HISTORY OF FESSENDEN HOUSE AND

FESSENDEN SUPPORTIVE HOUSING, INC.

The origins of Fessenden House are rooted in The Agape Fund, Inc., which was founded in 1992 by Br. Richard John Lorino, BSG. Br. Richard John is a member of the Brotherhood of St. Gregory, a religious community in the Episcopal Church, and he is a Chaplain and Clinical Pastoral Education Supervisory Candidate at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, New York. In his job as chaplain, he found that many HIV-positive patients at the Medical Center were having difficulty getting assistance for urgent needs, such as housing, clothing, medications, etc. Because of bureaucratic red tape, State or Federal assistance would often take so long to materialize that the patient was either profoundly ill or had died by the time assistance was made available. To address this need, he created The Agape Fund to provide support, counseling and financial assistance to people infected with or affected by the HIV virus.

In early 1995 Br. Richard John learned of the availability of a former convent on the grounds of a Roman Catholic church in Yonkers, and Fessenden House was born. Named for Br. Bernard Fessenden, BSG, and AIDS advocate and activist, who died of the effects of the virus in 1993, Fessenden House was founded to provide supportive housing to men infected with the HIV virus. The House was to be staffed by members of the Brotherhood of St. Gregory, who would live and work with the residents. However, when the House was opened there was no funding available for staff positions, so the brothers on staff worked full-time jobs in addition to their work at the House in order to support themselves and help support the house. Initially the brothers believed that they would be serving men from relatively stable backgrounds that would be capable of taking care of themselves and each other during the day with minimal supervision and oversight. This proved not to be the case. The House instead served men with a history of criminal activity, psychiatric disorders, homelessness and substance abuse, and the brothers’ ability to serve the needs of this population was severely undermined by their need to earn a living outside the House. In addition, the House’s program, which was oriented exclusively to providing for the needs of people with AIDS, was not equipped to deal with many of the other problems that inevitably came up, such substance abuse and psychiatric issues.

In 1997 new treatment regimes for people with AIDS became widely available, and many of the residents of the house responded positively to these treatments – some to the point where they were able to live independently again. In addition, in 1997 two other housing facilities for people with AIDS opened in Yonkers within just a few blocks of Fessenden House. These two factors led to a precipitous drop in the number of referrals, and by December of 1997 the situation had reached the point of crisis. The House had only three residents and had received no referrals in several months. The House Manager was "burnt out" and was leaving his position after two-and-one-half years. The finances of the House were in critical condition because there were so few residents. With so few residents and no prospects for expansion, no compelling case could be made for the continued existence of the House, and fundraising efforts were in large part unsuccessful.

In January of 1998 the Board of Directors of The Agape Fund appointed Br. Christopher Stephen Jenks, BSG as House Manager. He had been on staff since August of 1995 and was thoroughly familiar with both the problems and the potential of the House. In order to give the House the time and attention it needed he left his secular employment, although there was no possibility of remuneration for his work at the House at that time. Shortly after taking charge of the House, he approached the Board of Directors about changing the mission of the House from providing housing for men infected with the HIV virus to providing housing for men in recovery from drug and/or alcohol addiction. Twenty-two of the House’s first twenty-four residents had significant issues relating to substance abuse. In most cases these substance abuse issues were a more immediate and compelling concern than the HIV infection itself. The Board of Directors approved this change in the House’s mission in January 1998, provided that first preference was given to men who were HIV-positive, and, in consultation with treatment professionals in the area, the program of the House was retooled to focus on issues related to substance abuse. The first residents were admitted to the House under the new policies in March of 1998 and by early April the House was filled to capacity, and has remained so ever since. In addition, Br. Patrick Ignatius Dickson, BSG, a chaplain at the Westchester County Correctional Facility, joined the staff as House Manager in March of 1998, bringing his own unique gifts and insights to the house’s ethos.

With the opening of Fessenden House to men in recovery, the Board of Directors of The Agape Fund decided that the ministry should become independent of The Agape Fund since it no longer strictly conformed with its stated mission of assisting people affected by the AIDS virus. An acting Board of Directors was formed and Br. Christopher Stephen was appointed executive director. The new ministry acted under the auspices of The Agape Fund with the new acting Board of Directors serving as an advisory committee. In the spring of 2001 the new ministry was formally incorporated as "Fessenden Supportive Housing, Inc." although it continues to be commonly known as Fessenden House. The Agape Fund continues to provide much needed assistance to people with HIV/AIDS under the leadership of Br. Richard John,.

FESSENDEN HOUSE TODAY

Men who have seriously abused illicit drugs or alcohol often are dealing with a number of other problems as well, and as the years have past, our mission at has continued to evolve in response to needs of men in recovery and our particular form of community living. Because of our early experience with men who have AIDS, and because we on staff live with the residents, we discovered that Fessenden House is a particularly good place for men in recovery who are also dealing with major health problems as well – not just HIV/AIDS, but also cancer and various liver or kidney ailments. Many men with severe psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, have also found a home at Fessenden House. With the oversight provided by the staff and the community ethos of the house and the support the residents and staff give to one another, men who are mentally ill have been able to find an alternative to living in psychiatric treatment centers on the one hand, or being homeless on the other. In addition, the majority of Fessenden House residents have spent time in prison for various offenses, usually related to their drug or alcohol use, and many have been on probation or parole while living here. As one former resident put it, "I feel accepted here for who I am, not judged for things that I did years ago." As far as we have been able to determine, this ethos is unique to Fessenden House. Most other halfway houses or sober houses will not accept men who are dealing with severe medical or psychiatric problems, and many will not accept men who are convicted felons.

In early 2002, Br. Patrick Ignatius retired from his position as House Manager due to health concerns, but he continues to live at Fessenden House and provide assistance to the staff and residents as his health permits. Br. Randy Horton, a solitary or "hermit" in the Diocese of New York, joined the staff in the Spring of 2002, bringing to the house years of experience as a counselor and spiritual director in a rehabilitation program in Connecticut.

THE FUTURE

Our long-term goals include opening additional houses run along the same lines as Fessenden House, opening at least one house for women, opening a house for single parents with children, and purchasing an apartment building for persons who no longer need the structure and supervision of a place like Fessenden House but still want or need to live in a recovery-oriented environment. In expanding our program, we want to retain the qualities that make Fessenden House special. These include a small-scale, homelike atmosphere, a committed program staff that lives with the residents as well as works with them, and, most importantly, a sense of community and mutual support among the residents and staff of each facility. These are the qualities that make Fessenden House special and successful.