The Red House will move into a new home come springtime, giving long-term stability to the Island’s only peer recovery center. 

The center, named after the crimson walls of its existing location on Beach Road, will relocate to an existing building on parent organization Martha’s Vineyard Community Services' main campus, Community Services announced Wednesday.

“Red House is part of the MVCS umbrella, so being able to have it on the main campus promotes that collaboration, continuity, and unity for wellness and recovery,” said Abigail Foley, chief clinical officer at MVCS.

The Red House's hunt for a new location began last spring when Martha’s Vineyard Hospital decided not to renew its 10-year lease with the center in anticipation of a multi-year renovation project. The Red House has until March 1 to stay in its current home.

The new, not-so-red, Red House building at MVCS.

Ray Ewing

The new, not-so-red, Red House building at MVCS.

Ray Ewing

“Everyone, of course, has been concerned that we may not have a place to move to and we were trying to keep everything quiet until the ink was dry,” said Robert Cropper, the director of recovery management services at the Red House.

“It was great to be able to finally say yes, we have a place to move and you’re going to love where we’re going,” he said. 

The Red House provides help for an estimated 200 to 300 people each week that are struggling with addictions, both substance and behavioral. It will now occupy building D on the MVCS campus, where the Family Resource Center is currently located.

The Family Resource Center, which provides services for families with children until they reach 18 years old, will also move into a new home in Vineyard Haven at the end of February. It will occupy 35 Greenwood avenue, the same building as the MV Family Center, a different program that sees families with children from prenatal to eight years old.

Both centers plan to continue providing services throughout their move. 

When The Red House first learned of the lease not being renewed, staff were optimistic and eager to find a larger space where they could expand their services. The new building is 2,400 square-feet, offers more space for parking, and is ADA-accessible. 

“There is an overwhelmingly positive response to this move,” Ms. Foley said. “Members are really excited, staff are really excited and just kind of looking forward to all the potential opportunities to grow, expand and continue the amazing work that Red House does.” 

Ms. Foley said the new building has a larger reception area along with private office spaces for one-on-one recovery coaching and small group activities. It also has a commercial-grade kitchen where the center can continue its Recovery Café program, where members cook and enjoy meals with each other. 

Mr. Cropper said members are thrilled to have the added space, and the extra capacity can help expand the number of 12-step meetings the organization holds. Last spring he estimated close to 1,500 people on the Vineyard were suffering from substance abuse disorders based on averages determined by the Dukes County Health Council.

Ms. Foley said the proximity to the MVCS Island Counseling Center and other behavioral health and family support services can help with referrals to and from The Red House.

“Say someone at the recovery center is having a really hard time and they’re in need of a bit more clinical support,” Ms. Foley explained. “There’s that ability to just do that one hand off, right over to the clinic, to be able to meet the needs right then and there on an urgent basis.”

An advantage of the existing building was its proximity to the hospital where people would often walk over from the emergency department to get the help they needed. Ms. Foley said there will be increased ability for transportation needs due to the new location’s proximity to many bus stops.

Mr. Cropper added the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital has been supportive of The Reed House since the center first opened next door. 

“Even before that, they’ve been nothing but generous to us,” Mr. Cropper said. 

Though the new building is not painted red, she said the peer recovery center will keep the same name.

The Family Resource Center is also looking forward to its move, said Heather Quinn, division director of early childhood programs at MVCS.

She said the unified location of all the MVCS family services will help streamline communication to better meet the needs of children and their caregivers. 

“We’re taking the opportunity to co-locate our family support programs in a way that’s going to allow us to work more effectively together and most importantly, really strengthen the supports and services we can offer our community,” Ms. Quinn said. 

Ms. Quinn explained that the Family Center is only open when there’s ongoing programming because staffing is limited. Though the two programs are different, having the resource center move-in will make support staff available full-time. 

“In this care it really is a win, win, win,” Ms. Quinn said.