(Photo provided) Brittany Hambleton and Bradley Scott started Acts of Service Sober Living almost two years ago. The residence provides a safe space for individuals in recovery.
By HANNAH GUNNELL
It’s been almost two years since husband and wife duo Bradley Scott and Brittany Hambleton opened their first sober living home.
“It’s been about since December 2023,” Scott said. “It’s always been something my wife has aspired to have.”
They started the venture with some friends, but after a difference in opinions and the passing of Hambleton’s father, the two began Acts of Service Sober Living near Arlington Avenue and Stop 11 Road on Indy’s southeast side.
The two have extensive experience in the field of recovery. Hambleton has spent the last ten years working in different treatment centers, and currently is the Regional Director of Clinical Services at Hickory Treatment Center, overseeing eight facilities across the state.
Scott is in recovery himself. His lived experience is a major asset to the residents.
“It allows me to meet every male who comes to us where they’re at, understand where they come from, show them there is hope there for their lives, and a lot of them look for that,” he said. “They look for someone with that lived experience who can take their life in a different direction, move onto bigger and better things, and leave the old lifestyle behind. They latch onto that well and that’s where our success comes from.”
Hambleton said the start-up costs were a big challenge, but they were able to use the house they lived in for the sober living facility after moving into her father’s home when he passed away.
“We researched what it entailed to have eight beds and eight frames and stuff you wouldn’t think of if you were just moving into your own home, and making sure the house is set up for them to come in,” she said. “My dad passed away from a mixture of smoking and alcoholism. He had some heart issues because of that. So we wanted to do this almost in remembrance of him.”
The house accommodates nine individuals at once. Residents are given a safe place to begin and continue their recovery journeys, wherever they are at. Though they are not yet governed by Indiana Affiliation of Recovery Residences, they hope to be, so they follow the same guidelines and standards that INARR has in place.
Scott and Hambleton also try to provide residents with “stuff that doesn’t normally come with a sober living house,” as she put it. Residents who have children are encouraged to bring them around for events or activities like fishing in the property’s pond.
“Some of the fun things we do, depending on the time of the year, include cookouts, and we introduce the idea of sober fun to them as well,” Hambleton said. “They really enjoy it and we always tell them if they have kids, the kids are more than welcome to hang out. It’s safe for them too.”
There were two beds available as of the end of August. Residents come to Acts of Service Sober Living through referral. Hambleton said Scott worked pretty heavily over the last year to make connections with other treatment providers to set up a referral system, and Scott added that many of them are also referred by recovery community leaders they’ve made friends with on their journeys.
“We have them fill out that application and submit it back to us and after a review and background check, I will call for an interview,” Scott said. “We have a website where they can get basic information about the house, but there’s not an online application so that allows us to be more personable when it comes to where we’re getting our applications from.”
That personableness and small environment is what the pair loves so much about their recovery program, they said.
Hambleton came up with the Acts of Service name.
“I think it just popped in my head one day, and when that happens I think it’s God speaking to me,” she said. “I was driving one day working in the field, and thought Acts of Service would be such a cool name. We want to incorporate that and how we treat them in the first place.”
Scott agreed that starting Acts of Service Sober Living was “divine.”
“I believe that it kind of found us,” he said. “She had aspirations on this beforehand, but we just didn’t know the timeline of what that looked like or the opportunities that would be given to us at that time. It was all kind of divine how it worked out. When the situation with her father kind of happened, everything was working in its own place, and it was almost a no-brainer at that point.”
More information about the home can be found at aossoberliving.com.