PHOTO The stately brick property at 30 Mellen Street now offers 22 living spaces and individual apartments as well as structured support for residents with chronic or persistent mental illness.

Providing housing with support services is critical—especially when demand is rising for programs with treatment resources for substance use disorder and other behavioral health issues.

When a sober living home in the West End of Portland, Maine closed, local nonprofit Shalom House, Inc. stepped up to purchase and renovate the property, turning to Genesis to finance multiple phases of project assessment, acquisition, and renovation.

The result is 18 units of transitional and/or permanent housing for individuals and families experiencing a diagnosis of mental illness, some of whom have come from homelessness or transitional housing.

A mix of mental health services and independent living at the home at 30 Mellen Street creates a more sustainable supported-housing arrangement and overall improvement in the quality of residents’ lives.