Nonprofit seeks new haven for addicts

Undaunted by the narrowing housing options in Lynchburg for people recovering from addictions, a nonprofit is moving forward with plans to convert an underused group-home site on Rivermont Avenue into drug- and alcohol-free apartments.

The Carey House, on the 1100 block of Rivermont Avenue, is the site under consideration, said Vince Sawyer, board president of The Haven, a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization.

Plans for The Haven are under development using a $50,000 grant to Lynchburg Covenant Fellowship from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, Sawyer said.

“We’re exploring a lot of different aspects of that property,” said Sawyer, who is on the Lynchburg Covenant Fellowship board. That includes documenting the need and research into using tax credits as part of financing.

The Haven likely would lease the property from the fellowship; plans call for apartment space for 28 people.

The plan comes as Central Virginia Community Services has closed its 28-day treatment program at The Courtland Center, and as The Gateway transitional housing program for men has announced that it is in perilous financial condition.

Presently, the concept is of single-room occupancy. That may involve expanding the existing Carey House facility, Sawyer said, to create four suites of seven bedroom units. Each unit would share a bath, a kitchen and living area, but bedrooms would be private.

Carey House, currently in use as low-income housing, opened in 1987 as apartments for abused women and children. It included several properties in that block.

The YWCA and Lynchburg Covenant Fellowship, which now owns it, spearheaded that first program. LCF is an ecumenical nonprofit organization with a mission to provide low-income housing.

The Haven is an idea born in 1998, when a mission group, including the late Bev Cosby and Sawyer, began talking and praying about the housing needs of

people in recovery from addictions to drugs and alcohol, Sawyer said.

The charter was put together in 1999 and this year The Haven got its permanent IRS status.

The Gateway provides safe housing for recovering men for about two years.

However, Sawyer said, some would leave The Gateway and return to the same situations that got them into trouble. What they needed was a place to live that would reinforce their recovery for the long run.

“They needed someplace that was drug and alcohol free that had some structure, some minimal structure, accountability, where they could work their recovery program,” he said. That means attending Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step fellowship meetings, “basically on their own, but with peer support and some minimal staff support — indefinitely.”

The group-home style living would likely have an on-site manager, or an on-site consultant for substance abuse counseling.

The suites would be same sex, and likely be three suites for men and one for women.

The Haven has also received a grant from Greater Lynchburg Community Trust to refurbish its administrative building at 201 Federal St.

The exploratory and development part of the grant will take place over the next year or so, Sawyer said.

He hopes to see a citywide group formed to work with the concept. It would include groups that provide services to individuals and families touched by substance abuse and homelessness.

The Haven’s plan would not involve the entire Carey House property, she said, as one part is fully rented.

Sawyer can be contacted by e-mail at thehaven@va.net or by phone at (434) 847-3093.