Who do I room with if I am an LGBTQIA Addict or Alcoholic?

One might ask how exactly housing accommodations are regulated in an LBGTQIA-specific treatment facility for an LGBTQIA addict or alcoholic. I was lucky enough to have been a resident of Inspire Living for a little over a year and I can say with conviction it was overall the best living quarters I have experienced while attending rehab.

As a trans woman, previous institutions found the solution to my nature in putting me in a solitary room. While this did provide some comfort I believe it was counterproductive because rehab probably should not be comfortable. Being given an opportunity to isolate and not interact with others isn’t exactly a positive health choice in early recovery.

While at Inspire I had several roommates whom also identified as women and many of whom were trans. I’m grateful to have had the comradery and community of not only other women in recovery but women who were also within the trans-experience. I’m still in regular contact with one of my past roommates from Inspire Living, who I consider to be my best friend. I believe the staff geared matching people upon reading a vibe rather than what was between their legs. I truly benefited from this self-affirming Kinsey Scale approach, having been subjected to isolation and living with men in treatment in the past.

Living in treatment or a halfway house can be an emotional roller coaster. People come and go, your personal baggage is dumped out, you laugh, you cry, argue over dishes. In hindsight, I certainly took some of my time for granted. It is really something else when you have a surrogate family of individuals who can relate to not only being desperate and addicted but also oppressed and persecuted. I would say that living in a house with all the contrasting shades of human expression and individuality was certainly never boring and very refreshing.

If you are suffering from drugs and alcohol and part of the LGBTQIA community, I strongly suggest you give Inspire Recovery a call at 561-899-6088.