Alternate Living Center
56 Coventry Street
Hartford, CT 06112
Phone: (860) 714-3702 | Fax: (860) 714-8971
ADRC
has earned the Joint Commissions' Gold Seal of Approval™
This newly-renovated transitional housing facility is a 29-bed, long-term program for chronic substance-abusing homeless males. The facility is a highly successful client-driven model of self-government offering stability and access to existing community services. It is located on the second floor.
At the Alternate Living Center, clients chose the
director from several screened by ADRC Administration; clients participate in the decision of hiring staff and acceptance of volunteer workers; clients orient new residents to the house rules and to what is expected of them as members of the community.
The purpose of self-governance is to engender a sense of responsibility and ownership, to break the thrall of dependence on others and to give credibility to the notion of taking control of one's life. In addition, clients are offered staff support to help identify feelings that they had long submerged, and to learn how to cope with life issues and daily stresses without resorting to a substance. And finally, alumni picnics let current residents see that there is a productive, substance-free life beyond the Center.
As a long-term residential facility where clients may stay from six months to two years, the Center helps them prepare for an independent life by guiding them to community programs offering job training and employment opportunities. Currently, 80 percent of the residents are employed and 20 percent are new clients not ready to consider employment or are medically disabled.
In 1989, the Alternate Living Center began building on the foundation provided by the Brotherhood, a city-operated residence for homeless alcoholic men. The first director worked with residents to renovate the facility, initiate the program, and begin to rehabilitate their lives.
The renovation was completed in March 1990. The focus remains on helping men who gave up on themselves long ago rebuild their shattered lives.
Indeed, society is rallying to their support. The Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services has provided grants targeting clients who are 55 years and older, or disabled, to encourage participation in discussions of age-related issues, to offer individual case management, to promote attendance at community activities and to design outcome measures, including follow-up, for residents who have been discharged. The state also funds a
Senior Outreach Coordinator whose office is in the
Alternate Living Center, to serve the elderly population of the 29 towns in the
Hartford region.
The Center and its residents also receive assistance from the University of Hartford, which supports a Master's level Registered Nurse for a 12-week internship each spring. The Center is a host as well for a drug and alcohol rehabilitation intern.
Most recently, ADRC was awarded a Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services grant that enhances treatment services. A transportation service is housed at the Alternate Living Center offering responsible residents, as well as others, employment opportunities. In conjunction with this additional treatment effort, six Alternate Living Center beds are allocated as housing support beds for clients discharging from treatment.
ADRC Program links:
Alcohol and Drug Recovery
Centers, Inc.
500 Blue Hills Avenue
6th Floor - Administration
Hartford, CT 06112