About Us

Jeffrey's House — Helping people rebuild their lives, one day at a time.

Jeffrey Summers

Social Worker & Director

For every problem there is a viable solution

Although I've never been afflicted with the disease of drug or alcohol dependency, my commitment to sobriety goes back to my teenage years. It was in those years that I first observed my brother, Mark Summers, with whom I shared a bedroom for the first 18 years of my life, begin to destroy his life with drugs and alcohol. His struggles have had a profound effect on my entire family. Mark is currently incarcerated in a Massachusetts prison, and has been imprisoned off and on for over 25 years; yet he has never killed, raped, maimed, assaulted, or hurt a single person besides himself.

I have a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts (BSLA) from Excelsior College in Albany, New York, and I'm a licensed Social Worker. In addition, I am a licensed Real Estate Broker and a Licensed Construction Supervisor (CSL). I've combined my passion for real estate with my desire to help my brother and those like him — and as a result, I founded Jeffrey's House. We currently have three locations, and our goal is to continue to help as many people as possible.

Our Staff

CEDRIC BYARS

House Manager

HEATHER RACHILLA

House Manager

CHRISTIAN CRUZ

House Manager

ROBERT GOULD

House Manager

Mission & Vision

It is our vision to stand out and separate ourselves from other sober houses by providing our residents with renovated, modern, and spacious accommodations at a very competitive rate, all while keeping them drug and alcohol-free.

Volunteering

Whether it is helping us to add additional space to our existing homes, or fix and rehabilitate new homes that we've acquired, volunteering is essential to our success. Volunteers have come to us from all walks of life — friends and relatives of residents, community members who want to help, and individuals mandated by the courts for community service. What will your reason be for volunteering?

How Jeffrey's House Works

Jeffrey's House is NOT a drug and alcohol clinic, hospital, or detoxification center — although statistics have proven that the services sober houses provide are one of the most important elements of a successful recovery. After you are discharged from hospitals, clinics, and detox centers is when the toughest part of your recovery begins, and that's where we come in. We currently have three residences located in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, offering separate sober housing for men and women, conveniently located near buses, trains, shopping, and restaurants.

When we speak to recovering addicts, as we do on a regular basis, they tell us that the hardest part of recovery is when they're home alone, bored, or have idle time on their hands. Therefore our goal at Jeffrey's House is to ensure that you're NEVER alone in the house, NEVER bored in the house, and ALWAYS have something to do in the house. Having "something to do in the house", consist of mandatory household chores, cooking as a group, eating as a group, group discussions, board games, watching television, listening to music, cooking out in the back yard, etc. A large part of successful recovery is staying positively occupied.

In most instances, by the time you've made the decision to come to Jeffrey's House, or any other Sober Environment, you most likely are coming because of one of the following reasons: 1. You have exhausted all other housing options with family and friends, 2. You were recently incarcerated, are on probation, or parole, or 3. Your addiction has left you jobless and on the verge of homelessness. Whatever your circumstances were, as to the reason you came to Jeffrey's House, are irrelevant once you arrive. From that day forth, we are helping you to build your confidence, self esteem, character, and work ethic. We do this by remaining upbeat, positive, and working as a team to resolve any personal issues you have, as well as group issues that arise in the house. You are also building your confidence, self esteem, character, and work ethic, everyday that you don't use drugs or alcohol. This is assured by NA and/or AA meetings, group encouragement, and 1 mandatory drug test per week.

Before you began your recovery, you were frivolously wasting your money on drugs and alcohol, and some of you were committing illegal activities to support your habit. And at some point you stopped paying your required bills such as your mortgage, rent, car, credit cards, clothes, etc. Therefore, as part of your recovery you must be re-taught how to consistently pay your bills in a timely manner. Although Jeffrey's House, and all sober houses operate through a collective financial effort from residents, the other aspect of collecting money from you on a weekly basis, is to get you back into the "financial swing of things", so that you can once again be a productive and contributing member of society. You are recovering mentally, physically, and financially $$$$$$$$$.

At Jeffrey's House, we do not view our housing and its rules and regulations as either permanent or temporary, because each and every resident handles recovery differently. We've had some residents who haven't lasted one week, while others have been with us for two and three years -- and even as long as 10 years. As long as a resident is doing all the things that we require them to do, and is continuing their sobriety, we want them to stay as long as they want. Contrary to that, if a resident is found to have used drugs or alcohol, isn't contributing to the house regarding chores or finances, or is negatively disturbing the house, we have to immediately ask them to leave. One bad apple spoils the whole bunch! ​ ​

If we can be of assistance, please contact us at sumjeff44@gmail.com or 978.770.7288.