Featured Profile: Phoenix House III & IV
Provider: Vitality Center
Location: Sun Valley, Nevada
Property Type: Supportive Housing
Units: 20
Description: Vitality Center was founded in 1971 in rural northeastern Nevada to serve the needs of men leaving prison including housing, employment and sobriety counseling. Vitality Center’s mission is to reduce the number of individuals dependent on alcohol and other drugs and establish and foster linkages, services and programs that improve their quality of life. Programs and services offered to the men at Vitality Center include:
- Intervention, detoxification and counseling
- Intensive residential programs
- Outpatient treatment programs
- A prison-based substance abuse recovery program
- Affordable transitional and permanent housing
Mercy Loan Fund provided a $287,200 acquisition loan to Vitality Center for Phoenix House III & IV, two of four transitional homes, housing groups of up to 10 men in each house. Residents can stay up to two years, but the average stay has been less than one year. While residing at the homes, all residents must participate in a rehabilitation program which includes full-time employment. The majority of the residents are placed in construction jobs at $10 or less per hour which equates to about 50 percent or less of area median income for a single person household. Thus, the transitional housing provided at Phoenix House III & IV is an important part of assisting these men in finding stability and security after they leave prison.
