What Are We?

In Balance Living is a transition program for young men who have successfully completed primary treatment and need or desire additional support in order to maintain their sobriety while learning how to take on the challenges of becoming a sober, happy and independent adult.

In Balance Living is located in a residential neighborhood in central Tucson, Arizona. It is five minutes from the University of Arizona and Pima Community College. It is a unique, private complex containing a number of small homes that open into a central courtyard and can house up to twenty residents. It simulates independent living while still being on the same grounds as the staff house and the sober peers.

In Balance Living addresses the need for a "next step" for graduates of primary treatment programs who wish to apply their newly learned sobriety skills in real life, independent living but still want a safety net to help them through the difficult challenges of early sobriety and living in the real world. If a young man graduates a program on a Wednesday and returns home – what will they be doing Friday night? If the answer is “I don’t know” there is a huge risk in that because young people are innately social beings and will not stay lonely and bored for long before the temptation to check back into their former social life takes over. Many young people believe that in order to remain sober one must give up the most enjoyable things in their life. Our mission is to show them that they can still have a full, busy, enjoyable, social and happy life while maintaining their sobriety and recovery. We will assist them in gaining skills on how to meet other people their age that do not use or abuse substances. These skills will be transferable to wherever they decide to go following treatment; to college, home or Tucson. The first six to twelve months, post-discharge from primary treatment, are a critical time for young people that will often determine the long term sustainability of their recovery. Research has shown that individuals facing the challenges of recovery who complete extended care programs have lower rates of relapse and criminal behavior, and higher rates of employment and success in college. Dr. Kevin McCaulley M.D. has studied and written about the importance of the extended care model of treatment. "It provides the best way to maximize the client’s chances of achieving long term sobriety. The first year of recovery is all about risk management." In Balance Living offers every opportunity for young men to decrease their risk of relapse and increase their ability to grow in sobriety and live an independent, happy, healthy life.

We are truly excited to offer this opportunity to young men ages 17.5 - 25. In Balance Living is a thriving and nurturing community with a strong 12-step component, continuous clinical treatment, sober fun, and opportunities for academic and vocational success.


                                    In Balance Continuum of Care

Mission Statement

Statement of Purpose

In Balance Living is a community of recovery. This community is a partnership between residents, staff, sponsors, mentors, therapists, family members, a healthy peer group and volunteers, and has been formed to fulfill the goals of the program and provide the opportunities for a successful recovery for all of our residents. Our recovery community is a caring and supportive environment, existing to provide an arena for spiritual, emotional, intellectual, financial and physical growth, as well as a nurturing place to strengthen interpersonal skills necessary to lead a successful adult life.

In our shared endeavor, we view each person as a separate and special individual. We uphold the worth and dignity of each individual. The metaphor we often use when explaining our program to young men is “treatment up until now has most likely been like a bus pulling up to your house and everyone that loves and cares about you blindfolding and pushing you onto that bus. You don’t know where you are going or even where you need to go. So you get off at the various stops you are asked to and experience whatever opportunities that stop holds for you. At our program the hope is that now that you have gained some tools, an element of willingness and insight - you climb into the driver’s seat of the bus and everyone that cares about you is sitting in the back seat going where you take them. They may offer guidance at times but ultimately you are driving where you want to go. Each young man will set his goals upon arriving at In Balance Living and we will do our best to facilitate his goals that are healthy and productive. We will strive always to provide relationships based on accountability, honesty, and trust. It is through these relationships that we will assist young men in developing the tools for living life as a sober, contributing member of society.

We desire to assist in the development of young men who are capable of making responsible life decisions; young men who hold deep, real, meaningful, practical and spiritual values; young men who have a strong understanding of the 12-steps and apply them in all of their affairs; young men who can become truly whole human beings; and young men who live a fulfilling life as a person in recovery.