Our founder, Kathy Hardin Earl has always known that recovery homes are a viable and cost-effective alternative to established recovery-oriented systems of care. Hardin Houses has always been successful because they provide safe and healthy environments that support residents in their recovery. Our family of homes empowers our residents by providing support as they transition towards living independent and productive lives in their respective communities. Recovery homes offer a unique alternative to harm reduction, a component of the Housing First model, and for individuals whose main goal is to find a sober living environment. Hardin House, Inc. was born with the concept.

Our history suggests that length of stay of 6 or more months is critical for those in recovery homes. We believe these outcomes share better results due to the fact that abstinence from substance abuse over an increased period of time reduce HIV risk behaviors, reduce psychological symptoms, decrease recidivism, and help attain better health outcomes.

The communities, in which we have established our concepts in, thrive from our existence. We support the local AA/NA programs in nearby AA home groups and churches. Our outreach to keep our neighborhoods beautiful and litter free resonates with our local politicians. We have a zero tolerance for loitering and noise pollution which enhances the overall safety of our respective communities.

Our recovery home programs have operated for nearly two-decades, and we’ve never relocated. We have only added to our process by opening additional homes along the way, and increasing our segment base. Additionally, we work closely with the criminal justice process and our clients are often mandated to complete substance use disorder counseling and other probation and parole stipulations. The alliance we have established with qualified re-entry programs including our sister agency, Drexel Counseling Services, Inc., provides this demographic with an opportunity that we believe is unparallel to others in the Metropolitan Chicago area.

In addition to providing quality transitional housing during the re-entry process, we have fostered numerous success stories where this unique client base returns to the community with employment and affordable housing, and has remained drug-free. That is simply because our Residential Recovery homes have a well-endowed set of principles, and we continue to build processes for nurturing our clients in treatment and re-entry.