My name is Andrew DeMalia, and I am a licensed clinician in Rhode Island. I am also the president and founder of DeMalias House of Hope, Inc. (DHH), which is a nonprofit organization working to change the current landscape of how mental illness and substance abuse are treated in this country. This is a formal request to receive consideration when determining how and where to participate in community support and development. DeMalias House of Hope's mission is to provide services to the most vulnerable and marginalized in Rhode Island. This proposal will start with a brief introduction of myself and why I began DeMalias House of Hope. I will then discuss what makes us different and why you should choose this 501©(3) as a community partner in Rhode Island, and end with our formal request.
I have struggled with substance abuse and mental illness my entire life. By the grace of GOD, I have been substance-free for eight years now. During the years I spent homeless, in and out of facilities, I noticed a disturbing trend. I was consistently witnessing marginalization and discrimination against those suffering from mental illness or addiction. Sadly, this trend remained consistent even when these individuals decided to seek help from a professional institution. This is one of the vulnerable populations I was a part of, and I struggled as the target of many discriminations, and I am a White American, middle-class, middle-aged, male. For those who are a minority, a veteran of the armed services, an elderly individual, women, those associated with the LGBTQ+ community, etc., the trauma experienced was substantially worse than anything I could have imagined, and it was completely avoidable. These atrocities are the primary reason I decided to work in the Human Service field when I obtained sobriety in 2016.
Since my sobriety date, I earned an AA and a BS in Human Services with a concentration in addiction studies. I completed a program from Westfield State University called Addiction Counseling Education preparing me to pass the ICRC certification test. I received my CADC (Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor) in 2021, a nationally recognized certification, and my LCDP (Licensed Chemical Dependency Professional) in 2022. I have spent the last few years researching the processes and procedures required for starting a nonprofit organization with the mission to service the most vulnerable in our community. I have developed a network of peers and professionals whose passion for this mission matches my own, as well as a few individuals who are familiar with this landscape. DeMalias House of Hope has also partnered with a few organizations, both state and federal, who advocate and fight for positive social change in the face of mental illness and addiction.
The corporate office for DeMalias House of Hope is in Plainfield, Connecticut. The board of directors consists of myself, Valerie Voci, and Kimberly DeMalia. Additional administrators included are various family members and two professionals, Madeline Fernandez and Maria Farina. DHH has identified the community of Rhode Island (RI) to begin this initiative, which serves well having the President/CEO credentialed and a licensed clinician in this state. The startup costs to this point have been paid by myself and have totaled approximately one thousand dollars. The original plan was to open this facility with state and federal funds. My professional experience over the last eight years led me to believe there were plenty of grants that could be utilized for this endeavor given not only the devastation caused by untreated mental illness or addiction, but also the various vulnerable populations this initiative would affect like children, elders, minorities, the LGBTQ+ community, women, those disabled, homeless, and veterans.
That belief proved incorrect as every grant I examined was closed or out of funds. My search has revealed no available funding for a startup nonprofit corporation, even with a mission like the one DeMalias House of Hope has. I encountered the same information when state funding was investigated. On August 2nd, I was informed by the Department of Housing that a New Funding Opportunity (NFO) would be opening shortly that could provide funds to a nonprofit looking to obtain a residence for sober living. My contact stated, "While this is a competitive process and funding is not guaranteed, you are encouraged to apply...". The two most common responses from other agencies were "Sorry, that grant is closed because of a lack of funding" or "We are waiting on funds but have no idea when that could happen”. DHH discussed other avenues of funding, however, as a nonprofit organization, we are unable to utilize critical financial services at any banking institute. We considered waiting until the specific grants we qualified for received additional funds but decided to contact our neighbors instead. The longer we wait the more suffering our vulnerable communities are forced to endure.
Our targeted vulnerable population for this project is young women with children or veterans. The plan moving forward is to identify and purchase a piece of property within the next few months that has the ideal specifications for a sober house conforming to the specifications set forth by the National Alliance for Recovery Residence (NARR). The requirements set forth by NARR have been studied to ensure a smooth transition from a single-family residence to a sober living facility. The specific agency in Rhode Island that certifies houses for sober living is called RICARES and a contact identified as Stacy Levin, who is crucial to the certification process. I have made in-person contact with her to discuss DHH opening a house in RI and any potential barriers this mission might encounter. At this point, we would have met the initial requirements to apply for a particular grant offered through the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities, and Hospitals (BHDDH). I have been in contact with the individual who oversees this grant to obtain specific details on the funding involved. Please refer to https://bhddh.ri.gov/sites/g/files/xkgbur411/files/2023-06/Recovery%20Ho... for more information on this grant. Two of the directors, along with all the identified administrators, will be working out of the property in Rhode Island. Applicants can only obtain the funds from this grant once there is a clean bed to fill. Once the residence has been secured, these remaining steps, along with furnishing the residence and hiring staff will take an additional month.
The need for this service is not only substantially dire across this country, but what does exist is loaded with marginalization and discrimination. DeMalias House of Hope will take an approach that will not only provide respectful and dignified sober living to the vulnerable populations in Rhode Island but also change this undervalued educational experience by integrating multiple evidence-based practices (EBP)s to shape and redefine the definition of sobriety and recovery. The two EBPs at the core of everything we do are Trauma-Informed Care and Cultural Competence. In taking this approach, everyone will have a unique experience, instead of attempting to conform to a definition created centuries ago, utilizing a cookie-cutter approach to treatment. It will also reduce the relapse and recidivism rates which leads to a reduction in crime and poverty in the community.
This expedition to change the way sober living functions and how it is utilized is currently unable to continue forward without your support. I am personally writing to you in hopes your organization would be willing to support this innovative approach to substance use and mental illness treatment. On the news a few weeks ago, I saw a report about a child who overdosed on fentanyl while playing in a park. The child dropped a cookie on the ground and when he picked it up, there was a small plastic bag stuck to it with fentanyl particles. These particles transferred to the cookie that the child ate. This type of avoidable tragedy occurs daily in communities across this entire country.
DeMalias House of Hope is requesting financial assistance up to $700,000 which will go directly to providing sober housing to the most vulnerable populations in Rhode Island (leasing the property is a potential alternative). Any gift would be recognized in multiple ways to show the community your commitment to this fight, at your choice. The cost to start this endeavor is attached and broken down in our budget for your convenience. As Mr. DeMalia already possesses the ability to provide substance use and mental illness counseling to these marginalized populations, this initiative will occur. With your support, DHH would obtain a residence that meets certification requirements to fill almost immediately, which would substantially aid those homeless individuals as the temperature falls.
Please visit www.demaliashouseofhope.org for a more detailed breakdown of what makes us so different from the failing systems that currently exist. We thank you for reading this formal request by DeMalias House of Hope which seeks to receive consideration of your support. We decided to stop waiting for things to change and to act ourselves. Individuals are dying every day because of substance abuse and untreated mental illnesses. These individuals are those who fought to protect our country, our elders, our children, and young adults who have recently been released from incarceration, and many more. If your organization would like to be part of the change yourselves, then supporting our 501© (3) is the perfect place to begin. With your support, we can eliminate the marginalization and discrimination many vulnerable populations experience when seeking help for diseases that carry so many stigmas around the world. As a nonprofit, any contributions would also be tax deductible. Again, thank you for your time and consideration.
We are working with the Dep of Housing on RFP-23 which has a pending award. We would be reimbursed for the funds spent on purchasing a residence and converting it to sober living
