Updated recovery housing at Avivo with help from partners

“I think it’s amazing. I know whoever comes after me is gonna love it here,” says Tamika, a mother and Avivo residential treatment program participant.

Four of eight apartments in one of Avivo’s family recovery housing buildings received a total renovation thanks to funding from The Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC)-Housing First Minnesota Foundation. The renovation includes all eight units of Avivo’s family intensive outpatient housing, located in Minneapolis.

*Tamika (right) poses poses in her newly-renovated apartment with Kristen, program manager at Avivo.*

Project partners celebrated the move-in of the first four families at a housing reveal event on April 13, and the next four units will be completed by the end of 2019.

“I think it’s amazing. I know whoever comes after me is gonna love it here.”

Bob Bennett, BATC-Housing First Minnesota Foundation’s manager, loves hearing Tamika talk about how this project will benefit people in treatment who come after her. “We’re always looking for how we can touch the most lives with one project,” says Bennett. “That’s why we really like to help organizations like Avivo.”

The BATC – Housing First Minnesota Foundation was started about 20 years ago. Their mission is to work in partnership with others to provide safe, quality, affordable housing for those in need.

“It’s wonderful. It’s a total turnaround – you wouldn’t think it’s the same apartment that it was before.”

In this case, they’re achieving their mission by partnering with The Kingdom Builders and Crystal Kitchen + Bath. Both contractors generously donated their skilled time for this project, as well as covered costs for upgrades to fixtures in the units.

“One of the things touching us about Avivo is that moms going through treatment can stay with their children, instead of being split up,” says Bennett. “To me, that’s a really cool deal.”

*Pictured: The Kingdom Builders, one of this project’s build partners, shortly before move-in day for Tamika.*

After deciding to proceed with Avivo in December, they found their build partners, The Kingdom Builders and Crystal Kitchen + Bath.

Construction kicked off in January and the final unit was completed by early April, allowing four families to move in. Tamika has some kind words of thanks for the contractors: “It’s wonderful. It’s a total turnaround – you wouldn’t think it’s the same apartment that it was before.”