Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania
Sisu House Beaver Falls
A recovery residence for ten men, each with his own room, in a house they run together.
- Men 18+in recovery from substance use disorder
- 10private bedrooms
- $550–$700per month, depending on room
- Open nowtaking applications
Who can apply
Men 18 and over who are in recovery and can live independently
To be considered, you need to be:
- 18 or older, with a history of substance use disorder
- Committed to abstinence and willing to live by the house rules
- Able to manage your own personal care, medication, appointments, and day
- Able to pay your monthly share, from whatever income you have
- Willing to be tested for drugs and alcohol, and to take part in running the house
-
Does not rule you out
- Medication-assisted treatment. Methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone are welcome on the same terms as any other prescription
- Being on parole or probation, as long as your conditions fit the house rules
- A criminal record. It is reviewed individually, not as a blanket rule
- How long you have been in recovery. We look at readiness, not a number of days
- Where your income comes from: work, SSI, SSDI, VA benefits, family
- A mental health diagnosis, or having left another recovery house before
-
Does rule you out
- Currently using. The house cannot be a safe place to detox
- Being required to register as a sex offender, in any jurisdiction
- A conviction for manufacturing or selling drugs. An old conviction unrelated to how you live now can be reviewed
- Needing care the house cannot give: nursing, help with daily living, or in-patient mental health care right now
- Ongoing involvement in criminal activity at the time you apply
This is a home, not a clinical setting. Medical care, therapy, counselling, and detox are things you arrange with your own providers. Every applicant is assessed individually, and if we say no we tell you why in writing.
The exchange
What you get, and what is expected
-
What you get
- Your own bedroom, with a door that closes and no camera in it
- A vote on house decisions, including who moves in
- An equal share. Everyone in the same room type pays the same, and the figures are open to members
- No set length of stay
- Your exact first-month figure in writing before you agree to anything
- Nine other men who are doing the same work you are
- An operator on call around the clock behind the house
-
What is expected
- No alcohol, and no drugs that are not prescribed to you
- Drug and alcohol testing, at random and after time away
- Recovery work outside the house: meetings, a sponsor, treatment, or a mix. Three a week for your first 90 days, two a week after
- The weekly house meeting, a house job, and your chores
- Your share paid by the 1st of the month
- What you hear in the house stays in the house
- Managing your own schedule, appointments, and transport
- Being a decent neighbour
What it costs
An equal share of what the house costs to run
$550 to $700 a month, depending on which room you are in. That is your share of what the house costs to run each month: housing, utilities, supplies, all of it. Within a room type, everybody pays the same, and members see the figures.
| Room | Bedrooms | Monthly share |
|---|---|---|
| Single occupancy, large | 7 | $600 |
| Single occupancy, large, private bath | 1 | $700 |
| Single occupancy, small | 2 | $550 |
Your first month is worked out day by day from your move-in date and shown to you in writing before you agree to anything. Any income counts: a job, SSI, SSDI, VA benefits, or help from family.
When something goes wrong
Nobody is employed here. Here is who helps.
The men who live here run the house day to day. Behind them is an operator, Sisu Recovery Residences, LLC, that does not live on site but is reachable at any hour.
- Emergencies go to 911 first. Then to the operator. Naloxone and first aid supplies are kept in the house.
- An operator responder is on call 24 hours a day, every day. A safety incident or threat gets a call back within 30 minutes. A suspected overdose, within the hour, with someone at the house within a day. A suspected return to use that needs a house vote, within two hours.
- A designated house liaison is in touch every week and visits every month. They talk with the officers, review the incident log, and are the officers’ first call for anything they should not carry alone.
- Conflict between members goes to the officers first, under the house rules, with the liaison consulted. Discrimination or harassment complaints go straight to the operator.
- Your emergency contact is called if there is a medical emergency, an overdose, or you go missing without word. Anything else your family wants to know needs your written say-so.
