MassHousing Approves $295,000 for Affordable Sober Housing in Massachusetts

Funding will help create or preserve 78 units of sober housing for men, women and veterans in Boston, New Bedford, Salem, and Worcester

BOSTON, MA – December 3, 2009 – (RealEstateRama) — MassHousing has approved $295,000 in funding for the creation or preservation of affordable sober housing for men, women and veterans in Boston, New Bedford, Salem and Worcester. The MassHousing grants, ranging from $35,000 to $75,000, will come from the Center for Community Recovery Innovations, Inc. (CCRI), a nonprofit subsidiary corporation of MassHousing that creates and preserves affordable sober housing in Massachusetts for recovering substance abusers. CCRI to date has awarded more than $4 million in grants for sober housing for more than 1,000 units of substance-free housing in more than two dozen communities for men, women, families, veterans, the homeless and ex-offenders.

“Quality affordable housing is a vital resource for people fighting addiction and working to return as healthy and productive members of society,’’ said MassHousing Executive Director Thomas R. Gleason. “These grants from CCRI help create or preserve important sober housing where people trying to overcome substance abuse can receive the support they need to succeed.’’

Receiving grants in the latest round of CCRI funding are

• The Dimock Center, Roxbury, $75,000 to help rehabilitate and preserve 25 units of sober housing for men.

• Self Esteem, Boston, $35,000 to support a self-esteem building pilot initiative for women with children in recovery at four housing sites in Charlestown, Roxbury, Somerville and Quincy. Financing partners include AdCare Educational Institute and the State Street Foundation.

• Caritas Communities, New Bedford, $35,000 to help establish resident services and create long term support of 19 single room occupancy units for male and female veterans in New Bedford.

• Salem Mission, Inc., Salem, $75,000 to help create 20 new units of affordable sober housing for men and women in Salem. Financing partners include the City of Salem, the state Department of Housing and Community Development and the North Shore HOME Consortium.

• Spectrum Health Systems, Worcester, $75,000 to help create 14 new units of affordable sober housing for men and women in Worcester.

About CCRI
The Center For Community Recovery Innovations, Inc., issues an annual Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit projects for funding. The proposals that are selected need to meet CCRI’s current priorities and eligibility categories. The grants are typically used as one-time gap funding for capital projects that increase or improve the stock of affordable sober housing in Massachusetts. Other proposals that provide services for residents in MassHousingfinanced rental housing, specifically those that address alcohol and/or drug abuse or addiction, are also considered for funding.

About MassHousing
MassHousing (The Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency) is an independent, quasi-public agency created in 1966 and charged with providing financing for affordable housing in Massachusetts. The Agency raises capital by selling bonds and lends the proceeds to low- and moderate-income homebuyers and homeowners, and to developers who build or preserve affordable and/or mixed-income rental housing. MassHousing does not use taxpayer dollars to sustain its operations, although it administers some publicly funded programs on behalf of the Commonwealth. Since its inception, MassHousing has provided more than $5.6 billion for rental housing and more than $4.8 billion for homeownership. For more information, visit the MassHousing website at www.masshousing.com

Contacts
Eric Gedstad: 617.854.1079 | egedstad (at) masshousing (dot) com
Tom Farmer: 617.854.1843 | tfarmer (at) masshousing (dot) com