Our Father's House, Inc.

Serving North Worcester County since 1985

Services Provided

Shelter services are available to homeless men and women in North Worcester County who are over the age of eighteen, and who are not in psychiatric crisis or under the influence of alcohol/drugs.  These services are provided in accordance with Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity  Non-Discrimination guidelines.

Located at 55 Lunenburg Street, the Emergency Shelter for men has twenty beds, while the Transitional Shelter for women (located on the third floor) has eight beds.  Our primary goal is to enable our guests to locate permanent housing.  Professionally trained staff offer assistance in the following areas:

· housing / employment search

· client advocacy

· crisis counseling

· referral to community resources

· three meals per day

 

Each guest develops an individualized service plan with his/her case manager.  Our Father’s House is a “dry” shelter — guests are not allowed to use alcohol or drugs while staying at the shelter.  Shelter services are partially funded through the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance.

Emergency & Transitional Shelter

These programs were designed for chemically addicted homeless men and women who

· have a continuous source of income

· have at least thirty days of sobriety

· have a personal plan for recovery

· are involved with a self-help program (A.A./N.A.)

· have a willingness to participate in the program

· are in need of transitional housing.

 

The Leighton Street Permanent Housing Program for Men in Recovery is located at 4 Leighton Street, Fitchburg which is owned by the Twin City CDC.  The building has twelve, two-bedroom apartments as well as common dining room and kitchen on the first floor. 

 

Elizabeth House, located at 76 Mechanic Street, Fitchburg (owned by the Fitchburg Housing Authority) and provides eight bedrooms, five baths, common living area, and a full kitchen.  Length of stay is determined on a case-by-case basis.  This was the first housing program to offer transitional as well as permanent housing.

 

Residents of both programs are self-supporting, pay 30% of his/her income as rent, attend a minimum of seven A.A. meetings per week, attend on-site meetings, participate in and plan the cooking, shopping and budgeting for the meals they share in common.

 

Both programs provide case management services with a full time case manager and individualized service plans.

 

The Leighton Street program for men is partially funded through a grant with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program.

 

Elizabeth House is partially funded through the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Substance Abuse Services for the case management services.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Housing Programs—Leighton Street and Elizabeth House

Transitions at Devens

Our Father’s House assumed management and operation of a transitional housing program formerly called Sylvia’s Haven located on Cavite Street and Adams Circle in the new community of Devens.  The new program is called Transitions at Devens and can provide transitional housing services for up to sixteen families.  Families are single female headed households and consist of any where from one to four children.  The program is funded for two years (FY 07 and FY 08) through MassDevelopment who has been redeveloping the former Ft. Devens since 1995.  It is expected that Our Father’s House will secure other resources to support the program at the end of the two year agreement.

 

MassDevelopment has renovated a building at 101 Sherman Ave. to be the temporary home of Transitions at Devens until a new facility is built adjacent to Cavite and Adams Circle.  The new facility is expected to be built by 2009.

 

Families are allowed to live in the program for up to two years but during that time they will be working with a case manager and program coordinator on the individual needs of each family.  Housing search and job search are two areas that are emphasized and a service plan is developed for each family.  At the current time, there is no restriction on families who enter the program regarding whether or not they are receiving public assistance.  Families are self-supporting and pay 30% of their income as a Program Fee.  Referrals are made to existing area service providers if the family is in need of further assistance.

 

Our Father’s House has partnered with the Montachusett Opportunity Council who provides the Case Management services for this project.  The case management position is shared by two staff from MOC and provides services Monday thru Friday.  In addition to the case manager, Our Father’s House has a full-time Program Coordinator to oversee the everyday management of the program.  Overnight and weekend coverage is provided by a Resident Supervisor.  The Resident Supervisor is a program participant that has shown interest in accepting more responsibility and can coordinate the common chores over the weekend period.  The Executive Director of Our Father’s House also provides direct oversight of the program.