Sullivan House sober living project fills gap for affordable housing needs in Claremont

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View from outside building of the new windows installed in the Sullivan House. Image/sullivancountynh.gov

LEBANON, NH – A grand opening celebration was recently held for the new Sullivan House sober living home in Claremont. The creation of Sullivan House was funded in part by a $50,000 donation from Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC), a member of Dartmouth Health.

The vision and goal for Sullivan House, located at 19 Sullivan St., is to help fill a critical gap for people in substance use recovery by providing safe, clean, and affordable housing where residents can continue working on their sobriety and in new jobs in a structured, supportive environment. While the Sullivan County Department of Corrections TRAILS (Transitional Re-entry and Inmate Life Skills) program graduates about 65-75 people per year, nearly half of these individuals have no safe and affordable housing to return to upon release.

This facility, which opened on May 16, will play a key role in helping those people in recovery return to the workforce and become productive members of our community.

“We are proud to contribute to the creation of safe and supportive housing that helps people be healthy and be successful meeting their life goals,” said Greg Norman, MS, Senior Director of Community Health at DHMC. “We’re delighted that we can support the residents of Sullivan House in their return to community and we celebrate the good work being done by the county to foster the wellbeing of its residents.”

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Image of bed and hutch in the bedrooms of Sullivan House. Image/Sullivancountynh.gov

“I am grateful to the team at DHMC for supporting the Sullivan House project,” said David Berry, Superintendent of the Sullivan County Department of Corrections. “DHMC’s financial generosity has helped us to further our mission to bring much-needed sober housing to the county and the region. The services offered at Sullivan House will improve the lives of men and women in recovery for many generations. These partnerships play a vital role in healing the communities we serve.”

On April 26, 2021, the Sullivan County Delegation approved a general obligation bond, providing the office ‘go ahead’ for the 19 Sullivan House transitional housing facility in Claremont.  With this approval, further steps were taken to apply for funding to bring the project vision & goals to fruition, and the following generous funding streams were approved:

  • $1.2 million loan from NH Housing Finance Authority
  • $1.1 million bond through NH Municipal Bond Bank
  • $744,741 from County assignments
  • $500,000 from the NH Community Development Finance Authority, Community Development Block Grant program
  • $50,000 from the USDA Rural Development Grant, Community Facilities Grant Program
  • $50,000 from Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital, on behalf of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic

For more information on Sullivan House, visit https://www.sullivancountynh.gov/1213/Sullivan-House.


 

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