to meet your business and impact goals.
- Feasibility Studies: Guidance on evaluating a potential home’s financial viability.
- Area Surveys: Collaborate with our Outreach Team to assess local communities.
- Home Setup: Consulting support for setting up a comfortable and profitable home.
- Certification Assistance: Hands-on help navigating the certification process.
- Floor Plans: We’ll provide you with to-scale floor plans and NARR 3.0-compliant exit plans.
- Outreach Support: Access to a database of contacts and referral sources.
- Dedicated Support Manager: An experienced professional to guide you step-by-step.
How Platform Services can set you up for growth and success
- House Mentor Support: Assistance in finding and equipping House Mentors to help lead your homes.
- Policy and Procedures: Help refining and implementing effective policies for smooth operations.
- Guest Discharge Process: Guidance on managing guest discharge professionally and compassionately.
- Guest Management Software: A comprehensive platform for guest engagement and record-keeping.
- Payment Processing: Integration of secure systems for seamless guest payment handling.
- Accounting Platform: Full-suite accounting software for simple and accurate bookkeeping.
- Centralized Call Center: Support for managing questions and applications through the VSL call center.
- Building, Health, and Fire Codes: Assistance in navigating local building, health, and fire safety issues.
Explore how Platform Services can help you refine and improve
- Strategic Development: Create a comprehensive strategy for sustainable growth and expansion.
- Growth Coaching: Regular coaching sessions with a Community Developer to refine and enhance operations.
- Real Estate Search: Support in identifying, analyzing, and acquiring new homes to grow your reach.
- Hiring & Staffing: Assistance with recruiting, hiring, and training staff to support your expanding operations.
- Advanced Compliance Support: Ensure continued compliance with changing certification standards.
- Operational Scaling Tools: Access to tools and resources that streamline operations as your organization grows.
- Risk Management: Implement strategies to identify, assess, and mitigate risks associated with expansion.
How we can help Operators looking to take their recovery housing to the next level:
- Data-Driven Growth: Assistance with analyzing operational data to improve profitability, efficiency, and guest outcomes, ensuring sustainable growth.
- Program Development: Support in creating and enhancing programs to improve guest outcomes and success rates, maximizing your home’s positive impact.
- Mentorship Programs: Opportunities to mentor new operators and share your expertise with the next generation of leaders.
- Autopilot Operations: Guidance on streamlining operations to reduce hands-on management, allowing you to explore new ventures, such as offering treatment services or additional programs.
- House Mentor Development: Help in growing and empowering your house mentors, reducing your day-to-day management burden while fostering leadership within your homes.
- Succession Planning: Guidance on creating a succession plan to ensure a smooth transition and the continued success of your operations.
- Business Exit Strategy: Help in preparing to sell your recovery home business, including valuation, marketing to potential buyers, and transitioning out of ownership when the time is right.
Explore all of the features that Platform Services offers
The VSL Call Center offers personalized service to maintain your home’s professional image and efficient guest intake. During onboarding, we get to know your home and its unique offerings, ensuring every caller is connected to the right place. After your on board, our call center staff will be equipped to answer general questions and direct guests to apply to live in your homes.
Key Features of the VSL Call Center:
- Personalized Onboarding: We gather detailed information about your home’s mission and services, allowing us to provide tailored introductions to potential guests.
- Professional Image: Our trained intake specialists represent your home professionally, ensuring that all inquiries are handled with care and professionalism.
- Applicant Routing: Callers are matched to your homes based on their specific needs and your offerings, improving the fit between guests and your home.
- Real-Time Updates: You receive regular reports on call volume and guest inquiries, with immediate notifications available for high-priority calls.
- Diligent Follow-Up: We follow up with applicants and referral sources by offering additional information and encouragement to increase application volume.
How the VSL Call Center Benefits Chartered Operators:
- Better Referrals: Our staff is available all day, everyday, earning the trust of referral sources who appreciate convenience and reliability.
- Efficiency: Our call center allows you to scale operations without an in-house team, freeing up time for running your homes.
- Consistency: Guests receive consistent and professional communication, building trust and reliability throughout the application process.
- Improved Occupancy: Efficient application processing and follow-up help maintain a consistent flow of qualified applicants to your homes.
