Imagine you’re a recovering alcoholic, coming home from the hospital and a detox program. It should feel good to come home but it’s also hard, since you’re returning to family tension and a refrigerator loaded with other people’s liquor. You know you could rebuild your life — if you had a stable, affordable place to live, a house to share with people who are supportive and sober.
Now, thanks to the vision of a few organizers and the generosity of key contributors, that house is real.
This week, a first resident moved into a house bought and furnished, near water’s edge in Oak Bluffs, specifically for people recovering from alcoholism. It is one of two houses — one for men, one for women — that belong to Vineyard House Inc.
“It’s probably the one thing Martha’s Vineyard didn’t have that it needed most,” said Clarence A. (Trip) Barnes 3rd, president of the board of directors of the new organization.
“When you’re in detox, you’re in a safe place. You’re in a hospital. It’s what happens when you get out and you have no place, or you have to go back to your home environment. Now, they have a choice. I’ve been talking about it for a long time. It sure would have helped me on my way back.”
Indeed, this project has been talked about for years. But there has never been money for it.
What made the difference this year was a single donor who, with her family, gave $270,000. The donor has asked to remain anonymous, but she told the Gazette that she too has high hopes. Since she first started talking about a donation just 12 months ago, the project has become the object of many more gifts, volunteer labor and real grass-roots support.
“It’s been very moving to see,” she said. “This was obviously meant to be.”
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Indeed, there is concrete proof of the hard work: two sprawling wood-frame homes with water views, the kind of houses that might belong to privileged vacation guests. The house for men sits on the land side of Eastville avenue near the entrance to the emergency room of Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. The house for women is across the street.
Each house will be home to one paid manager and as many as five residents. Potential applicants are screened by a committee, and the successful applicants will be Island people who have been sober at least three months.
Organizers have experienced concern from a handful of neighbors who have been fearful of the houses’ impact on the neighborhood. But the rules for the Vineyard House seem to preclude the homes from being anything but the most respectable in town. Rules for the houses prohibit liquor and alcohol-based products such as Nyquil and some shaving creams. They prohibit gambling, phone calls after 10 p.m. and visitors, except in certain designated rooms. Residents are required to have jobs or some “daily productive activity.” And each resident is required to attend an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting every day for the first 90 days in the house. Rent is $430 a month.
Overseeing the project is a diverse group of people, including Mr. Barnes, owner of a moving company who is well known for charitable work; Hugh Bradshaw, an attorney; Sandy Broyard, a psychotherapist; Mark Clements, owner of a tree service company; Donna Davey, who has worked in many Island restaurants; Rael Gleitsman, executive director of Community Development Corporation of Dukes County; Julie Norman, a seasonal resident who has worked in the field of mental health and addiction; Charles Silberstein, a psychiatrist at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, and Hazel Teagan, who works in the substance abuse program jointly operated by the hospital and Martha’s Vineyard Community Services.
“It’s a very dedicated and hard-working board — it’s happened. It’s done. People are living there,” Mr. Barnes said, calling the Vineyard House a project “by Island people, for Island people, with no state money, no grant.”
He added that because of the simplicity of the organization, contributors can be sure their money won’t be wasted on expensive overhead.
“Every buck goes right into the Vineyard House,” he said.
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In addition to having diligent board members, the Vineyard House also has two — Mr. Silberstein and Mrs. Teagan — who are known for their regular work counseling Island people suffering from alcoholism.
Both also have experience in residential social programs. Mrs. Teagan has been active in Boston’s Pine Street Inn. Dr. Silberstein worked for two years in a New York city shelter for homeless men suffering from psychiatric problems and addictions.
In an interview, he said that a home environment can be tremendously beneficial to people who are struggling.
“One of the things I love about the model of using a home as treatment is that the tool of treatment is really family, is really a sense of community,” he said. “In this day and age, where money is the main focus, or certainly a main component of treatment, the Vineyard House is a model devoid of the profit motive. Most of the help comes from the self-help community, and the sense that people are doing something for other people. I think that helps people more than a lot of expensive rehabilitation programs.”
He added that since he came to the hospital two years ago, it’s become obvious that there’s a great need.
“I’ve been struck by how many people have come into the detox program and have no place to go after they leave. Both Hazel and I have seen people die on Martha’s Vineyard for want of a place to get help.”
The great need has, in the past, prompted other efforts to set up a house.
“We tried it about three years ago,” Mrs. Teagan said, “and couldn’t raise enough money or interest.”
Things began happening last fall, when a woman went to the hospital several times to visit someone in detox.
Upset because her friend would have no place to go once he left, the woman learned from Dr. Silberstein and Mrs. Teagan that his dilemma was not unusual. At the same time, she kept noticing houses for sale near the hospital. Buying one of them “just seemed like a good thing to do,” she said.
“If we’re fortunate enough to live here — and I’m not rich compared to some people who live here in the summer — one really has a responsibility to give something back,” she said, adding that her confidence was inspired by the quality of care her friend received. “The Vineyard’s so lucky to have Charlie and Hazel. They’re just fantastic.”
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What’s happened since then is an impressive story of how one gift can spur more gifts, and how a group of volunteers can work quickly to produce results.
Since the first donor came forward, two other major donors surfaced. They were Barbara Jordan, owner of the Bjoux boutique on Boston’s Newbury street and a seasonal Edgartown resident, and Walter Scheuer, a documentary filmmaker and a seasonal Chilmark resident. Together they made it possible for the Vineyard House to purchase a second house, one for women.
Both said they were grateful for the opportunity to contribute.
“I’ve had several friends and relatives and whatnot who have had alcohol problems,” Barbara Jordan said. “I know that it can be very difficult. They need all the help they can get. I just thought it was an extremely worthwhile project.”
Mr. Scheuer agreed.
“We’re privileged to be able to help Charlie and all the other people who have done such wonderful work in getting the Vineyard House to be a reality,” he said. “We think that everybody should get behind it and support it.”
So far, the community has responded well.
The two houses, which were empty when bought, are now filled with furniture, books, appliances — all gifts. R. M. Packer has donated two kerosene Monitor heaters and a full supply of fuel for both. E.C. Cottle provided roof shingles. And Kathleen Herlihy of Edgartown donated two expensive Oriental rugs that she thought “would give good energy.”
People have also been generous with their time. In the men’s house, some renovation work was needed, so various board members and volunteers pitched in to paint and rebuild. In the women’s house, volunteers have teamed up to decorate each of the rooms.
Barbara Welsh of Oak Bluffs, for instance, is working on the kitchen.
Although it’s “not usually my area of expertise,” she and another volunteer have already come up with a plan for the room. They will accept used appliances but other items, such as dishes and silverware, they want to be new. They will replace the aged yellow paint with fresh white.
“The kitchen is sort of an important room,” she said. “It’s sort of the heart of the house, so we want to make it nice and bright. We want it to be first class as much as possible.
“I’m just thrilled to be part of this project.”
Others agreed.
For many of them, an open house conducted last weekend was an important milestone in the continuing effort. A number of people in the community got a first look at the buildings and were pleased.
For Helen Amend, though, a defining moment came later in the week.
As the acting manager of the women’s house, she was one of the people who helped the first resident move in on Wednesday night.
“I know why I’m doing this now,” Miss Amend said afterward. “It’s seeing the hope in another person’s eyes, giving that hope to another person. She’s just really, really happy to be there.”
This article appears in November 21, 1997.