MassHousing awards $150,000 financing for affordable sober housing

MassHousing has awarded $150,000 in financing to help create or preserve affordable sober housing in Sandwich and Tewksbury. The MassHousing grants will come from the Center for Community Recovery Innovations, Inc. (CCRI), a nonprofit subsidiary corporation of MassHousing that creates and preserves affordable sober housing in Massachusetts for recovering substance abusers. Receiving grants in the latest round of CCRI funding are: * Community Green, Housing Assistance Corporation, Sandwich, $75,000 to help construct 10 singleperson occupancy units. * Tewksbury State Hospital Sober Residence, Simple Living, Inc., Tewksbury, $75,000 to help create 18 new units of sober housing for men. CCRI to date has awarded nearly $6 million in grants for nearly 1,400 units of substance-free housing in more than 30 communities for men, women, families, veterans, the homeless and exoffenders. "Having a quality, substance-free place to live often makes all the difference for residents of our state trying to overcome substance abuse," said MassHousing executive director Thomas Gleason. "These latest CCRI grants will not only help men and women battling addiction in trying to return as productive members of society, but will also be valuable housing resources for the communities of Tewksbury and Sandwich." CCRI issues an annual Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit projects for funding. The proposals that are selected need to meet CCRI's current priorities and eligibility categories. The grants are typically used as one-time gap funding for capital projects that increase or improve the stock of affordable sober housing in Massachusetts. Other proposals that provide services for residents in MassHousingfinanced rental housing, specifically those that address alcohol and/or drug abuse or addiction, are also considered for funding. About MassHousing Celebrating its 45th anniversary, 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. The Agency raises capital by selling bonds and lends the proceeds to low- and moderate-income homebuyers and homeowners, and to developers who build or preserve affordable and/or mixed-income rental housing. MassHousing does not use taxpayer dollars to sustain its operations, although it administers some publicly funded programs on behalf of the Commonwealth. Since its inception, MassHousing has provided more than $13 billion for affordable housing.