Project Cope is a Bridgewell Women’s Program located in Lynn, MA. It is a six-month residential treatment program for women with substance use disorders. In 2007, eight sober home operators established the nonprofit Massachusetts Alliance for Sober Housing. Legislation in 2014 created voluntary certification of Massachusetts sober homes, and MASH began managing voluntary statewide sober home certification in 2016.
- Written permission from the property owner of record (if the owner is other than the sober home operator) to operate a sober home on the property.
- Massachusetts General Laws empower state agencies to regulate health and safety standards in residential settings.
- Regardless of when a resident moves out, Nicki’s Place will always be home.
- Identified deficiencies must be addressed to maintain certification, reinforcing a commitment to quality care and support.
Sober housing
- Enabling us to provide additional program incentives to our community members.
- Denise Donovan is an assistant clerk magistrate at the Boston Municipal Court Department’s Central Division.
- Denise is passionate about helping people in recovery in both her professional career and her personal life.
- Oversight and enforcement of sober house compliance involve multiple stakeholders.
- Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40A, the Zoning Act, allows municipalities to regulate land use through zoning ordinances, affecting where sober houses are located.
Helen Barry, Maryellen Tango-Yianacopolus, and I took a drive to the Cape to visit a very special house. Sandalwood Sober House is located in Mashpee, MA. Sandalwood offers a safe and supportive environment for women to mash certified sober homes focus on recovery. Thank you to Andrea for inviting us to visit and for helping us to make connections in the community so we can provide support to women in need.
The Willing House
The program serves women from diverse backgrounds, circumstances, and age groups, all of whom share the same struggle with addiction. Thank you to everyone for taking the time to listen to Sabrina’s story. I hope it is a story that will stay with you, a reminder of how beautiful recovery can be and why it must come first. Each guest can expect a clean bed, sufficient clothing storage, HDTV w/ cable and free wifi in every room inside a clean, well maintained home cared for by the guests who stay there! Our homes are smoke free but there are plenty of designated outdoor smoking areas. Residents are linked to mutual aid, recovery activities and recovery advocacy opportunities.
» Rental Assistance Program (RAP)
Participation in Project NORTH is voluntary. Referrals may come from Trial Court staff, Defense Counsel, the District Attorney’s office, and community partners. Individuals may self-refer.
Download the Project NORTH Spanish brief
While these homes are protected under the federal Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, local zoning laws can present challenges. Operators must navigate these regulations carefully to avoid legal disputes while ensuring compliance. Matthew Powers is the owner-operator of Chelsea’s House LLC, which has multiple homes for men and women in Chelsea and Lynn. He opened his first home in 2012 with his two brothers. The Chelsea’s House Franklin Street location was the first male MASH-certified house in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Matthew has served on the MASH Board of Directors for five years and is on the Ethics Committee.
- We regularly inspect all member sober homes to ensure safety, quality, and the building of a community of recovery.
- Sandalwood Sober House is located in Mashpee, MA.
- Thank you to Lowell House Addiction Treatment and Recovery for inviting us to visit the Saving Grace House in Lowell, MA.
- Denise has a bachelor’s degree in Legal Practice in Criminal Justice from the University of Massachusetts Boston and a master’s certificate in Woman in Politics and Government from the University of Massachusetts Boston.
C. Core Principle: Create a culture of empowerment where residents engage in governance and leadership
Decline taking a primary role in the recovery plans of relatives, close friends, and/or business acquaintances. Promote the residence with marketing and advertising that is supported by accurate, open, and honest claims. All of the homes in the MASH network have been inspected and received a passing grade for a set of standards we insist members uphold in their homes. These standards are outlined here.
Violations of health and safety codes can result in fines ranging from $100 to $500 per day. Repeated violations may lead to court orders mandating compliance or temporary closures until issues are resolved. Are you a state agency, licensed provider, individual, or family looking for a MASH-certified sober home? Search our directory to find a list of all MASH-certified sober homes. All MASH-certified sober homes follow the National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR) standards and have been independently inspected.
Partner Sober Home and Halfway House Listings
The third version of the NARR standards provides more explicit guidance to providers, including metrics for evaluating the peer support components of a residence’s recovery environment. In Massachusetts, sober homes and recovery residences are different models for substance abuse recovery. Recovery residences — formerly known as halfway houses — are licensed residential treatment programs, while Massachusetts sober homes are peer-led and do not provide treatment.
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