When the Mendes-Monteiro House opens in Dartmouth this month, it will mark a first for the South Coast: congregate housing designed specifically for older adults living with mental illness, complete with daily support and round-the-clock care.
The 10-unit hybrid-style home — six small apartment-style spaces and a four-bedroom suite for residents needing more intensive services — has been nearly six years in the making.
For Connie Desbiens, retired director of the Dartmouth Housing Authority, the project has been a labor of love.
“This is a very unique project for the town of Dartmouth, even for surrounding towns. There aren’t any of these types of houses,” Desbiens said, noting the closest one is in
Brockton. “So I’m pretty happy about being the first one.”
The 7,600-square-foot house sits as part of the DHA complex on Anderson Way. The space includes a shared kitchen, living room, and office, in addition to the personal units.
The house is more than a roof over people’s heads. It’s a model of supportive housing for older adults living with mental health challenges.
The hybrid design is especially valuable, Mark Bilton, MEd, LMHC, Southeast Area Housing Coordinator for the state Department of Mental Health noted in an email, because it supports people with different levels of need while easing pressure on hospitals and reducing homelessness.
Desbiens said the need for supportive housing for older adults has become more urgent in recent years. Rising numbers of older residents, growing awareness of mental health challenges, and dwindling resources for treatment have all contributed to the strain.
“It’s an equation that keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger,” she said.
She saw the problem firsthand while working with older adults in public housing. The pandemic, she added, only magnified the issues.
“After COVID the elderly really, really took a hit,” she said. “We started seeing things that we never had, such as people being totally isolated, becoming hoarders, feeling
like they don’t belong anymore.”
One family’s struggles especially stuck with her: the fears of a mother worried about her adult daughter’s mental illness and how her daughter would live once she passed, highlighted how life-changing safe, supportive housing could be.
With land available for development, Desbiens reached out to DMH, which oversees similar congregate housing in other parts of the state. Together with Partners in Housing, the nonprofit developer, the idea took shape.
All house residents will be over 55 and eligible for services through DMH. The state will contract with Elwyn, a behavioral health provider, to deliver Adult Community Clinical Services, a program that helps residents manage daily life and mental health needs with the goal of living successfully and independently.
“ACCS is a comprehensive, clinically-focused service that provides clinical interventions and peer and family support to facilitate engagement, support functioning, and maximize symptom stabilization and self-management,” said Bilton via email.
In practice, that means help with everyday skills, on-site staff support, and connections to community resources.
More than 75 percent of residents are current or former Dartmouth residents, with priority given to veterans as well.
While only a handful of projects like this exist in Massachusetts, DMH says the demand is significant, especially as older adults with psychiatric needs look for safe, affordable places to live.
Local support has been strong with funding from the state and town of Dartmouth. In 2021, the state awarded $275,000 in MassWorks funds specifically to create a walking
path around the retention pond on the property that will benefit all Anderson Way residents.
For Desbiens, who now serves as clerk for Partners in Housing, seeing the project near completion is deeply personal.
“This project has been near and dear to my heart since the get-go, and I’m really happy that we’re coming to the end of it,” she said.
The Mendes-Monteiro House is expected to welcome its first residents later this month, with a community celebration planned for early October.
Information on the housing model can be found here: www.mass.gov/infodetails/dmh-adult-services-overview
For help with mental health challenges call the state’s Behavioral Health Help Line at www.masshelpline.com
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