Cronin Home in Rochester Minnesota
Who We Are
Providing a Safe, Clean and Sober Enviroment
Cronin Home has demonstrated for over 40 years one quality solution – provide the individual with a sober environment and that they will experience an improvement in the quality of their life.
About the Cronin Home
Our Approach
Since 1980 we have provided a facility to house homeless, chemically dependent adults. We help save money for the taxpayer by minimizing the outside needs of our residents and assist the resident with immediate attention to their needs. Their disease is so often misunderstood and minimized that our community is at a loss, at times, on how to address the chronic chemically dependent and homeless individual. Cronin Home has demonstrated for over forty years one quality solution – provide the individual with a sober environment and that they will experience an improvement in the quality of their life.
History
Cronin Home gets its name from Pat Cronin who brought the first A.A. group to Minnesota in the mid 1940’s . Our founder Vern Kuluvar, a C.D counselor and C.D. services coordinator, was a well-known, active and concerned Rochester citizen. Before he retired he was instrumental in developing the Cronin Home philosophy and funding its beginnings in 1980. We began in April of 1980 as a non-profit corporation offering the chronic chemically dependent a home where he or she could live with others with the same type of problems. We started with 13 male residents. Later, because of over crowding, an addition was made to the original house raising the capacity to 15 residents, In 1983 a second facility was purchased, increasing capacity to 26, and opened our doors to women. Due to the increase in referrals and a demand for larger housing a new facility was built overlooking Silver Lake in June of 1997. Our accommodations expanded to meet the needs of 40 residents. In April 2005, 4 additional beds were added for our present total of 44. Since opening the doors of the Cronin Home in 1980, we have served the needs of over 2260 residents.
01.
— Our Mission
With the stress and its attendant lifestyle in our world today we have seen a sharp rise in chemical dependency. This health problem affects every segment of our society. Use and abuse of alcohol (other legal mood altering chemicals), street drugs (organic and synthetic), and prescription drugs are leaving a terrible scar. The chronic chemically dependant often are homeless and have no place left to turn for help, care and love. We are continually improving the pursuit of dignity for each resident while giving support, respect, hope and encouragement.
02.
— Our Philosophy
The philosophy of Cronin Home is that all persons deserve to live with dignity, be treated with respect, no matter what their physical disabilities or illness. Because of the symptoms of the illness of chemical dependency, many people suffering from this disease lose the support and/or contact with their families and significant others. Their lives become unmanageable and they often lose jobs. As they progress into chronic chemical dependency they lose any ability to maintain self respect and a healthy lifestyle. Cronin Home seeks to provide a home atmosphere with peer support and an understanding and caring staff. The aim is not specifically to demand sobriety but to recognize occasional inebriation as part of the illness. Our supportive and caring atmosphere assists them to maintain, to the best of their ability, a sober and healthy lifestyle. Our doors are always open to persons no matter how often they succumb to their disease. The philosophy of this facility is to provide a sober, safe, accessible, supportive environment for residents, staff and visitors. The living environment at Cronin Home helps to reduce and control hazards and risks for maintaining safe, sober living conditions for all residents.
The Cronin Home Staff
Michael T. Frisch AFC, LADC, Executive Director
- michael@thecroninhome.org
Gary Mills MA, Assist. Director/Intake
- gary@thecroninhome.org
Nikki Svoboda, Administrative Assistant
- nikki@thecroninhome.org
Staff Nurse
Responsible for ordering and filling resident medications. Our staff nurse addresses residents health care and medication concerns every day.
Food and Kitchen Manager
6 House Managers
Managers provide 24 hour staffing of the home, 7 days a week.
Cronin Home Board of Directors
The Board consists of up to 10 members who represent a good cross section of the Rochester community. They are supportive and active members and are totally committed to the philosophy of the Cronin Home.