MassHousing grants $57K for Mental Health Association housing program in Springfield, Westfield – MassLive.com

SPRINGFIELD The Mental Health Association has received $57,420 from MassHousing to help renovate and preserve housing for 15 people in Westfield and Springfield.

We are ecstatic, said Kimberly Lee, vice president resource development and branding of the social services agency.

She said the work will be done in the associations adult transitional program for men and women, adding energy-efficient systems, repainting common areas and replacing carpeting and flooring. The goal is to create spaces that are clean, safe and comfortable. That looks and feels like home, always, she said.

The programs are for adults living with issues that may include dual diagnosis, which is mental health issues and a substance use disorder. They may be people who have experienced chronic homelessness and who need support services, she said.

In total, MassHousing awarded $391,164 for affordable sober housing to support men, women, veterans and women with children in Boston, Framingham, Westfield, Springfield, Gardner and Worcester.

The grants come from the Center for Community Recovery Innovations Inc., a nonprofit subsidiary corporation of MassHousing that helps nonprofits create or preserve affordable sober housing in Massachusetts for individuals in recovery, according to a news release. To date, the center has awarded more than $12 million in grants.

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.

CCRI grant awards:

GAAMHA Inc., Gardner, $75,000

Grant funds will help acquire and renovate a large house and farm property to create 16 units of sober housing for men in Gardner.

Elizabeth Stone House, Boston, $75,000

Grant funds will help cover costs from COVID-19 constructions delays for 32 new sober apartments at the Elizabeth Stone House in Roxbury.

Jeremiahs Inn, Worcester, $75,000

Grants funds will help acquire and rehabilitate a multifamily house to create 20 new units of sober housing for men in Worcester.

Mental Health Association, Westfield and Springfield, $57,420

Grant funds will help renovate and preserve 15 units of SRO housing for men and women in Westfield and Springfield.

South Middlesex Non-Profit Housing Corporation, Framingham, $51,675

MassHousing grant funds will help rehabilitate and preserve 11 single-room occupancy (SRO) units for young men in recovery.

Self Esteem Boston Educational Institute, Boston, Lynn and Leeds, $22,500

Grant funds will help deliver support services and skills to manage life obstacles for women veterans in Leeds and to foster successful tenancies for women and children in Boston and Lynn.

EMH Recovery, Brockton, $20,000

Grant funds will help convert an unused utility garage into a fitness facility for 60 women in recovery at three sober homes in Brockton.

Victory Programs, Boston, $14,569

Grant funds will help renovate and preserve 25 units of sober housing for men in recovery in Dorchester.

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MassHousing grants $57K for Mental Health Association housing program in Springfield, Westfield - MassLive.com