Saving lives through peer-supported living

Co-organized

Stephen Clement and 2 others are organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

Drug overdose steals lives, week after week, month after month, from all communities. Our work supports an individual’s recovery from substance use disorder (SUD). Please tell everyone you know about our efforts, but before you do that, let us share some of our most recent updates.

Rockland Recovery Homes (RRH) opened our first recovery residence in the county in July 2019. In that short time, we have supported more than 30 men transitioning from inpatient recovery programs back into their families and communities. This vital “middle period,” after intensive treatment but before independent living, has given these men a chance to live in a clean, safe, drug-free and alcohol-free environment with direct peer support. Their differences in age, culture and economic status are put aside in favor of mutual respect and encouragement of the shared goal of long-term recovery. It doesn’t remove the challenges they face, but it makes those challenges the kind they can overcome together.

Finding a suitable home for these men wasn’t easy. We started with a rental property. Then, through generous individual contributions and the support of another local charity, we purchased an old but large home in the county in December 2020. It needed new windows, new air-conditioning, and other repairs. We managed through that. Now it requires an entirely new boiler and heating system, and with colder weather upon us, this is not something we can delay. The cost is $48,000. With your help, we will spread the word and make it happen.

There’s other good news to share. On September 1st, after many months of research, permits, renovations, and skilled labor (including by several members of the men’s house), RRH opened our second recovery home, and this one is for women! There was a strong need for a residence to support women dealing with SUD locally, and until now, the options were not ideal. Because of your past contributions, we are thrilled to offer this vital peer support to (already) eight deserving women in Rockland County.

But there’s more work to do, and supporting the operating expense of both of these homes will not be easy. Residents of the homes contribute toward the cost, but it’s not enough. So please consider supporting us in any way you can, and if you’d like more background on how we came to exist, please keep reading. Meanwhile, thank you! We couldn’t do this without you.

************

RRH was established to help those struggling with SUD by providing a sober living environment with peer support. It was established in the memory of Paul Clement, who lost his life to an accidental overdose when he was just 34 years old.

You likely know others struggling with this disease. You may even know someone who has died. During Paul’s struggle, he selflessly helped others deal with the overwhelming challenges of transitioning from inpatient recovery programs back into their lives. His parents furthered that mission by founding RRH. By creating the type of environment Paul envisioned, in the same neighborhoods where he helped so many, RRH gives lasting memory and meaning to the struggles he and his peers had to face alone.

Just before Paul’s passing in 2018, he identified the same home that is today our women’s recovery home as being perfectly suited for this purpose, which is why it is now called “Paul’s Place.”

RRH is a New York State 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. 100% of donations are used for maintaining these homes and supporting the continued recovery of its residents. A substance use disorder is an illness like many other physical and mental diseases. However, those suffering from it are loving, caring, intelligent people who can return to productive lives in the community if given a chance. That’s what a recovery home can do. That’s what you can help us do!