Mental Health Association receives funding for sober housing in Holyoke, SpringfieldDate: 1/15/2024 More than $600,000 has been awarded for sober housing across the state thanks to the Center for Community Recovery Innovations.
The total $679,837 in grant funding will help preserve or create 98 affordable sober housing units and provide supportive services to men, women and families impacted by substance use disorder.
The Mental Health Association, also known as MHA, is receiving grant funding for sober housing units in both Springfield and Holyoke. The Springfield location will be receiving $11,500 in grant funding that will help renovation to preserve 10 units of existing sober housing for women in Springfield. The Holyoke location will be receiving $28,837 in funding to support renovations to preserve 16 units of sober housing for LGBTQ+ individuals.
Mental Health Association Vice President of Development and Community Relations Jen Ducharme told Reminder Publishing this funding will be a much-appreciated boost to preserving sober housing units in Springfield and Holyoke. Ducharme said through her role, she was notified of this grant opportunity in thanks to MassHousing and saw an opportunity to secure funding for repairs on the two sober housing sites that would preserve the units.
“All these agencies that are doing work in the sober housing space, we’re all vying for that same dollar. Everybody needs that support to be able to facilitate programs and knowing that we have funders in the commonwealth like MassHousing standing behind us, it’s a great comfort because it helps supplement the work that we’re doing,” Ducharme explained.
Through the property management group that manages these housings in partnership with MHA, they were able to identify the exact areas of needs this funding could directly benefit. Ducharme explained these two units were high priority areas.
At the Springfield location that houses women only, their funding will replace and repair a porch attached to the home as it was no longer structurally sound. A bathroom will also get some repair work done.
“If the replacements weren’t made, it just affects the comfort of the program,” Ducharme said. “The people who lived in that home [the Springfield units], weren’t able to enjoy that outside space that they would use for you know, fellowship and connection with people that are also living a sober life and finding that path to sobriety.”
The Holyoke unit that houses LGBTQ+ individuals will use its funding to replace an aged boiler unit that could not be risked supporting heat for another winter in the home.
Ducharme explained that through all the people MHA works with in achieving sobriety, these projects are chosen based on need and are not based on the population being served.
“We help everybody that we can as quickly as we can. When it comes to just structural integrity and the comfort of the home and the safety of the home, that’s what we use to prioritize,” Ducharme explained. “It’s impossible to prioritize based on what that program serves because we find all our programs to be incredibly impactful and incredibly necessary, but when we are looking to obtain grant funds, it really comes down to where is our area of greatest need and what is that most urgent pressing need right now.”
Ducharme said MHA was incredibly grateful for the funding received and while it is much appreciated, their work is never done.
“It takes a village to do the work that takes place inside any sort of sober programming or program that is addressing substance use disorder. I think it’s really important for people to know that there are so many agencies in the commonwealth doing incredible work, but we really do lean on the support of the community and the funders to recognize the importance,” Ducharme added.
“We look forward to continued opportunities to secure funding for sober homes as MHA looks to open even more in the coming year.”
The only other Western Massachusetts organization to receive this grant funding was the Gandara Mental Health Center Inc. in Northampton, which will receive $27,000 to support renovations to preserve eight units of sober housing for men.
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