The Link House

About The Link House (Link House, Inc.)

The Link House, formally Link House, Inc., is a Massachusetts nonprofit sober living operator based in Newburyport, running residential recovery programs across Amesbury, Newburyport and Salisbury in Essex County. Founded in 1972, the organization has provided services to more than 6,500 individuals over its history.

An Essex County Behavioral Health and Housing Provider

Link House, Inc. combines residential housing with case management, group programming and, at several properties, licensure through the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's Bureau of Substance Abuse Services. That state funding and oversight sets it apart from independently certified sober houses that answer only to the Massachusetts Alliance for Sober Housing.

Four Residential Programs in Three Cities

Link House, Inc. runs four residential recovery programs:

• Link House, on Washington Street in Newburyport, for men.
• Maris Center for Women, on Elm Street in Salisbury, for women.
• Progress House, on High Street in Amesbury, for men.
• WISH, near downtown Newburyport, for women.

Two properties serve men and two serve women, and the network spans three distinct Essex County communities.

A Spectrum From Structured Treatment to Independent Housing

The four programs run along a spectrum of structure. Link House and Progress House provide daily counseling, case management and, at Link House, 24-hour supervision. The Maris Center offers a somewhat lighter housing-stability model with daily programming. WISH sits at the independent end, self-supporting and managed with a live-in peer supervisor.

State Licensure and Funding

Link House, Progress House and Maris Center are each licensed and partially funded through the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's Bureau of Substance Abuse Services. That funding stream ties the organization's oversight directly to the state, distinct from the Massachusetts Alliance for Sober Housing's certification process that many independent Massachusetts sober houses use.

Serving Amesbury, Newburyport and Salisbury

Essex County's Merrimack Valley towns of Amesbury, Newburyport and Salisbury sit close enough together that Link House, Inc. can run four distinct programs without asking residents to leave the area they already know. A resident moving between the organization's houses stays inside the same small stretch of the county.