{"id":145855,"date":"2026-03-23T10:25:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T10:25:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/145855\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T10:25:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T10:25:09","slug":"hope-house-reopens-in-reading-as-transitional-housing-for-men-in-recovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/145855\/","title":{"rendered":"Hope House reopens in Reading as transitional housing for men in recovery"},"content":{"rendered":"

For Navy veteran William \u201cChris\u201d Price, his move into Hope Rescue Mission\u2019s Hope House is the next step in a long journey through recovery.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the background that I came from, through recovery into transition, and now moving forward in life, it\u2019s the next perfect step,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The facility, 131-133 S. Ninth St., reopened in February after a six-month, $800,000 renovation that transformed two aging row homes into a transitional residence for men graduating from the mission\u2019s main campus at 645 N. Sixth St.<\/p>\n

Price, 64, previously lived at Hope House but temporarily moved back to the mission dormitory for about six months while the mirror-image homes on the city\u2019s south side were combined into one cohesive space.<\/p>\n

\"HopeHope Rescue Mission\u2019s Hope House, 131-133 S. Ninth St., reopened in February after a six-month, $800,000 renovation that transformed two aging row homes into a transitional residence for men graduating from the mission\u2019s main campus at 645 N. Sixth St. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just got finished renovating,\u201d said Rob Turchi, CEO of the more than 130-year-old faith-based nonprofit that provides emergency shelter, meals and long-term support for people experiencing homelessness.<\/p>\n

Turchi said funding for the project came largely through a grant from Customers Bank, along with private donations.<\/p>\n

Kaiser Martin Group of Muhlenberg Township served as general contractor for the renovation, which included new roofs and windows, upgraded heating, electrical and plumbing systems, and a fully ADA-accessible bedroom and bathroom addition.<\/p>\n

The finished facility boasts 13 private bedrooms, four bathrooms, two living rooms, a kitchen, dining area, laundry room and rec room. An outdoor patio, grill space and garden are in the works.<\/p>\n

Volunteers from local churches, businesses and Reading High School along with area nursing students added the final homey touches inside, helping to paint, clean and furnish the building for occupancy.<\/p>\n

\"YulizaYuliza Contreras of Legend Truck Body and Premier Fleet Services, Leesport, cleans a bathroom at Hope House in time to welcome 13 residents to the refurbished group home on South Ninth Street. (MICHELLE LYNCH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n

Like Price, the men who will live at Hope House are not newcomers to the mission\u2019s program.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are 13 men who have proven themselves to be in sustained recovery, to be really very stable individuals in our main campus programs,\u201d Turchi said.<\/p>\n

The mission\u2019s main campus is designed as a place of restoration and refocus, he said, but not a permanent home. Hope House offers the final stage of transitional housing for men who have demonstrated at least six to 12 months of stability and sobriety.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey need somewhere affordable to go to,\u201d Turchi said. \u201cSo this is all about affordability, but also extending a sense of community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Residents will pay a program fee of about $400 a month, covering utilities and continued access to case management, addiction recovery and mental health services.<\/p>\n

They will be required to maintain sobriety, keep their rooms clean and participate in the structure that has supported their recovery, Turchi said.<\/p>\n

\"HopeHope Rescue Mission CEO Robert Turchi looks over the laundry at the mission\u2019s community housing at 131-133 S. Ninth St. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n

For Price that structure matters.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very structured program by design,\u201d he said, \u201cbecause it\u2019s helping us, the residents there, work ourselves to the place where we are financially independent.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Navy veteran who served from 1983 to 1991 in the aviation branch, Price said he came to Pennsylvania in 1999 \u201cas a person at the end of a rope.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt that point in my life, I was addicted to drugs and had pretty much burned most of the bridges in my life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Despite many career and personal successes, Price struggled with addiction for much of his adult life.<\/p>\n

\"ManuelManuel Sosa of Legend Truck Body and Premier Fleet Services, Leesport, cleans floors at Hope House in time to welcome 13 residents to the refurbished group home on South Ninth Street. (MICHELLE LYNCH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n

\u201cRecovery is not a once and done thing. Recovery is a lifelong process,\u201d he said. \u201cRecovery is like climbing up a down escalator. It is a constant effort. If you take a rest and pause, you go backwards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the years, Price said he experienced periods of sobriety followed by relapse.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had periods of sobriety followed by falling back after I got complacent, comfortable and lax,\u201d he said. \u201cSo now it is an everyday practice to find gratitude, to find support, to find strength, to continue restoration and continue to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Price, who is working and planning for eventual financial independence, credits Hope Rescue Mission\u2019s programs with helping him and other clients on their journeys.<\/p>\n

He also finds strength in his Christian faith.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe spiritual part of me knows that I am being renewed daily by the relationship that I have with the Lord,\u201d he said, \u201cand so that gives me promise for hope and for a future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"HopeHope Rescue Mission CEO Robert Turchi stands on the ramp leading to an ADA-compliant bedroom at the mission\u2019s community housing at 131-133 S. Ninth St. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n

He offered simple advice to others who may find themselves where he once stood.<\/p>\n

\u201cTake every opportunity that\u2019s provided, apply yourself diligently, look for ways to be part of the solution and find something to be thankful for every day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For men like him, Price said, Hope House represents more than a roof overhead. It is a bridge from crisis to stability, from dependence to independence, from isolation to community.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s absolutely fitting that Hope Rescue Mission and Hope House have the word \u2018hope\u2019 as the beginning of their title,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a place of hope.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For Navy veteran William \u201cChris\u201d Price, his move into Hope Rescue Mission\u2019s Hope House is the next step…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":145856,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[349,857,182,139,28,736,128,130,129,706],"class_list":["post-145855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-berks-county","tag-essential-reading","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-reading","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-top-stories-reg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145855"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145855\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}