Lynnfield resident Carmela Dalton, president of The Think of Michael Foundation, announced that in response to the global pandemic, the foundation was contributing $10,000 to The Gavin Foundation to assist its Rent Relief Program. The program will benefit those individuals who are in recovery and currently housed in a certified sober house.
The Think of Michael Foundation was founded in 2019 nearly a year after Dalton, and her husband Dick, lost their son, Michael, to an overdose while he was in outpatient treatment.
Dalton said that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people in recovery are in need of help more than ever.
“Those in recovery have been devastated by the loss of employment and the cancellation of group and individual therapy and support meetings which are critical to sustaining sobriety,” said Dalton.
John Mcgahan, President & CEO of The Gavin Foundation stated that his organization “is very concerned for people in early recovery living in sober homes, many of whom will not qualify for unemployment benefits because they have been out of the workforce due to addiction.
“We are most grateful to The Think of Michael Foundation and others for supporting our rental assistance program for individuals living in a certified Massachusetts Alliance Sober Home. We need to continue to support these individuals in their recovery and continue to outreach/engage people in active addiction and get them off the streets into treatment.”
Michael Aschkenasy, the Gavin Foundation’s Director of Development, said that the Think of Michael Foundation contribution “will go a long way in helping us through this trying time.”
Dalton said Representative Brad Jones, the Minority Leader of the House, played a key role in assisting the Foundation in its outreach program and introduced the foundation to Jennifer Halstrom, the Director of Housing & Homeless Services within the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Substance Addiction Services.
Dalton said that Halstrom had been involved in discussions with the foundation regarding its outreach initiative before this crisis evolved. But now, with the added challenges recovering addicts are facing due to the coronavirus pandemic, Dalton said the Gavin Foundation was a perfect match to help The Think of Michael Foundation further its mission.
“Once we talked with John, we knew their efforts warranted our financial support,” said Dalton.
Since its founding, The Think of Michael Foundation has granted “scholarships” to individuals referred to them by a network of clinicians who have been involved in the treatment of the individuals.
The referral is accompanied by a written request from the individual in recovery stating why he or she feels that a transition to sober house living will greatly increase their chances of long-term recovery. The typical scholarship subsidizes rent for a month providing the individual the time to obtain employment and helps relieve some of the anxiety associated with the transition to the next phase of sustained recovery. While sober houses are a critical component of recovery, health insurance does not provide coverage for sober house living.
To learn more about how you can get involved with or donate to The Think of Michael Foundation, visit www.thinkofmichael.org
The Gavin Foundation was founded in South Boston in 1963 to provide substance abuse treatment to high risk probationers as an alternative to incarceration. The foundation serves more than 10,000 people every year. Gavin is committed to improving the quality of life for individuals in recovery by providing addiction prevention, treatment and support through its nonprofit programs.
