Calling 911 or emergency services is a great tool for sober living homes when responding to some situations. That said, there are times when skipping a 911 call is the safest option.

Emergencies happen everywhere and sober living homes are no exception.

Sometimes it is absolutely necessary to call 911 - as in the case of a medical emergency. No one at your sober living home should think twice about dialing 911 if a resident is having a heart attack, can’t breathe, is non-responsive or is otherwise in a life-threatening medical condition. That’s not what this blog post is about.

911 is a fantastic tool for responding to medical emergencies but it is not the best tool for responding to every situation. 911 calls can easily bring a police presence to situations that might not warrant law enforcement involvement - or worse - might actually escalate due to law enforcement involvement.

Today we’ll look at reasonable guidelines your sober living home can put in place for appropriate emergency response procedures, as well as alternatives to policing at your sober living home.

Reasons You Might Call 911 at Your Sober Living Home

Sober living homes probably need to respond to a few more types of emergencies than the average American home. Here’s the top reasons sober living homes call 911 in the first place.

There’s a lot of reasons why you, your sober living home manager or a sober living home resident might call 911 at your sober living home. Sadly, overdose and mental health emergencies are probably one of the top reasons many sober living home managers might contact emergency services.

Other top reasons for calling 911 at sober living homes include interpersonal disputes among residents and eviction-related disputes.

Racial Equity, Policing and Your Sober Living Home

911 calls affect different sober living home residents differently depending on many factors: race, nationality, gender and sexual orientation all come into play when determining who might be disproportionately policed or subjected to the use of exc…

When considering an appropriate emergency response policy, it is important to consider how systemic racism might impact those on the scene at your sober living home.

Regardless of the intent of individual police officers, we know that BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) individuals receive unequal - and sometimes dangerous - treatment by law enforcement. African Americans, in particular, are more likely to see police interventions go sideways and result in injury or death. Racial inequality also means that BIPOC are more likely to be arrested in any given police encounter.

The causes and solutions to this state of affairs are complex. As a sober living home operator, it’s important to be aware of the risks and benefits of involving police in any given situation so that you can make informed decisions about how to best respond.

Research Alternatives to 911 for Mental Health Crises and Other Non-Criminal Problems at Your Sober Living Home

A good emergency response plan begins with research. Don’t forget to include non-police community resources in your sober living home’s emergency call list.

While there are many good reasons to call 911, mental health crises aren’t at the top of the list. Police, while incredibly capable, aren’t extensively trained in how to respond to mental health emergencies. One thing you can do to promote anti-racism at your sober living home is research policing alternatives in your community that are more appropriate resources for mental health crises.

Consider:

Community-based mental health emergency response organizations
Conflict resolution agencies
Faith-based tasks forces (if appropriate to the individual)

If you find any entity that might be helpful at your sober living home, contact them to learn more about their services.

Create Guidelines for Emergency Response at Your Sober Living Home

Consider creating general guidelines for your sober living home regarding when 911 calls are appropriate and when they should be avoided.

When emotions run high, problem solving is one of the first executive functions to go. Create a plan for responding to medical and non-medical emergencies in advance and put it down in writing so that your team has a document to refer to in the heat of the moment. If you’ve found any alternatives to policing in your community, be sure to include them in your emergency response guidelines along with details on what the services entail and what typical response time is like.

Consider creating a list of situations that explicitly do NOT warrant a call to emergency services.These might include:

Suicidal ideation that is not immediately life threatening
Noise complaints
Petty theft between residents that has not yet been investigated by the sober living manager
Issues that are already in an in-house conflict resolution process

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