In the heart of downtown Rochester, at 74 N. Clinton Ave., you’ll find the Catholic Charities Family and Community Services Behavioral Health Clinic. On the fifth floor inside that building the elevators open up to the Alexander House.
The newly renovated residential space is a recovery housing unit for men dealing with substance use disorder. The space is equipped with bedrooms, a shared laundry room, washroom and living area for clients like Robbie Sandford.
“You have everything all in one, all encompassing, in this location,” Sandford said.
Sanford is one of 21 men who live there. He’s been in the program for three months, and he's received services including long-term support, and clinical and group treatment, while at the same time pursuing educational and other opportunities in the community.
“I was doing pretty bad, and I needed to get reintroduced into society,” Sandford said. “This is helping me step by step.”
Alexander House is one of three residences in the Catholic Charities Restart Community Residential Program. The other two are Barrington House for women, and Jones House for men.
Lori VanAuken, president and CEO of CCFSC, said the facilities centralized location "will help eliminate other barriers to care.”
“There is a tremendous amount of need around the community here,” VanAuken said. “We want to be accessible. We want to be available to people. We want to make it easy for them to come into treatment.”
The organization received $250,000 in state funding to create the new living space.
