Membership Benefits

A VFOR recovery home is a substance free, group living environment for people that are looking for a new way of life. It is designed to help people learn the life skills necessary to live independently and stay in long term recovery. It is a home where members can lean on each other, the community, and VFOR representatives for help and guidance in any stage of their recovery. A VFOR recovery home is not a room for rent, does not provide substance use, mental health, mental health crisis, or any other type of clinical treatment.

Membership dues range from $150-$160 a week depending on location and there is a $400 non-refundable administration fee owed upon the start date of membership. Membership fees pay for offsetting the cost of providing a safe and sober living environment, occupancy of a property operated by and for the benefit of Vermont Foundation of Recovery, Inc., group activities, and the expansion of member services both in function and scope. VFOR does not accept insurance at this time.

No. The VFOR team may have funding available through community partners and other resources. If we are not able to get the funding, we can come up with a financial game plan until the member regains financial stability.

Our mission is to create homes that are substance free, clean, safe and supportive for people recovering from Substance Use Disorders. Our house managers help members connect to local resources and guide them through the early stages of recovery.

Initial membership agreements are for the length of three (3) months. However, we encourage members to stay at our recovery home until they have a plan to transition to living that is more independent. This is usually around one year but can vary from person to person. During this time, we are preparing the member to move on to one of our transitional apartments or to their own apartment. We do (6) month membership agreements in our transitional apartments and we encourage members to keep their membership for a year or more.

First step is to fill out our online application. After we receive the application, a VFOR representative will contact you. The VFOR representative will set a time for a phone interview. After the interview, the Operations Team will review the application to see if we are a good match for each other. Some things that may stop the membership process are if someone has to register as a sex offender, if someone has a history of arson, or if an individual needs a higher level of care than what VFOR can provide. If you have any questions about your specific situation, please email our Operations Team at operations@vfor.org.

It could take one week to one month for available membership. This is dictated by how many locations the interviewee chooses from, bed availability, and if further treatment is needed. After the interview, the person would need to check in once a week to reserve their spot on our waiting list. We would need to hear from the interviewee, not a 3rd party. The interviewer will let the interviewee know what day and time to check in. If we do not hear from the interviewee after 2 weeks, they may lose their spot on the list. However, they can call any time to either be put back on the list or be reinterviewed depending on the time from the last interview.

We do not have a set amount of time. However, a person cannot be detoxing or showing signs of detoxing and they would need to have a negative urinalysis result for all substances that they do not have a prescription from a doctor for, including marijuana and alcohol. If marijuana was used in the past 30 days, a person is still able to become a member. During the interview, the interviewee will want to inform the interviewer of the last use of each substance. If a person does an interview with us and we do not have a membership available at the location they prefer, we ask them to remain free from all substances they do not have a prescription from a doctor for, including marijuana and alcohol, and to check in once a week to reserve their spot on our waiting list. If they are not able to stay free from all substances they do not have a prescription from a doctor for, including marijuana and alcohol, we may recommend treatment before they could become a member.

New members will want to bring their own belongings such as clothes, pillows, bedding, electronics, food, etc. VFOR can help with these items if necessary and VFOR does provide incoming Members with some essentials in each bedroom such as Bed, nightstand and a dresser. We would ask that if items are not able to fit in your room in a reasonable fashion or if you have things of extreme value (either monetary or sentimental) they should not be brought to the house. In addition, no weapons are allowed at any VFOR homes.

The first day is the meet and greet. New members would meet the house manager who will show them around the property, their room, food space and how the daily chores work. The new member would have some time to unpack while the manager prepares to review some of the paperwork (Introduction period, snapshot policies, membership agreement and the membership oath). The paperwork needs to be signed and agreed upon for someone to become a member. In addition, new members need to have a negative urinalysis for all substances they do not have a prescription from a doctor for, including marijuana and alcohol.