MassHousing Awards Grant to Develop Sober Affordable Housing

Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Randall A. Clinton

Weymouth, Mass.—MassHousing (The Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency) has awarded $75,000 to help create six new units of affordable sober housing for homeless veterans in Weymouth, Mass., in metro Boston. The grant will come from the Center for Community Recovery Innovations Inc. (CCRI), a nonprofit subsidiary corporation of MassHousing.

Receiving the grant in the latest round of CCRI funding was NeighborWorks of Southern Massachusetts, which will demolish an existing structure and construct a new building containing six affordable units for homeless veterans. Other funding sources for the project include the state Department of Housing and Community Development, the Town of Weymouth and Blue Hills Bank.

CCRI supports nonprofits that create or preserve affordable sober housing in Massachusetts for recovering substance abusers. The organization has thus far awarded more than $9 million in grants for about 1,900 units of substance-free housing in more than 40 communities for men, women, families, veterans, the homeless and ex-offenders.

“Substance abuse is one of the biggest obstacles to many of our veterans being able to live independent and productive lives,” said MassHousing Executive Director Timothy C. Sullivan. “The sober housing in Weymouth and in many other places around the state helps these veterans overcome their addiction in a sober setting that increases their chances of success.”

CCRI issues an annual RFP to solicit projects for funding. Its grants are typically used as one-time gap funding for capital projects that increase or improve the stock of affordable sober housing in Massachusetts. CCRI grant recipients must be 501c3 nonprofit organizations and matching funds must be provided.