From the ED's Desk - Riverbend's Fayette Street Residence Closure
Last Thursday July 17th, Riverbend Community Mental Health announced that they would be closing their residential housing property on Fayette Street in Concord. It didn’t take long for the tenants of our supportive residential housing to inquire with our staff about the stability of their housing once they heard about the closing from Riverbend. Staff at our licensed community residence spent the weekend reassuring the tenants that it was not our housing that was closing. We talked with them about what we are doing to continue our 60-year history of providing supportive housing to individuals living with mental health in the Concord community.
Our housing program relies heavily on Federal Funding, the support of our community and our partnership with Riverbend Community Mental Health. In our meeting with Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander on July 8th, we discussed how the signature of “The One Big Beautiful” Bill may impact our program but how it will be felt by our partners in supportive housing programs. Little did we know at that time that a week later there would be ten fewer residential beds available to those in the Concord community living with mental health.
Fellowship Housing Opportunities is actively working with our partner, Riverbend Community Mental Health, on the placement of any of the eight individuals who are directly impacted by this closure and will help ensure our support to those who are losing their homes. Our thoughts are with the clients, families, and employees impacted by this tough decision.
We understand how difficult transitions like this can be and remain dedicated to supporting individuals living with mental illness in securing safe, stable housing. FHO will continue to advocate for housing solutions that are affordable and decent for all individuals living with mental illness. We are here to support Riverbend and help assist their residents in any way we can through this complicated journey.
Read Riverbend's official statement about the Fayette Street Residence Closure here.
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