Three years ago, John Richards was determined to turn his life around. "I was no longer capable of functioning on my own and taking care of myself without the use of drugs and alcohol," says Mr. Richards. "I had to be removed from society."

As a first step in his recovery, Mr. Richards checked himself into a Worcester hospital and spent 10 weeks in a transitional facility in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. But with the first phase of his recovery behind him, Mr. Richards realized he had to find a home where he would not be tempted to revert to his former behaviors.

At the urging of an acquaintance at the Tewksbury facility, Mr. Richards contacted the South Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC) in Framingham, Massachusetts, which operates more than 30 sober houses scattered across the state.

Accepted into SMOC's sober-housing program, Mr. Richards was assigned to the organization's house at 73 Hollis Street in Framingham - an entry point for its housing continuum. At the Hollis Street house, Mr. Richards would have his own room but would share a bathroom and kitchen with his housemates.

"That was the beginning of my journey here in Framingham," says Mr. Richards, who graduated to more independent SMOC housing as his condition stabilized. "Day by day,
I was able to stay sober."

James Cuddy, SMOC's long-time executive director, says the organization's housing continuum is an outgrowth of its commitment to provide affordable housing for the homeless. "We began to experiment with strategies to keep people housed so they wouldn't fall back into homelessness or begin using drugs or alcohol again," says Mr. Cuddy. "That's how our model got started."

Over time, SMOC found that the best approach to solving the problem of homelessness was to construct environments that addressed the substance-abuse problems of many shelter residents. "We noticed that the best way to keep folks sober was to have their peers reinforce their sobriety," notes Mr. Cuddy. "Attending meetings, being responsible for their own sobriety, and being with people who would reinforce their sobriety seemed to be the key."

Starting in the late 1980s, SMOC started to acquire many former nursing homes and boarding houses and convert them into single-room-occupancy housing for the homeless. Residents pay an affordable rent, help maintain the houses, attend weekly residents' meetings, and participate in substance- abuse programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous. "If a resident can't maintain his sobriety, the house will intervene and try to get that person help," says Mr. Cuddy. "That's really the theory behind our sober-housing network."

"Many of the homeless people who live in our housing suffer from both substance abuse and mental illness," he adds. "But we try to have a broad enough approach so that people who don't make much money and need an inexpensive place can also live in these houses."

The Financial Model
To finance the organization's elaborate sober-housing network, the nonprofit relies on conventional first mortgages through community banks, most of which are members of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston. Another key piece of funding is the grants the organization has received through the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston's Affordable Housing Program (AHP). To date, SMOC and its subsidiaries have won a total of 10 AHP awards to finance the housing network.

"We could not have created that housing without those AHP grants," says Mr. Cuddy. "The AHP has really been a key source of funding that makes our development model work."

In recent years, member Framingham Co-operative Bank has received four AHP awards on behalf of SMOC, including a $96,000 grant for its 90 Irving Street facility, and a $299,000 grant and $299,000 subsidized advance for its Scudder House initiative - a planned 12-unit sober house for women in Framingham.

"We believe in what SMOC does," says Lawrence Erickson, senior vice president / lending at Framingham Co-operative Bank. "Typically these properties are pretty run-down. Without the AHP, it would be hard for us to complete the funding because there wouldn't be any equity in the property."

Although SMOC continues to operate homeless shelters, its long-range plan is to withdraw from the shelter business and concentrate instead on developing more permanent housing. "Shelter is a compassionate but inadequate response to homelessness," says Mr. Cuddy. "We want to focus on creating this network of housing and convert some of our existing shelters into housing programs. This is the goal and dream of the organization."

Mr. Richards, meanwhile, continues to make steady progress in his recovery. A lawn-sprinkler foreman during the day, he is now assistant manager at SMOC's sober house at 90 Irving Street in Framingham.

"If I hadn't had the opportunity that was presented to me through SMOC, I firmly believe I would not have made it," says Mr. Richards. "I now have three and a half years clean and sober, which is the longest I've been without drugs and alcohol since the age of 13."

See a multimedia Web documentary on SMOC's sober-housing program in the Profiles section of our Web site at www.fhlbboston.com/profiles. The documentary can also be accessed from the Tools homepage.