Treatment program making great strides
By Cary Shuman
Matty Powers had a Power of Recovery table set up in the City Hall parking lot for the recent Revere Community Resource Fair.
Accompanying Powers, who is the founder and CEO of Power of Recovery, at the table were COO Damon Weinberg and Recovery Advocate Matthew Parlante, a Revere firefighter.
One could sense the pride and positivity that Powers and his team felt as they spoke with visitors and elaborated on the services that Power of Recovery provides in its addiction and mental health treatment programs.
Matty Powers said that Power of Recovery is beginning its fifth year of operation in Revere.
“It all derived from Chelsea’s House Sober Living which opened in 2011 with six beds in Lynn – we’ve grown it to over 240 beds in Malden, Lynn, Chelsea and East Boston,” he said proudly, noting that the Sober House is named after “Chelsea Bob (Bob Hinckley), who passed away with 26 years of sobriety.”
Power of Recovery is a treatment center located on Broadway. It has become a statewide model for the treatment of addictions and mental health.
“Thousands of people have walked through our doors,” said Powers, who himself is entering his 16th year of sobriety. “I still go to AA/NA meetings three to four times a week, and there were seven people from Power of Recovery there, all with one year-plus of sobriety. It’s amazing. I said to myself, ‘Wow, we’re really doing something good.’ When you stop and look at what we’ve accomplished, it’s the best feeling, and it helps me stay honest, too.”
Powers has built a staff of more than 25 people at Power of Recovery.
“I have recovering addicts working with recovering addicts, so from the top down, everybody is either in recovery, or have been touched by addiction,” said Powers. “Everyone is like-minded, so we meet everybody where they’re at. My motto is we treat everyone equal but different.”
While treatment programs are growing in the region, Powers explained that Power of Recovery “is the only PHP (Partial Hospitalization Program) that uniquely takes private insurance and MassHealth insurance.”
Powers said Power of Recovery “can take a person from out on the street through every process all the way to your own house.”
“I can take you from detox to treatment to sober living – all the way to you’re ready to move out on your own – you don’t have to leave our care.”
Powers is a member of a legendary Chelsea family. Matty’s father, Steve Powers Sr., served with distinction as an alderman. The family’s annual Fourth of July party for children and families was the place to be on the holiday. The Powers family has owned and operated S&L Subs – which is known for the sheer size of their submarine sandwiches and their trademark steaks and cheese – for decades.
Today, Matty Powers, son of Steve and Judy Powers, is the CEO of a program that has become a statewide model of excellence for those in recovery. Matty’s brother, Stephen and Dennis, are co-founders of Power of Recovery and Chelsea’s House Sober Living. Matty and his staff at Power of Recovery are doing very important and life affecting work.
(Power of Recovery is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The program is on call 24 hours a day).