Nurstead’s Sage House is a 4-8 month program for individuals in our Transitions Program who are receiving mental health and supportive services and are looking to create sustainable independent living. It is offered to adult participants exiting incarceration, on parole/probation, homeless, or seeking a stable living environment as they work on life goals. The program serves to increase skills across various domains of well-being. This includes skills for finding stable employment, budgeting, applying for housing, and other areas of growth. Participants will also be involved in therapy and counseling services throughout the program for mental health and recovery. Sage House aims to prepare and help participants reach the next stage of their lives.

Participants are expected to be able to participate in all services of the program. Medicaid recipients will have preference due to limitations of services offered without insurance, but non-insured recipients will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Participants who wish to pay with cash only will also be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Participants entering Sage House must be already free from all substances including alcohol. Medical marijuana will be considered on a case-by-case basis, but participants will not be allowed to consume their marijuana anywhere on the Nurstead campus, nor can they have marijuana odor on their person and/or belongings when returning to the campus. Weekly UA testing will be performed with all participants as part of programming. Participants who test positive or disclose active use will be referred for immediate treatment including IOP, detox or rehab. Due to the potential of risk to recovery for others, actively using participants may need to find an alternative place to live if they continue to test positive for substances after an established timeline for the specific substance (i.e. more than 4 days for cocaine, more than 24 hours for alcohol, etc.).

The application and acceptance process for Sage House is to complete the application and contact Nurstead’s outpatient office to schedule an assessment and interview for the program.

In addition to the mental health evaluation completed with clinical staff as part of the application and screening process, once enrolled in the program, residents will complete a functional domain assessment with paraprofessional staff to determine level of care needs for each individual and create an individualized plan for success. Participants have the right to refuse treatment, but they may be disqualified from Sage House as the program believes in a holistic approach and encompasses all areas of well-being, including mental health. Therapy and counseling services include meeting with a therapist once every 1-2 weeks and therapy groups 1-2 times a week. Program participants will also work with a CSW or CPSW throughout the week on recovery skills, job preparation, independent living skills, educational needs, socialization, and other skills needed to transition to a stable independent living situation.