Skip to content
Smart Step
Sign inDonate

For residents

What living in a Smart Step home is like, who is around to help, and how to speak up when something is wrong.

Apply for housingRead the house standards

This is a home

A Smart Step recovery residence is a shared house. People here are working on their recovery, going to work or school, and rebuilding a normal week. There are no uniforms and no wards. There is a kitchen, a chore list, housemates, and a door you have a key to.

You hold an occupancy agreement for your bed and you pay a weekly program fee. Smart Step Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. We provide housing and peer support. We are not a medical provider and we do not provide medical care.

What a week here looks like

Structure is the point. It is predictable on purpose, so that the rest of your life has something steady to sit on.

  • You come and go for work, school, appointments and meetings, and you are home by curfew — {{CURFEW TIME}}.
  • Everyone takes a share of the chores. The rotation is posted in the house — {{CHORE SCHEDULE}}.
  • There is a house meeting where the whole home talks through what is working and what is not — {{HOUSE MEETING DAY AND TIME}}.
  • Quiet hours give everyone a chance to sleep — {{QUIET HOURS}}.
  • You are expected to be part of the house, not just a person with a bed in it.

Who is around to help

Your house manager

The person you see most. They know the house, the standards, and the local services. Start here with almost anything — a schedule conflict, a problem with a housemate, a hard week.

Your housemates

People who have been where you are. Peer support is not a formality here; it is most of what makes a house work.

Intake

Bebe Gonzalez coordinates intake and move-in, and can answer questions about getting in, paperwork, and what to bring.

Smart Step leadership

Will Addo (Founder & Executive Director) and Tracey Addo (Corporate Secretary & Director of Operations) oversee the program and are the next step if something is not being resolved in the house.

What you pay

Residents pay a weekly program fee — $250 — plus a one-time move-in fee of $150. The total due on the day you move in is {{TOTAL AMOUNT DUE AT MOVE-IN}}, and payments are made {{PAYMENT METHODS}}.

If money gets tight, say so early. A short conversation before a payment is missed is far easier than one after. Ask your house manager what options exist — {{MISSED-PAYMENT PRACTICE}}.

Your medication is your business

If a prescriber has you on medication for your recovery, you are welcome here. You will not be asked to stop it, taper it, or hide it as a condition of living in a Smart Step home. Decisions about prescribed medication are between you and your prescriber.

If something is wrong, say so

Speaking up is not a risk here. Nobody will lose their bed, their standing, or their privileges for raising a concern in good faith.

  • Start with your house manager. Most things get solved in one conversation.
  • If it is not resolved, or you are not comfortable going to the house manager, contact Smart Step directly — {{GRIEVANCE CONTACT}}.
  • You will get an answer back. Expected timing is {{GRIEVANCE RESPONSE TIME}}.
  • You can ask someone you trust — a housemate, a family member, a sponsor — to be with you when you raise it.

Your rights, in plain language

The full picture — fair housing, asking for an accommodation, privacy, and the grievance process — is on the rights and responsibilities page.

Common questions

Can I keep working?
Yes. Work, school and appointments are expected and supported. Bring schedule conflicts to your house manager early so they can be worked around.
What happens if I use again?
Tell someone. A return to use is a moment to get help, not a secret to keep. What happens next is talked through with you, with the safety of the whole house in mind — {{RETURN-TO-USE RESPONSE}}.
Can I have visitors?
Guests are part of a normal life. The arrangements are in the house standards.
Who finds out I live here?
We do not share information about you without your written permission, except where the law requires it. If you want a family member, a court coordinator or a counselor to be told something, you sign a release that says exactly what may be shared and with whom.
What should I bring?
{{WHAT TO BRING AT MOVE-IN}}

Need help right now?

If someone is in immediate danger, call 911. More crisis resources.