Men call about a bed in Hollywood and ask three questions in this order: what are the rules, what does it cost, and can I come Friday. Here are the real answers, and what they look like across south Broward generally.
The rules you should expect
Any credible men's house in Hollywood will require: no substances on the property or in your system; randomized drug testing, with refusals counted as positives; a curfew; that you are working, in school or in a programme within a set number of days of arriving; attendance at house meetings; chores; no relationships early on; and guests only by arrangement. Written down, before you move in. If a house will not show you the rules in advance, that is the answer to your question about the house.
What rent covers — and what it doesn't
Ask for it itemised. Typically included: the bed, utilities, wifi, and often testing. Sometimes included: transport to meetings and appointments, some food, laundry. Rarely included: your phone, your food in full, your programme fees. Ask about the deposit, about what happens to your money if you leave or are discharged early, and whether there is an intake fee. Insurance does not pay rent at a recovery residence, whatever an admissions line implies — it pays for treatment, which is a different service you may be receiving at the same time.
Who gets accepted
Most men's houses here take men coming out of treatment, men returning after a relapse, men on probation with an officer's approval, and men who are still working and trying to get ahead of a problem before it costs them the job. What a sober living house cannot take is someone who needs detox, daily clinical care or medication management — that is a licensed programme, and a house that accepts a man in that state is taking a risk with him. FindTreatment.gov shows what is licensed nearby.
Houses also decline for fit: someone who cannot or will not follow a curfew, someone with a history that puts other residents at risk, and sometimes simply because the room that is open is not the right room. A house that never declines anyone is not screening.
Prescribed medication
Declare everything at intake, in the original bottle with your name on it. That includes mental-health prescriptions, pain medication, and medication-assisted treatment. A well-run house has no problem with legitimate prescriptions — it has a problem with medication it did not know about, and most store controlled prescriptions centrally. If a house tells you that prescribed buprenorphine or naltrexone disqualifies you, that is a policy choice rather than a clinical standard, and you are allowed to ask why.
How bed availability actually works
Beds in south Broward turn over constantly and unpredictably — men complete, men move for work, men leave. What that means practically is that nobody can promise you a bed three weeks out, and that the man who called before he was desperate usually gets the room. If you have a discharge date from treatment, call houses a week or two ahead, get on the list, and call again the day before. If you need something today, call anyway; the answer is sometimes yes.
Visit before you commit
Look at the kitchen, the bedrooms, the noticeboard, and talk to a resident without staff standing there. Photographs are the least reliable part of this process. And be careful with any offer that reads like recruitment — a paid first month, free rent tied to a specific treatment centre, pressure to change insurance. Patient brokering is illegal in Florida.
The Beachhouse
The Foundry's Beachhouse at 701 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, FL 33019 is men-only and FARR-accredited, on the Intracoastal minutes from Hollywood Beach: randomized testing, a written relapse policy, rooftop terrace, pool and kayaks, and a requirement that you are doing something with your days. Call (954) 817-7143 to ask what is open this week.
More in how to compare houses here, what's actually available in Hollywood, and house rules explained.
