Crozier House, a men’s recovery home, to almost double in size

By Bill Doyle 
CFP Correspondent

WORCESTER - Catholic Charities’ Crozier House, a men’s substance abuse recovery home, is expanding at 10 Hammond St. following the move this summer of the Catholic Charities Worcester County offices from that building to the Mercy Centre on West Chester Street.
Timothy McMahon, executive director of Catholic Charities, said Crozier House will be able to accommodate 24 more beds for a total of 60.
“There’s such a tremendous need,” Mr. McMahon said. “We had the space and it just made sense to expand the Crozier House and move us.”
Chaz Sexton, Crozier House program director, said additional male beds are needed because other organizations providing them, such as Community HealthLink, have reduced the number of their beds or shut down.
“So, we really need male beds and I’m really excited about it,” Mr. Sexton said. “Catholic Charities has a vision to help individuals who can’t help themselves and this provides us the opportunity to help more individuals than we could before.”
Beginning in August, clients handled the painting, plastering, brick work and installation of doors in the former Catholic Charities offices that were converted into bedrooms. Eleven bedrooms were added for a total of 32 bedrooms.  
Other former Catholic Charities offices have been converted into an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting room and space for gymnastics classes.
Mr. Sexton said the renovations, including the construction of about a dozen rooms and the installation of a new boiler, are scheduled to undergo a state inspection on Oct. 26 and he expects the beds to become available about Nov. 1.
Since 1971, Catholic Charities’ Crozier House has provided a residential substance abuse treatment program for males aged 18 and older who are willing to commit to a daily program of sobriety and the discipline of a structured community, in cooperation with other residents and staff, with the goal of advancing toward sober housing or independent living.
Mr. McMahon said more case managers and overnight staff will be hired to accommodate the extra clients.
“We don’t have a whole lot of trouble with the 36 [clients] that we have,” Mr. McMahon said. “I think there will be challenges when we go to 60, but I think we have the right staffing model and we have the right staffing personalities to make it work well.”
About 35 percent of the clients complete the voluntary six-month program at Crozier House, Mr. McMahon said.
“It sounds like an incredibly low number,” he said, “and it is, but statewide it’s right up there with the top. Some may get 18 or 19 percent.”
Mr. Sexton said that in his year as program director, more than 45 percent of justice-involved individuals (those coming from prison)at Crozier House have completed the six-month program.
“It’s really quite high,” he said.
Mr. Sexton said substance abusers who can’t afford attorneys, bail and the proper treatment can be imprisoned for several months while awaiting trial. Once they’ve gone to trial and are released, because they haven’t undergone treatment, they usually begin using drugs again.
So Crozier House works with the District Attorney’s office to help individuals reduce their charges from felonies to misdemeanors if they complete the six-month program.
Mr. McMahon said the longer individuals stay at Crozier House the better off they are once they leave.
Crozier House clients are required to find jobs and save money so they can support themselves once they leave the program.
Last year, a three-quarter house opened at 19A Ripley St., adjacent to Crozier House for another 12 men who have completed six months in a recovery program. Those men reside at the three-quarter house, but they have a lot more freedom.
“Rather than put them back on the street where they came from and face those many challenges,” McMahon said, “we put them into a structured living environment. So they still have access to Crozier House, the meetings. They still have a connection to Crozier House and it’s just giving them more time to be sober, build up their confidence and independence so when they do leave and go out totally on their own, we think they’ll be more prepared in a year, year and a half than in six months.”
When Mr. McMahon began working for Catholic Charities seven years ago, Crozier House serviced 36 men, about half the number it can help now.
“So we have a really good program going on,” Mr. McMahon said, “that allows us to have a seat at the table in the recovery community and I think it’s really important for Catholic Charities to be filling that role and being a participant in the city and county in helping combat this.”
Catholic Charities opened a women’s recovery facility next to St. Cecilia Parish in Leominster three years ago and has increased the number of beds there from 16 to 20. Mr. McMahon would like to eventually expand that program even more.
Crozier House accepts clients with MassHealth insurance.
“Crozier Pride” is the motto at Crozier House. Many clients take pride in volunteering to take part in such community projects as building a playground at the Catholic Charities Family Shelter on Caroline Street.
Over the years, Crozier House has accumulated several softball trophies from competing in co-ed sober tournaments with women who undergo treatment for drug or alcohol addiction at Washburn House on Main Street.
Mr. McMahon said the Mercy Centre building has much more room for Catholic Charities staffers than their former headquarters at 10 Hammond St. The center has been located on West Chester Street since it was founded in 1960 by the Sisters of Mercy and Catholic Charities. It provides programming for more than 100 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.