Easy Does It becomes first Pa. licensed recovery house in Berks

Karen Shuey, Reading Eagle, Pa.
·3 min read

Jun. 14—Pennsylvania is looking to provide more oversight for drug and alcohol recovery homes through a new licensing requirement, and Easy Does It Inc. is the first Berks County provider to jump on board.

The supportive housing and recovery support provider announced this week that it has obtained a license from the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs for its facility in Bern Township.

Gov. Tom Wolf signed legislation in 2017 giving the department the power to enact oversight of recovery houses that receive referrals from state agencies or public funding — much like the commonwealth does for treatment facilities.

The purpose of the new standards and regulations is to protect people with substance use disorder from being exploited by ensuring the existence of a network of safe recovery houses.

Scott Althouse, executive director of Easy Does It, said the nonprofit is proud to have received its license.

"This is further evidence that Easy Does It is the gold standard for recovery housing in Berks County," he said. "We definitely met the spirit of all of the regulations before this bill was enacted. We just needed to update and revise a few of our policies to be consistent with the language from the state."

To obtain a license from the department, recovery homes must meet a long list of requirements that include ensuring that all staff receive training on administering naloxone and basic emergency care, developing written policies to protect resident rights, documenting records of payments and creating a plan in case of a crisis.

Licensed houses must also agree not to discriminate against residents based on age, sex, race, ethnicity, religion, economic status, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.

Althouse said Easy Does It was not the target of regulations as the facility has always had good governance and management in place where the health and safety of its residents has been front and center, noting the organization maintains good relationships with local law enforcement and emergency personnel.

But, he added, not all operators have the best intentions.

"I think we are fortunate here in Berks County that we don't have any examples of what someone might call a poorly run or mismanaged recovery house, but there are certainly other communities that have those problems," he said. "There are certainly homes dealing with issues like overcrowding or where residents could be taken advantage of in terms of rent. There are a lot of different types of management styles and different profit motives of recovery house operators across the state."

Delayed by the amount of feedback the state received about the guidelines and the coronavirus pandemic, the department began accepting applications for the licensure program for recovery houses in December. Operators of recovery homes had until this month to begin the process or face steep fines for continuing to collect public funds without a license.

Althouse said he expects some recovery houses will not get licensed, that some may close and that there will be additional demand for licensed recovery houses like Easy Does It. He said the organization is hoping to fill that void.

"We are actively looking to acquire or manage additional recovery houses in and near Berks County, and having licensure is further evidence that Easy Does It is a reputable and professionally managed recovery house that any community would benefit from having," he said.