The Massachusetts Alliance for Sober Housing (MASH) plays a critical role in supporting individuals in recovery by ensuring access to high-quality sober living environments across Massachusetts. Established in 2007 by a group of sober home operators, MASH was founded to address the need for consistent standards and accountability within the sober housing community. The organization’s core values emphasize health, home, purpose, and community, aligning closely with NARR’s principles to foster environments that promote long-term recovery and personal growth. MASH’s recovery values emphasize health, home, purpose, and community.
Training
It remains optional, but certification is the only path to gaining access to referrals from addiction treatment providers in the state. This includes state entities like drug court, the MA Department of Corrections, parole officers, probation officers, the MA Department of Children and Families, and Section 35 referrals. Sober living home referrals from behavioral health providers such as detox, facilities, hospitals, psychiatric units, and the VA are also constrained by the certification requirement in Massachusetts. Please use the link to access information on Sober Housing Certification.
MASH Peer Manager Training
In Methuen, a husband-wife team was harassed by the city with several lengthy requests for code-related information and inspections. This is not usual in Massachusetts, where the broader community is skeptical about recovery housing. Missouri sober living homes still enjoy a regulatory environment where certification is optional. The National Recovery Residences affiliate in Missouri is called the Missouri Coalition of Recovery Support Providers, or MCRSP, briefly. Are you a state agency, licensed provider, individual, or family looking for a MASH-certified sober home? Search our directory to find a list of all MASH-certified sober homes.
» Certified Sober Homes
- A significant milestone in MASH’s history occurred in 2011 when the National Alliance for Recovery Residences was founded.
- Vanderburgh House Operators are the largest providers of MASH Certified sober houses in Massachusetts.
- While the Bureau of Substance Addiction Services (BSAS) in Massachusetts is responsible for certifying all addiction treatment programs in the state, it does not certify sober living homes.
- The property also failed to meet certain accessibility requirements for “transient lodging facilities,” triggering another set of citations.
- MASH was formed in 2007 when a group of sober home operators recognized the need for consistent standards and greater accountability within the sober housing community.
- This is not usual in Massachusetts, where the broader community is skeptical about recovery housing.
The company’s lawyer has filed a counterclaim in that case, saying that the city is illegally discriminating against people with substance use disorders by taking an unusually aggressive code enforcement approach. In the meantime, the company has agreed to limit the property’s occupancy to five residents while it addresses other code violations. The injunction is the latest incremental development in a broader enforcement drive. The city has brought at least one other sober house to court this year for similar violations. And in June, officials sent letters to more than a dozen properties offering addiction recovery services, telling them they need a rooming house license. A list of all sober houses in Massachusetts on Sober House Directory is available here.
If you are looking for recovery resources in Massachusetts, please visit our Massachusetts Sober House Recovery Resources page. Additionally, MASH offers funding through its various grant programs to support sober housing initiatives. For example, the organization has facilitated significant investments in the expansion of permanent supportive housing across Massachusetts. Through these grants, MASH addresses critical needs, including helping individuals who are homeless or at risk of homelessness find stable housing.
Certifying a sober house with MASH
In New Bedford, for example, at least 18 sober living homes have been under what appears to possibly be a coordinated city-led harassment campaign. The homes have all been put on notice that they are considered mash certified sober homes “rooming houses” by the city, and must register with the city as such. They’ve also been required by the city’s fire department to install sprinkler systems on account of their “rooming house” status, often to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars. Ten properties in New Bedford have a MASH certification, out of at least 19 sober houses in the city. It is a feeling.” Our certified sober homes take pride in offering a home-like environment that supports recovery. Certified sober homes have comfortable spaces for living, sleeping, and engaging with peers, all of which make them valuable and safe spaces for recovery.
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Evidence that residents have opportunities to be heard in the governance of the residence; however, decision making remains with the operator. Policies and procedures that keep residents’ records secure, with access limited to authorized staff. Read more about sober living home strategy and management in our blog post, Everything You Need to Open Your Sober Living Home in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Alliance for Sober Housing or MASH is the NARR affiliate in Massachusetts responsible for overseeing the state’s certification program. Unlike other NARR affiliates, MASH originated with the state government and later became a non-profit organization.