Recovery Answer House

The Jamaica Plain Recovery Center (JPRC) is a peer-led community center in partnership with Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Our goal is to create a safe, welcoming space for individuals from all backgrounds who are navigating addiction recovery. We established a nurturing community where every member finds belonging and plays an active role in shaping their journey toward recovery. Transitional housing is temporary housing for the working homeless population and is set up to transition their residents to permanent housing. We provide high-quality, evidence-based services based on individual needs, offering flexible, strengths-based solutions to people’s biggest challenges.

Short-Term Recovery Services

As an event sponsor, you will have a direct and positive impact in our communities while promoting your company and its core values. Inside, the former hotel rooms will be converted into efficiency apartments equipped with kitchenettes, private bathrooms and living spaces. Volunteering at Answer House is a great way for your company or your community group to support Answer House while bonding with your fellow employees or group members. If you’d like to schedule a tour of one of our programs to decide the right volunteer opportunity for your group, please email At Answer House, we value your time, both at work and in your personal life, ensuring you have the resources and support you need to thrive. You’ll meet Rashawn, a man who found support and community in an unlikely place, and Brenda, one of our Supportive Case Managers who is a force to be reckoned with.

Since 1989, the Boston Living Center (BLC) has fosterered the wellness of all HIV positive people and respond to the changing needs of the HIV/AIDS community. In March of 2012, the BLC became a part of Answer House, ensuring their vital services continue to be available for adults with HIV/AIDS. Recently, VPI and BLC leadership made the decision to widen their target populations to other populations in need, including men who have sex with other men and at high risk, releasees from correctional institutions and unhoused individuals with substance use disorders. The individuals and families we serve are homeless or precariously housed —but their challenges are even more complicated.

• Join Answer House’ team of over 200 dedicated and compassionate employees who are committed to helping our community’s most vulnerable individuals and families.
• The shelter has improved the health, stability, and hope of residents while easing the strain on public services during the city’s homelessness crisis.
• We are committed to providing opportunities for people with lived experience to develop the skills and experience they need to achieve their career goals.
• Art, fitness, wellness, and job readiness classes are always useful to our clients.
• The program includes comprehensive services such as case management, mental health support, and access to medical services.

Program Management Team

Maintaining these units in the manner that those in our care both need and deserve is a great cost to our organization. The annual facilities budget is approximately 1.5 million dollars.The lack of an endowment serves as a significant impediment to Answer House’ ability to quickly respond to community and or internal crises (such as the sudden closing of our Joelyn’s Family Home in 2014). This combined with surging healthcare costs for employees results in a very narrow profit margin on an annual basis.

You’ll learn more about the growth Answer House has experienced this past year. And you’ll hear from Executive Director Sarah Porter as she reflects on 50 years of Victory. We follow a low-barrier housing-first clinically driven approach to guide clients towards health and safety.

• Answer House also recognizes the benefits of hiring people with lived experience who can play an important role in bridging the gap between services and the people who use them.
• Answer House’ Mobile Prevention Team (MPT) works to improve health outcomes, reduce mortality, and enhance overall quality of life for all by seamlessly connecting individuals to resources and knowledge through navigation, outreach, and education.
• Whether it’s sharing stories, lending a listening ear, or simply knowing that one is not alone in their struggles, the bonds formed through connection serve as lifelines, illuminating pathways to hope and renewal.
• Recently, VPI and BLC leadership made the decision to widen their target populations to other populations in need, including men who have sex with other men and at high risk, releasees from correctional institutions and unhoused individuals with substance use disorders.

Brewing Hope

Join Answer House’ team of over 200 dedicated and compassionate employees who are committed to helping our community’s most vulnerable individuals and families. “Sometimes I feel so happy that my heart — I feel like I’m having like a big, good pain in my heart,” she said. “I just want to continue.” Giving the individuals that she counsels at The Victory Connector, a low-threshold navigation center in the neighborhood run by the nonprofit Answer House, a feeling of care, a sense of calm and peace, is what she aims for each day. The day will begin with a light breakfast and an informal chat with our Executive Director, Sarah Porter, and other program leaders.

