Is Karis a “halfway house?”
The term “halfway house” is to residential alternatives as “generic” is to the retail market. It gives an idea of what the product is, yet leaves much to the imagination about specifics. Residential alternatives are best understood in terms of a continuum: At one end, there are institutional/hospital environments; at the other end, there is living independently in the community at large. Between those two extremes are several alternatives with varying degrees of structure (rules, expectations, and social norms) and supervision (staffing). Karis is close to independent living on this continuum. It is a non-clinical, minimally-supervised living arrangement. The intention of a “halfway house” has been to create a way for individuals, in more restrictive living (hospitals – lots of rules and staff) to make a graduated adjustment to being self-sufficient (independent). Karis does this….and more.
