In a stylish townhouse, real help for recovering addicts

SALISBURY — Pete Hathaway’s road to recovery from substance abuse was long and involved several different treatment modalities.

One thing that stands out for him was being told he should go to a “halfway house.�

Hathaway, a Sotheby’s art expert who made a career out of dealing in items rare and refined, was less than thrilled with the recommendation.

“It was as if someone had stabbed me,� he said.

So when he decided to turn his home on Main Street in Salisbury into a facility for men who have completed in-patient addiction treatment, he chose to call his Enterprise New Life a “retreat.�

The house is certainly comfortable. And the food is excellent.

But the serious business of addiction treatment and therapy is the focus. Hathaway said when he was planning Enterprise New Life, “I made it clear I wanted people with skills� working there.

The recovery community is strong in the Northwest Corner, and often clients completing treatment at Mountainside in North Canaan, High Watch Farm in Kent or Trinity Glen in Sharon choose to stay in the area, where they have made sober friends and built a support network.

Several “sober houses� have appeared in recent years, offering a place for those in early recovery to live as they adjust to their new way of life.

The sober house network is largely informal; most empasize attendence at 12-step meetings and, of course, continued abstinence.

Most are fairly utilitarian — and relatively inexpensive for the residents.

But the typical sober house does not offer any formal therapeutic options, or employ certified or licensed clinical staff.

Enterprise New Life is in a different category. At $550 per day ($16,500 per month) with a 30-day minimum, it is likely out of reach for most alcoholics and addicts.

Clients at Enterprise New Life also have the services of licensed staff at their disposal — Tom Plunkett, Master of Social Work and Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), a  behavioral therapist with 30 years in practice, and counselor Eileen Lawlor (LCSW, among other degrees) — whose resume includes helping to found the dual diagnosis program at the Institute of Living in Hartford.

Both have worked at Canyon Ranch in Lenox, Mass., and bring a wide variety of treatment options to Enterprise clients.

The retreat houses a maximum of six men, who are required to attend a daily 12-step meeting, daily group therapy and individual sessions with the counselors.

Residents also enjoy the unbeatable eatables served up by chef Bruce Young.

Enterprise New Life also works with recovering men from the community — Hathaway kiddingly calls them “day students� — who attend group therapy with the residents.

Enterprise is a zero tolerance facility, Hathaway stresses, recalling a program he was in that allowed three relapses before mandating discharge — with predictably chaotic results.

At Enterprise, if a resident uses alcohol or drugs, he’s out. Period.

Hathaway said his goal is “to provide all the things I was missing in past treatments.

“I was left to my own devices, which was dangerous. I just happened to be in the right frame of mind.�

So Hathaway brings his guests to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, encourages them to make friends in “the rooms� and generally keeps an eye out.

And thus far, nobody’s tested the zero tolerance policy.

“I had a lot of help getting sober,� said Hathaway after treating this reporter to an excellent lunch at the facility. “So I am in a position to give back.