SMOC Sober

Housing

Massachusetts

Introduction

The Developer

The Member

The Residents

The Numbers

Tour the Houses

The Residents

Robert Giannino is a resident of 132 Union Avenue in Framingham.

Robert in his room at 132 Union Avenue.

I've been a heroin addict for eight years. I remember seeing other people on heroin and saying I'd never do it. I can't tell you exactly how I started doing it. You do it and you just can't stop. I was high on heroin and got arrested. I was so high I didn't know what I was doing. I just came to a crashing halt.

I was going through the court system for four or five months. During that time, I stayed in a post-detox program. It worked out well for me because I met a lot of nice people who helped me.

My next move was sober housing. I had never been in sober housing or in any other program before. Mary Shanahan (SMOC's sober-housing coordinator) helped me a lot and got me here. It was scary at first, but there were a lot of people who made me feel comfortable. I've just been very lucky. A friend of mine who graduated from the same program lives upstairs. Mary knew I had never been in sober housing before and realized I would feel a little more comfortable and make the transition more easily if my friend was here with me.

Living here is like having your own place. You go to work and pay your rent. It's a good place to start your foundation. You can set little goals for yourself until you're ready to move to the next level. I'm 38 years old, and it's like growing up all over again. There are good positive people here who make their sobriety a priority, not a burden. We have barbecues on Saturdays and Sundays. Nobody's drunk; nobody's high.

Right now I see myself saving a little money, eventually getting my own apartment, maybe a car, and just gradually doing the things I have never done before.

I thank God every day for places like this and for the people at SMOC who have given me a second chance to be part of society. I'm so grateful for that. I really am.

Patricia Garceau is a resident of 132 Union Avenue in Framingham.

Patricia in her room at 132 Union Avenue.

Before I came here I needed help to kick a methadone habit. I've been to many places for help: a hospital, a holding facility, a psych unit, a halfway house. I definitely couldn't have done it on my own.

In the beginning, I got addicted to pills. After a while, I couldn't get the medications from the doctors and couldn't afford to buy them on the street. Heroin was pretty cheap. I didn't start doing heroin until I was 27. I'm 38 now.

For the last six months I was in Serenity House in Hopkinton, a [SMOC] halfway house for women. If I hadn't been there I don't know what I would have done. Serenity House gave me the ability to deal with my anger; it made me feel strong enough to stand on my own and hold a job.

I'll be here for another six to eight months. After that, SMOC is going to help me reunite with my six-year-old son, who has been staying with my sister. SMOC will help me get a two-bedroom apartment. Keeping my son with my family has been important for me because I don't want him to end up in the system. The halfway house allowed Dylan to visit me and sometimes sleep over; SMOC also allows him to visit on weekends.

Everybody at the house gets together on Mondays to see how everybody is doing. We talk about what meetings we have gone to. Everybody has individual counseling; everybody has to keep up with chores at the house; everybody has a job and has to pay their bills. We talk about what we're falling short on. Maybe someone in the houses needs help in a certain area. We help each other out. We ask other people if they're okay; we ask them what's going on in their lives.

I work at legal services here on Waverly Street. I help out with intakes for people who are homeless or have a problem with social security or are being evicted. We find out if they need the help of an attorney.

My goal now is to reunite with my son, stabilize my everyday life, and be a good productive role model for myself and anybody else I can help out.

I'm really grateful for where I am now, compared with where I was 14 months ago. People have helped me out all along the way. Without their help I know I wouldn't have come this far and wouldn't be as content with myself as I am now. It's a good thing, and I'm grateful for it. I really am.

John Richards is a resident and assistant house manager at 90 Irving Street in Framingham.

John in his room at 90 Irving Street.

I was a daily drug abuser as well as an alcoholic. I used for 20 years, from the age of 13 to the age of 33.

When I finally gave it up, I went to ADCare Hospital in Worcester. From there I went to an organization called CAB Transitions in Tewksbury. I spent about 72 days there and really had no idea where I was going to go. I had burned all my bridges, so I really didn't have anywhere to go.

But somebody there told me about SMOC. I eventually came down and met Darlene Mazurek and Mary Shanahan. I moved into 73 Hollis Street, where I lived with other people and shared a bathroom. That was the beginning of my journey here in Framingham.

I was able to stay sober and went from there to another sober house, which was a bit of a step up. Then I came to 90 Irving Street, which was another step up. Now I'm the assistant manager at 90 Irving Street.

I am also a lawn sprinkler maintenance foreman during the day. My boss was kind enough to stand by me and allow me to go through drug treatment, so I had a job when I got out. I was able to maintain a job the entire time I was getting sober.

If I hadn't had the opportunity that was presented to me through SMOC, I firmly believe I would not have made it. I had to be removed from society. I was no longer capable of functioning on my own and taking care of myself without the use of drugs and alcohol. If I hadn't been surrounded by people who were working to stay sober and the resources available through SMOC — the behavioral help through counseling and medications — I firmly believe I wouldn't have made it.

Serving as Assistant Manager
I'm now the assistant manager of the house. If one of the men in the house is suspected of using drugs, I give them a urine test. So far everyone who's taken the test has been clean. People have responsibilities in the house — cleaning the floors, cleaning the bathroom, things like that. Debbie, the manger, and I both keep an eye on those types of things. If they're starting to slack off, then we talk about it.

Every week we have a Monday meeting, when everyone in the house gets together to discuss the week and any issues or problems that need to be brought up. This is a more advanced house, so everyone here is working toward the same goal of improving themselves. People here don't need the 24-hour supervision that's necessary in some of the other houses.

I now have three-and-a-half years clean and sober, which is the longest period I've been without drugs and alcohol since the age of 13. I have to thank SMOC for its part in allowing me to stay sober for this period of time.