Chelsea’s House Review
Founded in 2010 outside Boston in Lynn, Massachusetts, by Steve Powers, Chelsea’s House provides a network of sober living homes for men in early recovery. Powers named the organization in honor of a former Chelsea High School football player, the late Robert Hinckley, Jr., who was crucial to helping Matthew Powers, Steve’s brother, get clean and sober. Powers decided to open a sober living home after visiting his brother in several transitional living facilities, which he felt were in poor condition. At Chelsea’s House, their mission is to improve the lives of recovering alcoholics and addicts, by providing them with high quality, safe and structured housing, as well as providing ample peer support.
Accommodations and Amenities
Chelsea’s House accommodates 65 men in five sober living homes including locations in Lynn and Chelsea. The Franklin Street town home in Lynn has an urban, East Coast feel while the pale yellow Cape Cod style house on Strawberry Avenue, in Lynn, includes a fenced yard and lawn. Clients are typically paired in rooms, which include a Cable TV, twin beds, modern-style nightstands and desk lamps, wooden dressers and radiators. Some rooms include closets. Some single rooms are available at an additional cost.
The men are responsible for their own meals, and food is prepared in fully equipped kitchens. A family-style dinner is provided once a week, so that clients can work on building a sense of friendship and fellowship. Amenities at all houses include laundry facilities, Wi-Fi, cable TV and a house computer with Internet, a fax machine and full sets of AA and NA literature.
House managers live on the premises to oversee operations. Also, Matthew Powers, who is president of Chelsea’s House facilities, travels daily to the houses to meet with staff, and to ensure things are running smoothly. Smoking is permitted outside in designated areas, and ashtrays are provided. The ashtrays must be cleaned daily.
Rules and Regulations
Potential clients must have a minimum of three months of clean time, and have successfully graduated from a residential treatment facility. Those who have not gone to rehab are accepted on a case-by-case basis, as long as they provide suitable references. Requirements include performing daily household chores, being at the weekly house meeting, and attending three 12-step meetings weekly. Matthew Powers also facilitates peer support groups, where clients share about their recovery.
The curfew is 11 pm Sundays through Thursdays, and midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. Clients must stay in the house until 5 am. Random drug and alcohol screenings are conducted. Residents who relapse are immediately evicted from the premises. Other behaviors that warrant immediate expulsion include viewing pornography on the house computers.
Extras
Other services provided include monthly resume writing classes.
Chelsea’s House is a member of the Massachusetts Association of Sober Housing (MASH), which stresses high demands from its affiliates.
In Summary
Chelsea’s House is a great option for men seeking safe and structured housing on the East Coast. The homes emphasize building a foundation in 12-step meetings and facilitating a sense of camaraderie amongst the men. With the Powers brothers at the helm, clients are in good hands.
Chelsea’s House Location
Chelsea’s House
16 Baker St
Lynn, MA 01902
Chelsea’s House Cost
$640-$700 (30 days). Reach Chelsea’s House by phone at (857) 251-5047 or by email at mattypowers1979@yahoo.com. Find Chelsea’s House at Facebook
Do you have a comment or review of Chelsea’s House to add? Use the comments area below to add your Chelsea’s House review.
Sponsored DISCLAIMER: This is a paid advertisement for California Behavioral Health, LLC, a CA licensed substance abuse treatment provider and not a service provided by The Fix. Calls to this number are answered by CBH, free and without obligation to the consumer. No one who answers the call receives a fee based upon the consumer’s choice to enter treatment. For additional info on other treatment providers and options visit www.samhsa.gov.
