Vineyard House, the residential program for early substance abuse recovery, announced a $3 million capital campaign this week to build a new facility in Vineyard Haven.

Board president Mark Jenkins said the new facility — a campus-style complex located on Short Hill Road, off of Holmes Hole Road in Vineyard Haven — will enable the organization to address substance abuse in a fuller scope. Since its inception in 1997, Vineyard House, the only sober-living facility on the Island, has operated out of three separate houses staffed entirely by volunteers.

Sunday afternoon was the first time Colton Wiley of Keofauqua, Iowa had ever seen the ocean. Three months ago he was shot in the legs in Afghanistan, leaving the 19 year old wheelchair bound. Now, on a beautiful September evening on Menemsha Beach, he was watching his first sunset over the Atlantic Ocean. “It’s beautiful and completely eye opening,” he said later that night during dinner at the Beach Plum Inn. Mr. Wiley was one of 10 wounded and recovering soldiers who visited the Island this week for the fourth annual American Heroes Saltwater Challenge.

Leonard Jason Jr. sits behind a cluttered desk heaped with requests for permits to build houses, revise houses, create a curb, redo a kitchen and put up a tent, along with notes from contractors, letters from lawyers and fellow town officials. Lenny, who recently became vegan and started working out after a “silent heart attack,” looks vibrant. He pulls out a pile of post-its, his self-styled rolodex, and begins his work day by returning calls.