BANGOR, Maine — Saying that it has been a busy couple of months for the Fresh Start Sober Living House would be an understatement.
In November, the organization opened its third location at 155 Warren Street in Bangor -- and now, President Scott Pardy and Vice President James Rickrode are busy preparing for the closing on their fourth house at 51 Fourth Street in Bangor.
The mission, though, hasn't come without its challenges. Pardy pays for most of the start-up for these houses with his retirement money, and as the demand for the program continues to increase, finances have gotten a bit tight.
It's why Pardy is hoping to kick off 2020 with a new goal in mind -- to get more funding from the state, and perhaps the Department of Corrections, and to raise awareness about what it is exactly that his organization does.
"It's such a positive thing," Pardy expressed to NEWS CENTER Maine on Sunday afternoon at the Center Street location. "You know, it takes away some of the stigma and the mystery of it -- and gives men who want to recover a real chance."
The work they're doing certainly hasn't gone unrecognized. Just last month, Fresh Start received the MARR (Maine Association of Recovery Residences) certification on its first two houses. This means that the organization is now the first MARR-certified sober house north of Augusta.
MARR is a non-profit program that oversees the ethical and safety standards for recovery homes in Maine. Certification essentially means that Fresh Start will gain more integrity as a legitimate, safe environment for men to recover from substance abuse or addiction. And, perhaps most of all, it helps to preserve a certain dignity for men who want to get their life back on track.
"There are men in recovery that are good people doing the right thing today, regardless of what their past was, and regardless of what their criminal history may be, or what their drug and alcohol use history may be," Rickrode, a former addict himself, explained.
The fourth location on Fourth Street in Bangor is opening up by late January or early February. Rickrode says he gets about one housing application a day -- and currently has around 40 people waiting for a slot in the home.
Right now, Fresh Start houses 21 people total in its three locations.