Recovery Is Happening, a Rochester addiction‑recovery nonprofit that runs five sober‑living houses for up to 36 residents, announced the closure of two homes that served mothers and their children. The closures, which took effect in June, leave Rochester without a dedicated mother‑child recovery option, according to the Post Bulletin.
“We hope to find a funding source for that soon,” said Jenna Christensen, executive director of Recovery Is Happening. The homes had a 100% reunification rate over their two‑year operation, according to housing coordinator Kalie Vreeman, who also noted that the organization’s overall housing model has produced higher stable‑recovery numbers and lower rates of relapse and homelessness.
The shutdown follows the termination of Minnesota’s Housing Stabilization Services (HSS) program by the Department of Human Services in August 2025. The state ended the program amid a crackdown on suspected fraud, including a settlement in which NUWAY, a mental‑health and addiction provider with a Rochester presence, agreed to pay $18.5 million to Minnesota over Medicaid billing practices related to housing and outpatient treatment.
When the HSS program was active, many recovery providers, including Recovery Is Happening, relied on its funds to subsidize sober‑living housing. “There was kind of a model across the state, that treatment providers were giving assistance for people in housing” through HSS, Christensen said. “A lot of sober homes closed their doors when they were no longer able to do that.”
Most residents at Recovery Is Happening now rely on other state and county funding sources, though those programs have eligibility requirements that leave some clients without coverage. Vreeman explained that the organization supplements funding with outside fundraising to cover gaps. One of the five houses operates on a self‑pay basis.
Gina Dewink, the nonprofit’s development and marketing manager, noted that only one sober‑living community for women and children remains in Minnesota: Rise Up Recovery in Hastings.
Recovery Is Happening’s admission criteria allow clients to enter after 30 days of sobriety or after completing an inpatient substance‑use disorder program. While residing in the homes, clients can participate in outpatient treatment either at Recovery Is Happening or elsewhere, with the goal of moving toward long‑term recovery and independent living. “If they do return to use, we don’t just kick them out to the streets,” Vreeman said, adding that the organization seeks alternative avenues for support.
What’s next: Recovery Is Happening is actively seeking new funding to restore the mother‑child houses. The nonprofit plans to hold a community fundraising event in early November and will update residents and partners as potential funding sources are identified.
Sources: postbulletin.com
