Phoenix House » New England News

Drug Czar Visits New England

ph-admin — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 16:15:01 +0000

R. Gil Kerlikowske, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, travelled to Phoenix House Exeter Center, Exeter, Rhode Island, on Thursday, July 16, 2009, as part of his ongoing efforts to visit substance abuse treatment facilities across the country and speak with staff and clients in recovery.
More than 110 guests were present to meet Director Kerlikowske, including a number of prominent Rhode Island political and community leaders, health care and drug treatment professionals, and Phoenix House staff and clients. A highlight of the morning was a round-table discussion at which Director Kerlikowske took off his jacket, straddled a chair, and spoke in depth with adolescents attending from Phoenix Academies in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Appointed by President Barak Obama, Director Kerlikowske assumed office on May 7, 2009, and was officially sworn in on Friday, June 19, 2009, by Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy.

2009 New England Public Service Award Luncheon

batkins — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:03:18 +0000

Phoenix Houses of New England honored GTECH’s Donald R. Sweitzer, Chairman, and Jaymin B. Patel, President and Chief Executive Officer at its ninth annual Public Service Award on Thursday, June 18. Among more than three hundred guests attending the luncheon were numerous Rhode Island government and civic leaders.

The luncheon, which annually honors exceptional men and women whose achievements serve as an inspiration to young people struggling with substance abuse, raised more than $151,000 in support of Phoenix House’s treatment, education and prevention programs throughout the New England region. GTECH, a leading Rhode Island business with a strong commitment to youth and education, has been a generous supporter of Phoenix House, most recently donating the GTECH Technology Center, a state-of-the-art computer laboratory, to Phoenix Academy at Wallum Lake in Rhode Island. Previous honorees represent leading businesses in Southeastern New England.

Phoenix Houses of New England Celebrates Opening of Phoenix Families in Boston

batkins — Tue, 05 May 2009 22:08:44 +0000

Dedication ceremonies marking the opening of Phoenix Families were held in Boston on Tuesday, May 5, 2009, at 10:00 a.m., with Boston’s Mayor Thomas M. Menino as the featured speaker.

Located on the campus of St. Mary’s Women and Children’s Center in Dorchester, Massachusetts, Phoenix Families is dedicated to providing vulnerable women and their children a safe and welcoming, albeit temporary, haven, while also assisting them in making the transition to sustainable housing.

Working in collaboration with Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD), Phoenix Families’ skilled and caring professional staff, under Program Director Doris Brown, is committed to helping these women build their living skills and support networks, ultimately helping them to secure stable and sustainable housing.

Phoenix Families offers a positive living environment, a culture of self-improvement and mutual self-help, development of daily living and coping skills, and an expectation of achieving a productive, independent way of life.

Phoenix Houses of New England Earns Three-year CARF Accreditation

batkins — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:10:48 +0000

Phoenix Houses of New England (PHNE) has been awarded a three-year accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), an independent, nonprofit accrediting body whose mission is to promote quality, value and optimal outcomes of services for persons served. Thirty Phoenix Houses of New England programs are accredited. They include therapeutic communities for adults and adolescents, detoxification programs, outpatient services, drug court and sober living facilities. Accredited programs are located in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Rhode Island. This is the highest level of accreditation that can be awarded to an organization, and the fifth consecutive three-year accreditation Phoenix Houses of New England has earned. In addition, Phoenix Academy at Springfield and Phoenix House Springfield Center received commendations for their exemplary programs. Regional Director Patrick McEneaney, in congratulating all New England employees, said: “This accomplishment is a ratification of all you do every day to bring quality care to all the clients we serve.” Click here for a list of all CARF accredited programs.

Phoenix House Night at The Colonial

batkins — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 22:13:05 +0000

Phoenix House New Hampshire celebrated Phoenix House Night at The Colonial on April 18 with a benefit performance by The Second City. The highlight of the evening was a hilarious performance of improvisational comedy by the troupe that launched the careers of some of the greatest names in comedy, including Joan Rivers, John Belushi, and Tina Fey. In addition to allowing residents and clients from the Dublin and Keene programs to have safe, healthy fun with their families and friends, the evening supported Phoenix House’s commitment to people in New Hampshire struggling to overcome substance abuse. The Colonial Theatre, at 95 Main Street in Keene, New Hampshire, occupies a beautifully restored historic building and has been providing entertainment for eighty-five years.

The Arbor House Hat Trick

batkins — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 22:15:24 +0000

As seen in the Holyoke Sun

On a cold and windy day in January, 2009, representatives of Phoenix House’s Arbor House Program in Holyoke, Massachusetts, presented a gift of more than fifty hand-knitted winter hats to the Holyoke Medical Center’s Oncology Unit.

The hats were knitted by individuals undergoing treatment for substance abuse at Arbor House, a short-term residential program providing transitional support services to men and women who have completed detoxification treatment and are in need of stabilization while awaiting admission to a long–term residential treatment program.

Making hats for cancer patients is part of the expressive arts program at Arbor House. It helps create a sense of community as the residents help each other learn to knit, share tips and techniques, and encourage each other. At the same time, it has a calming and centering effect, can help in many kinds of stressful situations, and allows residents to give back to the community in a tangible and productive way.

Peter Ostrander, left, a resident at Phoenix House’s Arbor House Program in Holyoke, Massachusetts, presents a box of hats knitted by fellow Arbor House residents to Zubeena Mateen, M.D., F.A.C.P., Director of Oncology at Holyoke Medical Center. The hats are for the use of young cancer patients at the Medical Center.