VSL’s integrated software suite is custom-built for recovery housing and available exclusively to VSL Chartered Operators.
Simple Electronic File Management
Access a cloud-based, purpose-built software system that helps easily manage guest files anytime, anywhere, with no user limit. This feature ensures compliance with NARR-3.0 standards for recordkeeping and transparency.
- Streamlines guest record management: Easily organize and update guest information.
- Facilitates secure, remote access: Manage guest files from anywhere with confidence in data security.
- Facilitates team collaboration: House Mentors and team members can access and update guest records seamlessly.
Electronic Payment Acceptance
Simplify rent collection by offering a secure and convenient platform collecting payments.
- Ensure on-time collection: Streamlines financial management with secure transactions.
- Payment convenience: Guests can easily make payments through various options.
- Ultra-low costs: Processing fees are less than 3% per transaction, keeping costs low for operators.
Full-Suite Accounting System
Our full-suite accounting software is tailor-made for recovery housing, offering unlimited users and cloud-based accessibility for comprehensive financial management.
- Unlimited users
- Tailor-made for recovery housing
- Cloud-based accessibility
- Full-suite general ledger accounting system
Presence on www.vanderburghhouse.com
Your Chartered Home will be prominently featured on VanderburghHouse.com, boosting your home’s online visibility, enhancing credibility, and driving applicants to your pages.
- Exposure and reach: Increases visibility on a well-known platform.
- Applicant pipeline: Helps attract the right guests by showcasing your home.
- Credibility and presence: Builds trust through a highly-optimized website platform.
Featured Listing on www.soberhousedirectory.com
Gain additional exposure with a Directory Spotlight on SoberHouseDirectory.com, one of the most-visited directories for sober living homes. This feature ensures your home is visible to an audience specifically seeking recovery housing, increasing the flow of qualified applicants.
- Amplifies online presence: Targets those actively searching for sober living homes.
- Connects with a specific audience: Focuses on individuals who are looking for recovery housing.
- Improves flow of qualified applicants: Helps drive the right residents to your home.
Social Media and Directory Management
Our social media and directory management service includes the professional upkeep of your profiles on key platforms like Google Business, Facebook, and others. This service ensures your online presence is fully optimized, up-to-date, and actively engaging with potential guests across multiple platforms.
- Strengthens your online presence: Enhances visibility across social media and directories.
- Engages a wider audience: Connects with potential guests through multiple platforms.
- Maintains accurate and updated information: Keeps your home’s profiles current and relevant.
Boost your Inbound Applications
VSL accepts applications on behalf of Chartered Operators through multiple channels. In addition to the online form, we accept applications by fax, email, and even telephone through our Intake Team. Applications are briefly reviewed and quickly routed to the most appropriate home, ensuring prompt service to applicants and referral sources and immediate connection to one of our members. Our members can easily access all open applications online, conduct a thorough telephone screen, and set them up for an orientation.
Access a Robust Application Review Tool
We offer a customizable tool for reviewing guest applications, allowing operators to use a tailored “playbook” that guides decision-making. If desired, the system can also record telephone screenings for future reference.
- Customizable workflow: Tailor the review process to fit your home’s specific needs.
- Recorded calls: Record screening calls for better decision-making, if desired.
- Delegation options: Delegate someone else to screen applications according to your standards.
Access Professional Intake Services
For an additional cost, operators can access a dedicated Intake Coordinator who is specifically trained to screen guest applications on your behalf. This service ensures that applications are processed with care, providing a professional and efficient intake experience. Please speak with a member of our team for more information about Intake Services.
Facility Knowledge Base and Training
We equip operators with a comprehensive facility knowledge base and provide training services to ensure you make the most out of your facilities. From routine maintenance to maximizing space efficiency, we guide operators through best practices for maintaining and improving their recovery homes. We will walk you through the best practices and helpful tips and tricks that you can use to reduce headaches and increase profitability in your recovery homes.
New Home Support
We will produce professional scale drawings, exit plans, and design plans to optimize your home’s physical space and meet certification requirements. We love helping our members maximize the value of their property, from improving the flow and use of common spaces to responsibly maximizing capacity.
- Scale drawings: Professional floor plans to support your home’s layout.
- Exit plans: Ensure your home meets safety and compliance requirements.
- Design plans for renovations: Maximize the value of your physical space with thoughtful design changes.