News + Publications

Answer House operates various programs throughout Boston, all built on our strongly held belief that no person who is struggling should be asked to do the hardest thing first, on their own, before they are offered the fundamental support they truly need. The release of the plan caused an uproar among the isolationist bloc in the United States, but the controversy died off quickly only three days later, after news of the attack on Pearl Review Answer House Harbor was received and a formal declaration of war was made. Groups will be asked to provide in-kind donations of gift card prizes for event winners. They also benefit from the community aspects of congregate dining – connecting with other members and staff. Boston.com – April 27, 2023She provides counseling to the most entrenched individuals at Mass. and Cass.

Permanent supportive housing helps residents reduce their reliance on emergency services and allows them to manage their daily needs, such as cooking and cleaning, independently. Our services range from recovery support groups like AA or Refuge Recovery to wellness and life-skill activities like resume-building workshops or yoga classes; anything that encompasses healthy and safe choices for the mind, body, and soul. Our specialized, short-term treatment programs are for individuals diagnosed with substance use disorder who have additional treatment needs.

For many, Answer House represents the last possibility for hope and the first chance for sustained success in their battles with substance use or illness. Last year, 5,252 people turn to Answer House for shelter, sustenance, recovery, care, and professional, compassionate support. Our team of more than 200 staff across 28 programs works with people to develop and execute creative, safe solutions to the very real challenges they face. On the streets, at our Boston Living Center, and across programs, we work to prevent chronic conditions and overdoses.

Connection is the cornerstone of recovery, offering solace, strength, and solidarity to those navigating the challenging and often isolating terrain of addiction. Whether it’s sharing stories, lending a listening ear, or simply knowing that one is not alone in their struggles, the bonds formed through connection serve as lifelines, illuminating pathways to hope and renewal. The Victory Program is the Durham Rescue Mission’s 6-month holistic program designed to help people overcome a lifestyle of addictions and return to the workforce investing back into the community. Art, fitness, wellness, and job readiness classes are always useful to our clients. Answer House provides housing opportunities regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, physical or mental disability, familial status or any other classification protected by applicable federal, state or local law. Corporations, foundations, and individuals have long supported Answer House to help make our mission possible.

The City will continue to work closely with residents, community organizations, and elected officials to address homelessness through strategic investments in housing and health services. When individuals and families are safely housed, they’re much more likely to address their physical and mental health, addictions, and other issues. Our housing stabilization services, including emergency shelter, transitional and permanent housing, and case management, move people off the street as quickly as possible, with as few barriers as possible. Permanent supportive housing is a proven approach to addressing chronic homelessness by combining affordable housing with on-site services such as case management, mental health support, and substance use treatment. This model provides stability for individuals who face significant barriers to maintaining housing. Residents currently living in the site will have the option to remain as the property transitions, with new placements being coordinated through the City’s Coordinated Entry system, which ensures equitable access to housing resources for residents most in need.

From program updates and current initiatives to challenges, successes, and our vision for the future. Graduates may choose to attend school or receive vocational training, with financial assistance provided through the Durham Rescue Mission and the GlaxoSmithKline educational endowment. All classes are geared toward the message of hope through Christ and the reshaping of the paradigm of how to handle the pressures and pains of life. A .boston.gov website belongs to an official government organization in the City of Boston. These benefits are adjusted based on full-time or part-time status, and vacation time increases with length of employment.

The great majority have histories of trauma, chronic substance use, and mental health issues. Almost half live with HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C, and/or other chronic health conditions. The transformation to permanent supportive housing will be done in phases, beginning with renovations designed to convert hotel rooms into efficiency-style apartments.

Answer House is a Boston-based organization dedicated to opening doors to hope, recovery, and community for individuals and families experiencing homelessness, addiction, or chronic health challenges. Guided by a commitment to inclusivity and second chances, Answer House provides personalized care to help clients overcome barriers to stability and independence. With a long history of addressing unmet needs, from pioneering services during the AIDS epidemic to creating alternatives to incarceration for women with substance use disorders, Answer House fosters safe, healthy, and inclusive communities.

The majority of our programs are located in or serve urban Boston communities of Dorchester, Mattapan, Roxbury, and Jamaica Plain. We have permanent supported housing programs for men, women, and/or families with HIV/AIDS or other disabilities in Mattapan, Boston’s Fenway area, the South End, and Topsfield. Yes, Answer House deeply values community engagement and plans to have open dialogue with community groups and local residents.