Neighbors Aren’t Happy With Plans for Historic New Bedford Home
Stephen Sheldon is the new owner of 49 Hawthorn Street (pictured above) bought the historic home in October of this year with plans to lease out rooms to people who live sober lifestyles. Neighbors who found out about Sheldon's plans quickly alerted the city to the alleged "sober house" in a residential neighborhood, calling for action to be taken.
The historic home dates back to 1855 and sits next door to the current Orchard Street Manor Bed & Breakfast. Sheldon's plans were to have a group of people who are living a sober lifestyle, sign a lease under the agreement that they would continue to live in sobriety. It is not a shelter or rehab and in fact, Sheldon himself does not refer to the facility as a "sober house" at all. It is simply a home where a group of eight adults live in a shared space where drugs and alcohol are not allowed. The plan follows that of Sheldon's The Living House, a sober-living facility that opened in Lowell earlier this year.
Sheldon says that while there was trepidation around the Living House in Lowell at first, the residents have turned out to be great neighbors. Tenants are CORI'd, background checked through the federal sexual predator list, have landlord reference checks and more- much like any tenant would be subject to. Sheldon notes that his tenants are in "phase 2" of their sobriety journey- between year 2 and 5 of living a sober lifestyle. If a person is applying to be a tenant, a "Site Social" (backgrounds checks including psychological assessments and social assessments) are given to the site coordinator for review. If the Site Social reveals are red flags, the tenant is not accepted into the facility.
Sheldon said his tenants are very respectful of their living environments and neighbors; a facility of this nature is not a cause for alarm for the Hawthorn Street community.