By Nicole Haley and Valeria Carrano
The building space on Huntington Avenue between Cappy’s II and Boston House of Pizza, which used to be occupied by the Huntington Hotel and once sparked interest in Northeastern for possible student housing, has been the home to some 120 federal prisoners for over 30 years.
Coolidge House is a part of the Massachusetts Half-Way Houses sponsored by the nonprofit agency, Community Resources for Justice (CRJ).
Francesca Carmignani, the assistant director of programs at the house, said that it serves to “provide a transition for people coming out of prison.”
The program requires that residents have full-time jobs and that 25 percent of their earnings goes back into the house to pay for subsistence. An additional 25 percent has to be put into savings accounts which they are not allowed to access until their release.
“This way they’re not just thrown out on the streets with nothing,” Carmignani said.
The majority of residents are men and are often there for what Carmignani referred to as “white collar crimes” such as tax evasion or fraud. She also said that the number of drug related crimes has risen significantly in past years. Carmignani said the house does receive prisoners who committed violent crime such as rapists or murderers.
Carmignani said there are in-house substance abuse counselors and each resident is assigned a case manager to guide them through the process. The house rules require residents to abide by curfews and telephone checks whenever they are away from the house. If residents are not where they are supposed to be on any random check, an incident report is filed and the resident loses status.
Residents are also responsible for attending any classes they may be assigned on subjects such as substance abuse or domestic violence. They must keep their rooms neat and are assigned detail for cleaning various parts of the house. The residents increase their status and liberties by closely following the rules.
“Each level is a privilege and it has to be earned,” Carmignani said.
Amy Nenninger, a senior criminal justice major, said she was initially a bit scared when she discovered the half-way house her middler year while looking for a co-op. Now a full-time employee for the third consecutive year, Nenninger admitted to having some reservations when she first arrived at Coolidge House.
“I learned it really is a safe environment. These guys are on their last step to being out and they don’t want to screw up now,” Nenninger said.
Director of Programs Brenda O’Donnell, another Northeastern graduate, said that Northeastern co-op students have provided the house with a “stable workforce” over the years and that working at Coolidge House presents a good challenge.
“It’s never quite what you thought the day would be like,” O’Donnell said.
Some of the prisoners who have stayed in the house include former Peabody Mayor Nicholas Mavroules, who spent six months there while serving time for racketeering and tax -evasion, the former Deputy Superintendent of the Boston Police Department William Celester, who was imprisoned for embezzling and Howie Winter, who was replaced by James “Whitey” Bulger as head of the Winter Hill Gang.