What this is not: custodial care, clinical care, or someone watching you. You manage your own medication, appointments, and days. The operator oversees the house, not the men in it.
Questions people ask
Before you call
Is there a room available now?
The house is open and taking applications. Call or send an inquiry and we will tell you honestly where things stand. If every room is taken, you can be waitlisted in order of application date, and we update you at least every 60 days.
How long does it take to get in?
Someone from Sisu calls you back, usually within one business day. After a screening call, you fill in an application, and we tell you where you stand within three business days. Then a background check, an interview, and a house vote. Where someone is leaving treatment or custody with nowhere to go, the steps can be compressed, but none are skipped.
Do I need a certain number of days in recovery first?
No. There is no minimum. You do need to not be actively using when you move in, and you are tested within 24 hours of arriving. We look at whether you are ready to live this way, not at a date.
I am on Suboxone, methadone, or Vivitrol. Can I live here?
Yes, on exactly the same terms as anyone else. Prescribed medication-assisted treatment is not a barrier and does not count against you. Medication is kept secure, and appointments with your prescriber are yours to keep.
Do I need a job?
No. You need to be able to pay your monthly share, and it does not matter whether that comes from work, SSI, SSDI, VA benefits, or family. The house rules make room for work shifts that run past curfew.
Is there a curfew?
For your first 90 days, be home by 10 PM Sunday to Thursday and midnight Friday and Saturday, with exceptions for work, treatment, and recovery commitments. After 90 days it relaxes: you let the house manager know if you will be back after 1 AM or away overnight. Away more than 48 hours means a test when you get back.
Can I have visitors?
Yes, in the common areas, between 10 AM and 9 PM, with notice to the house manager. You sign them in and stay with them. No overnight guests unless the house votes a specific exception, such as family visiting from out of state.
How do I get around?
That is on you. The house does not provide transport. It is in Beaver Falls, close to town, and members with cars park considerately on the street.
What happens if I use?
If you tell the house before a test or before anyone confronts you, you can usually stay: a 72-hour blackout period, more frequent testing for at least 30 days, more outside recovery work, and a written plan the house agrees to. A positive test, observed use, or a credible report that was not preceded by telling the house means the members vote, and membership normally ends. You get time to collect your things, and the house helps you connect to detox or treatment where it can. Refusing a test counts as a positive.
Can my family call to check on me?
Your emergency contact is called if there is a medical emergency, an overdose, or an extended unexplained absence. Beyond that, nobody at the house shares anything about you without your written consent. If you want a family member kept in the loop, you can sign a release at intake.
Where is the house?
In Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. We do not publish the address. You are given it when you are invited to come and meet the household. It is an ordinary house on an ordinary street, and we keep it that way for the men living in it.
Is the house certified?
Not currently. Sisu House Beaver Falls is run to NARR Level I standards for peer-run recovery residences, and the house rules, governance, and oversight are written to that standard. It has not been certified by the Pennsylvania Alliance of Recovery Residences or NARR. Those are different things, and we would rather say so.
How to get in
Four steps, in this order
- Reach out. Send us your details or call. Someone from Sisu calls you back, usually within one business day.
- A conversation. Where you are in recovery, what you are looking for, and whether this is the right place right now. If we do not think it is, we say so then, and tell you why.
- Application and background check. We tell you where you stand within three business days of the application.
- Come and meet everyone. You sit down with the men who live here, and then they vote.
If they say yes, we sort out your room, your move-in date and your first month, and you can get settled.
We do not publish the house address. You are given it when we invite you to come and meet the household.
To our neighbours
An unremarkable house on a quiet street
That is what we aim to be. Quiet hours from 10 PM. Parking handled considerately. The outside kept up.
If anything ever bothers you, call the number below and ask for the Community Liaison. You will hear back within a day, and you are welcome to get in touch before there is a problem rather than after.
You still have to do the work. You just do not have to do it alone.