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Transportation To Rehab:
Making The Transition Easier

therapy during rehabIf you’ve decided to enter a rehabilitation center or rehab program, you’ve made an important and consequential choice for your life. You’ve started an important journey of recovery.

Depending on the type of recovery program you’ve decided to enter, there may be regular appointments and meetings you may be required to attend. Upkeep and attendance of these appointments are critical to recovery, which is why many facilities (including Golden Gate Recovery) provide transportation services for individuals seeking treatment.

If you’re on the fence about using drug rehab transportation, it’s important to take every consideration into account. There are many factors to consider when planning for recovery and treatment. Transportation is one that’s often neglected — and it often makes more of a difference than people expect.

At Golden Gate Recovery Center in Marin County, California, we understand and have seen what the gap in the healthcare system does to individuals in need of care, especially for addiction and mental illness.

Our team of medical professionals strives to help eliminate stigma and the barriers between needing behavioral healthcare, and not receiving it. Our services, including transportation to rehab, aim to help ease the difficulties, challenges, and apprehensions of going to treatment, and make the transition as seamless as possible.

Lack of Transportation to Rehab Keeps Many From Treatment

Not having transportation to rehab is about more than just not having a reliable ride. This obstacle can have real consequences for someone going through recovery, especially if someone is entering partial hospitalization (PHP). Securing regular transportation to and from the facility may be frustrating, which may make the idea of sticking with a regular recovery schedule seem very difficult.

Establishing solid patterns of care is critical in the early stages of recovery. Read on to learn more about the consequences of not securing reliable transportation early in recovery, and why it’s worth considering the use of provided transportation by recovery facilities.

Inability to Maintain Routine

When someone is recovering from addiction, an important part of sobriety is maintaining a healthy routine. Using addictive substances can take up a lot of time. Boredom and inconvenience (and the stress that comes as a result) often lead to the temptation to return to addictive substances. This is why it’s important to prioritize having fun in early sobriety.

If transportation to meetings or rehab is guaranteed, there’s less temptation to abandon the effort just because of a setback. Your routines (and efforts to incorporate new, sobriety-themed activities in your life) aren’t thrown off because a bus is late or there aren’t any Lyft drivers in the neighborhood.

Driving Abilities May Limit Recovery Options

Not everyone can drive as an adult, or have access to their car. Relying on rides from others may work most of the time. But if no one is around to provide transportation, it can make it difficult to maintain appointments or meetings like group therapy. Reliable transportation to rehab (and other recovery resources) guarantees that everyone who wants help in recovering from addiction has the means to do so.

As well, someone who suffers from addiction may have had their license revoked due to legal troubles. If addiction has also caused financial strain, this can make access to recovery resources very difficult for the people who need them most.

More Difficulty Asking For Help

One problem that many people suffering from addiction have is difficulty asking for help. Addiction can be incredibly isolating, both in the use of addictive substances and because of how it can produce shame in those who suffer from it. They may feel like a burden to those around them. To ask for help in recovering from addiction may feel like too much, even though it’s essential for recovery.

Guaranteed transportation to recovery services allows people recovering from addiction to see that their community (or rehabilitation center) is happy to show up for them in a tangible way. This can help to develop a healthy sense of independence. However, it may make them feel free to ask their support system for help with more significant steps, such as watching for signs of relapse.

The Benefits of Drug Rehab Transportation Services

transportation to rehab

To have guaranteed transportation to rehab (or rehab services) is to have guaranteed access to services that can help a person recover. But the benefits of reliable drug rehab transportation go much deeper than that.

Establishment of Routine

A solid, consistent routine is an essential part of recovery (especially as part of an aftercare program). The use of addictive substances inherently causes chaos and uncertainty in a person’s life. If they can establish a routine, especially with the help of others, it’s much easier to maintain sobriety.

Increased Accountability

The more people in your life know that you’re fighting addiction, the more likely you are to stick to sobriety. The same principle works if you’re working to stay consistent with medical appointments, community involvement outings, and individual therapy appointments associated with your recovery. If you know a driver will be waiting for you, there’s more incentive to follow through on your commitments.

Lower Financial Barrier

Transportation costs can pose a barrier for many people attempting to enter recovery services. As of March 2023, transportation costs have risen by 13.9% from the previous year. If transportation to recovery services is provided (or at least guaranteed), it’s much easier to stay consistent with goals. It’s also much less stressful (and easier to focus on recovery) if you don’t have to be hustling for bus fare or asking around for a ride during the time of important appointments.

The Risks Of Alternative Transportation To Rehab

It’s easy to be tempted to use your regular form of transportation (or a service with which you’re familiar) to attend recovery services. However, a transportation service intended for those going to recovery services provides many benefits that may not be immediately obvious. A mode of transportation that was “good enough at the time of your addiction may have very bad pitfalls when it comes to sobriety.

Unreliability

As kind and considerate as it is for loved ones to provide rides to cognitive-behavioral therapy, it’s not realistic to expect them to be available every time you need a ride. They have their errands and obligations that may overlap with your needs. Public transportation may have delays or may cancel or change routes depending on outside factors. Ridesharing companies are not obligated to keep a standard number of vehicles on the road, and there may not be any within your budget when the time comes to leave.

Scheduled and coordinated transportation to rehab and recovery services are designed specifically to be available to support your recovery.

Surge Pricing

If a person has to come up with transportation to recovery services, the cost will eventually add up over time. Gasoline is a consistent investment, as is car maintenance. But if a recovery meeting or appointment takes place at a time of high traffic, rideshare services may increase their prices to stagger out their supply of drivers. This can raise prices by over a hundred percent in some areas, especially if it’s a last-minute booking.

Even if a friend is providing rides, they may eventually want help offsetting the time and money it takes to drive. It’s better to rely on an established service designed to support those in recovery trying to stay consistent with appointments. These types of services are designed specifically with recovery needs in mind.

Unnecessary Shame

It’s important to ask for help during the process of recovery. This is a sign of strength to ask for help, not weakness. But many people struggling with addiction fear that they may one day ask for “too much” and lose the support of their friends and family. They may also have a desire to work toward a more independent lifestyle.

Guaranteed transportation to rehab speaks to both fears and empowers those in recovery to lean upon their support system in other ways. That support is key to overcoming stigma in the process of recovery.

Golden Gate Recovery Offers Drug Rehab Transportation Services

From your front door to our addiction recovery center, Golden Gate Recovery offers drug rehab transportation services that are available when you’re ready to start your journey. We understand and respect patient privacy, and see it as part of supporting your recovery. It’s important to prioritize recovery so you can avoid relapse in times of stress and routine breaks. We’re here to help support men throughout their recovery, at whatever stage they come to us.

Contact us today to learn about our treatment programs, and how you can start your journey of recovery. We’re here to support you without judgment, so you can start building a life of sobriety.

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