Sober Living Home Owner Aims For Unique Demographic

The owner of a proposed sober living home on Magnolia Avenue in Hillsdale said she hoped to meet the needs of a demographic which is not catered to in the area while continuing to answer questions from residents and members of the Hillsdale Planning Board Wednesday night.

The over-30 "professional men," who Donna Lally said she hopes to provide a sober living environment for, would fall somewhere in between the target demographics of low-rent Oxford Houses, a widespread example in the sober home industry, and Brooklyn's $12,500-per-month Loft 107. 

Lally said the Oxford Houses often cater to a younger crowd and make up for their low rents with large numbers of occupants, though Magnolia Avenue resident Jason Bohan said he found data indicating the group homes catered to residents as old as 68 and the average age of residents was 36.

"They don't go there," Lally said of her target demographic. "They don't hang out with 20-year-olds."

Residents and board members also questioned the number of occupants Lally has proposed. Oxford Houses always have at least six tenants. Anthony Polito, a social worker who testified on Lally's behalf, said he believed her planned four tenants would be "easier to manage" and allow for more individual attention.

Polito said he believed Lally's "motivation is in the right place," though he did recommend she use weekly urine testing to ensure the occupants have not relapsed. Lally said she had only used saliva tests with her one current tenant and was testing comparatively infrequently.

"[Urine tests are] the best took we have to know if someone's using or not," Polito said.

Polito also backed up Lally's claim that her target demographic would not necessarily be suited to an Oxford House with younger residents. The trend in the substance abuse treatment industry has been for those with similar backgrounds or abuse problems to be treated together because they have more in common, he said.

The hearing is scheduled to continue at the board's August 14 meeting, when Polito will take questions from the board and public about his testimony.

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