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Former addict wants to open sober house in Beverly

By Paul Leighton
Staff writer
Published: July 10, 2008

BEVERLY — As a drug addict, Michael Wilson took pride in his ability to lie and steal and manipulate and stay one step ahead of police.

As a recovering addict, he's intent on redirecting that energy into a project to help those living the desperate life he once lived.

The 31-year-old Beverly resident has formed an organization called Renewed Hope. His goal is to open a sober house in his hometown where recovering addicts can live at a reasonable cost, find a job and get the help they need.

Wilson said drug and alcohol addiction leads to so many problems in a community that people need to witness the recovery process in their own backyard.

"Somebody can go to Texas for six months and come back, but it's harder for people to understand he's a changed person," he said. "We want to do it in front of them."

Wilson said he is acquiring nonprofit status for his organization, and he has scheduled a fundraiser for July 27 at the Danversport Yacht Club. He's been making the rounds of city officials and community groups and social service agencies in an effort to drum up support.

Wilson said Beverly does not have a sober house now. The city has the River House homeless shelter, but director Kate Benashski said it does not turn anyone away, so it is not technically considered a "dry shelter."

"I think (a sober house) would really serve to fill a void for people who struggle with addictions and need more support than day treatment or intensive outpatient programs," she said.

Sober houses are privately run businesses and are not licensed by the state to provide treatment, said Kevin Norton, president of Danvers-based CAB Health & Recovery Services. CAB used to operate a sober house in Lynn but turned it into a treatment center because the demand for treatment is so high, he said.

Norton said it's difficult to know how many sober houses are on the North Shore, "but they're incredibly wonderful places when clients are moving from a long-term recovery house to independent living."

The key to a successful sober house, Wilson said, is caring staff members who can provide structure and help residents find the programs they need. He said he has been in sober houses where a lone house director sits at a desk on the third floor and nobody ever sees him.

"The Salvation Army was the only place I got help," he said, "and that was because they showed they care."

Wilson is a tall man with a shaved head and a tattoo of flames covering his left arm. He works three nights a week as a bouncer at The Sports Connection bar in Beverly and spends the rest of his time trying to raise interest and money for his Renewed Hope project.

Wilson said he started taking drugs at Beverly High School and tried everything but heroin — alcohol, cocaine, crack, marijuana, mushrooms, LSD. He sold drugs to pay for his drugs and was arrested several times. He says he spent more than five years in jail.

He finally got sober, he said, because he was ready to be sober.

"You're not ready until you're ready," he said. "I was finally ready. I took a look at my life and realized the only way it would work for me is by helping other people. Unless you can take pride in your recovery, you can't get sober. You can have 10 years of sobriety but still be a miserable dry drunk. You need something beyond getting clean."

Wilson's first goal is to raise money to hire staff members who can work on writing grants and raising money to fund his project. He would like to see his sober house in the downtown area, near public transportation and in a place where everyone can see it.

"It should be as well-known as Dunkin' Donuts," he said. "There's a big stigma about substance abuse. Nobody wants to talk about it. We'd like to put one in every city that doesn't have one."

If you go

What: Renewed Hope fundraiser

When: Sunday, July 27, 5 to 10 p.m.

Where: Danversport Yacht Club

Cost: $100 per ticket, includes dinner, entertainment, live auction, raffles

Information: Michael Wilson at 978-434-1356, or renewedhopeproject.org

Photos