Grant and Funding Resources
We offer access to grants and funding resources to help operators upgrade their homes at reduced or no cost. In addition, we provide discounted repair and maintenance materials through our vendor relationships and a network of service professionals to assist with repairs and upgrades.
- Grant and funding support: Access to resources for home upgrades.
- Discounted materials: Cost-effective solutions for repairs and maintenance.
- Network of service professionals: Connect with trusted experts for facility improvements.
NARR-Compliant Forms and Templates
We provide a range of NARR-compliant forms and templates to streamline the certification process. Our template library meets the standards set by NARR and their state certification affiliates in each of the regions where we operate.
- Editable forms and templates: Ready to be customized for certification.
- State-specific document sets: Vetted by NARR and state affiliates.
- Compliance support: Ensures certification requirements are met with ease.
Comprehensive Library of Operational Forms
Our extensive library includes a variety of operational forms and templates to help operators run their homes efficiently and professionally.
- Guest agreements: Clear, customizable contracts for residents.
- Vendor contracts: Ready-to-use templates for third-party vendors.
- Press kits and grant applications: Professionally designed materials to promote your home and secure funding.
Operational Tools and KPI Management
We offer a range of operational tools and KPI management resources to help recovery homes optimize their operations.
- Excel calculators: Tools for managing budgets, expenses, and financials.
- Comparative data: Benchmarking tools to evaluate operational performance.
- KPI management tools: Resources to track and improve key performance indicators for operational success.
Platform Services and Costs
Platform Services are all-inclusive — Intake Services are an additional charge. VSL Platform Service clients make a significant investment in the success and sustainability of your recovery home(s). As a charitable foundation, we work hard to keep our costs as low as possible. Our current pricing model is as follows:
Onboarding | $9,500 | A one-time investment for each new home
Onboarding is an all-inclusive service charge to cover the costs of providing the support needed to equip a new home, including:
- Comprehensive feasibility and profitability analysis before you open your home
- Full home inspection including layout, safety, and efficiency recommendations
- To-scale floor plan, design plan, and exit plan to meet NARR 3.0 Standards
- Professional photography and custom marketing materials showcasing your home
- Creation of pages on VSL websites, directories, and syndication services
- New social media pages and digital marketing strategy for your home
- Setting up an ePay and accounting system for your new home
- New home onboarding with our call center and support staff
Maintenance | $1,200 | A monthly investment in each home
Monthly maintenance fees are designed to offset the costs of providing you ongoing Platform Services. Monthly maintenance fees begin 3 months after initial onboarding and continue for the duration of the Platform Services Agreement. Like onboarding, monthly maintenance is all inclusive and provides access to all of the features and benefits of Platform Services, including on demand access to support and services, software licensing fees and costs, etc.
Concierge Intake | $29 per bed | A monthly investment
Concierge Intake Services are available to operators who want the highest level of intake and application processing support. Available at an additional cost, Concierge Intake ensures consistent and professional support for applicants and guests. Your dedicated Intake Coordinator will be available to conduct telephone screens to ensure world-class service and reduced vacancy rates.
Please note that the cost of Concierge Intake Services is not eligible to be offset by any Vanderburgh Foundation grants discussed below.
Vanderburgh Foundation Grants
The Vanderburgh Foundation is proud to offer several opportunities to receive Platform Services at no up-front or ongoing cost
Leasing from a VSL affiliate: Operators who lease their home from a VSL affiliate can have Platform Services fees waived.
Community fundraising: By helping VSL raise funds and awareness in your local community, operators can offset the costs of Platform Services.
Startup grants: VSL offers one-time and ongoing grants to operators in target geographic areas or who meet other criteria.
Take the First Step Toward Transforming Lives!
At Vanderburgh Sober Living, we believe in the power of community and the impact that safe, supportive recovery housing can have on individuals’ lives. Becoming a Chartered Operator means you are not just running a home—you’re creating a space where hope is restored, and recovery is made possible. If you’re passionate about making a difference, if you’re ready to lead with integrity and care, we invite you to take that next step. Join our community of dedicated operators, gain access to unparalleled resources, and start changing lives today.
Apply now to become a Chartered Operator and be part of something bigger. Your journey to building a lasting legacy of recovery and transformation starts here.
