Pathways & Housing — The Dandelion Hive

Dandelions are often considered unwanted weeds, which is far from the truth. Society often views people trying to recover from drug or alcohol addiction similarly. The truth is that they are life-saving plants with tons of value. We welcome the most marginalized of those who sincerely want a chance to walk in their truth without drugs and alcohol running their lives.

What to Expect

Housing Application

We recognize that there are multiple pathways to recovery. Some people choose a primary pathway of recovery, such as a 12-step program. Other people utilize a combination of pathways based on their individual needs. Many of us have utilized non 12-step programs in which we felt safe, such as SMART Recovery, Recovery Dharma, and all-recovery style open meetings. Recovery meetings are a necessary part of our recovery journeys and are mandatory. We have seen success through a combination of personalized meeting plans and other individualized resources.
It is important to engage with all the resources available to you. Although there are some core principles to recovery, everyone’s path is unique. You are encouraged to do what works best for you. We are here to help support you and help guide you.
It is important to note that participants have some autonomy in developing their recovery plan. We do, however, step in when someone has become unable to follow their own recovery plan. This often involves some direct guidance and additions to one’s plan for a period of time, based on our experiences with recovery.
Here you can find a list of current known pathways or programs for recovery. Again, we understand that different things work for different people. We encourage our residents to try out different things and see what works best for them. Most residents end up doing a combination of their favorite types of meetings and recovery support.
LGBTQIA+ people, especially those who are trans and/or gender non-conforming, can experience harmful acts of homophobia and transphobia in traditional recovery houses, creating an unsafe home environment and impeding recovery. We have seen LGBTQIA+ people left homeless, distraught, and chronically relapsing because they could not access recovery housing where their identities would be valued. This has to end now.
The benefits of living in an LGBTQIA+ recovery house include a sense of community, safety, and empathy that isn’t present in a recovery house with predominantly straight and cisgender residents. LGBTQIA+ people in recovery can relate to each other on many levels, and The Dandelion Hive hopes to foster an atmosphere where all LGBTQIA+ folks seeking recovery can find hope, support, acceptance, and liberation.

Recovery House Code of Values
1. Resilience - We can do hard things. We recover, rebuild, and move forward.
2. Truth - We acknowledge difficult truths about ourselves & work to face them.
3. Accountability - We practice transparency & taking responsibility for our own actions & behaviors by managing our emotions & learning from our mistakes.
4. Respect - We acknowledge each other’s dignity, worth, experiences, & perspectives. We no do belittle, harass, judge, target, or ridicule others.
5. Healing - We have difficult conversations and sit with our discomfort to make space for emotions to breathe in order to progress forward.
6. Growth - We work to increase our self-awareness and gain perspective through our challenges and learning opportunities.
7. Community - We are active in our recovery community and help one another.
8. Connection - We seek authentic relationships with our peers and build a network of support in recovery that we stay plugged into.
9. Transformation - We grow and change along our journey. We learn to be adaptable, overcome challenges, and embrace change.
10. Purpose - We engage in meaningful and impactful actions. We acknowledge our own worth. We shift from surviving into thriving.
Eligibility for our housing is as follows:
1. The applicant has completed a detox period of at least 30 days and acute withdrawal syndrome is stabilized. A period of 30 days of sobriety is required before coming into our housing. We have information on 30-day programs. An application can still be submitted prior to attending a 30-day program in order to get started with our process.
2. The applicant's mental health is currently stabilized, and the applicant is adhering to any prescribed medications (aka medication management).
3. The applicant is not a registered sex offender. Many of our residents have trauma histories and both cannot safely co-reside in the same housing.
4. The applicant does not have a history of violent felony charges (this will be verified). Many of our residents have trauma histories and both cannot safely co-reside in the same housing. We can refer the applicant out to a larger recovery organization that is allied to our community.
5. The applicant is LGBTQIA+ with priority going to transgender and/or neurodivergent individuals. We have one house specifically for autistic individuals in our community.
6. The applicant is willing to engage in needed support as determined by the pre-screening & assessment.
7. The applicant is self-sufficient enough to navigate the bus line or Medicaid rides, choose and attend recovery meetings, and work with a case manager or peer.
Our intake process is simple:
1. Fill out the Housing Application listed on this page.
2. The application will either be approved or we will redirect you to someone at another org who can assist you.
3. If approved, a pre-screening form link will be emailed to you, along with a mental health assessment link. These are to help us understand: your current situation, if we are the right fit for you, and what supports you need.
4. You will either be approved for housing with us or redirected to another org or resource that might be able to better assist you.
5. You will be sent a copy of our Housing Contract to review. We believe in up front transparency. You will have the opportunity to ask any questions you have about our policies and guidelines.
6. A move-in date will be set. You will be met at the house on that date where we will review the Housing Contract together, do an evaluation, do a drug screening, get you situated in the house, and set your goals for your first week.
Services Provided:
- Safe and inclusive sober housing for LGBTQIA+ people in recovery, especially transgender and neurodivergent individuals.
- Random drug & alcohol testing for accountability and safety.
- Recovery planning & monitoring through an online “Recovery Capital” system.
- Information on local recovery meetings and support.
- Communication, urine screening results, and adherence reports to assigned officers for probationary or court release purposes as required.
- Information on local community resources such as clothing and food.
- In-house community food pantry and free toiletries as needed.
- Information on local gender affirming resources and care.
- Assistance connecting with an outside case manager or mental health skill builder that can help with accessing EBT benefits, Medicaid or Medicare, medical care, mental health care, gender affirming care, or other supportive or specialized resources and care.
- Resume building, application, interview coaching, and employment support through a volunteer Peer Recovery Specialist.
Services NOT Provided
- Transportation
- Groceries
- Mental Health Skill Building
- Mental Health Evaluations or Diagnosis
- Therapy Sessions
- Primary Emotional or Mental Health Support
- SUD or Mental Health Treatment
- Medication Management
- 12-step Sponsorship (or Similar Roles)
The Dandelion Hive is a small, peer-led 501c3 non-profit organization that provides VARR-certified level 2 recovery housing for the LGBTQIA+ community. We are not a Recovery Community Organization (RCO) with a recovery center or a large staff.

Recovery