So when I stood inside the sober living home outside Boston 3 years ago, interviewing Meaghan Langlois and Ashley Coffey at the kitchen counter where the pair had been on the cusp of sobriety, I saw two women laughing and reflecting on the place so pivotal to their recovery. Both are now leaders helping halt addiction and relapse. I'd argue they know more than a lot of policymakers and investors, more than clinicians. It's the power of lived experience I suppose. The clip from that interview appears at the 34-minute mark of the documentary my son and I made about a run club in the Boston area that helps those like Meaghan and Ashley avoid relapse and give back and partners with sober homes to do it. They provide a life line to sober home residents needing more than just a roof, but needing a community and a place to reset and recover while moving their bodies forward. So it’s not surprising that these sober homes are now big business. 30% of healthcare investors I polled are interested in helping expand access and quality of these sober living homes. As of early 2026, there were twice as many of these homes in the U.S. vs 10 years ago, maybe 18,000 in all today. This is good, but has led to some pressure on how they operate, like if they charge rent and offer outpatient therapy services. There are mixed opinions - some policymakers and regulators have concerns around what these homes are and should be, and why adding outpatient therapy is complicated. The public doesn’t really understand what these homes are. I certainly didn’t until I stood inside the kitchen of one. Many think they are dark, depressing, people high but trying to detox, mostly a place without hope. Only 9% correctly defined what a home is in our poll of 312 adults. 91% candidly said they were unsure. “I have an image in my head and it’s not what’s portrayed in the documentary,” Mark, 31, an alcoholic from Illinois trying to recover, told me. The former art teacher is trying to reengage in art after a 12 year struggle with heroin after he took opioids for pain in his shoulder. “It’s been a struggle - maybe I could have used time in a sober community home like these.” He says he’s been in and out of hospitals and jails and streets for a decade. As an investment, sober living homes are a bit of a policy paradox if you ask me given they are expanding access but very much need to add wraparound services like therapy, running, and social support to bend the cost curve, even as the restrictions on getting paid for these things stays high. At what point will policy catch up with the innovation, the delivery model, or will it ever?