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 October 10, 2025

New at the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office’s Bridge Center: WellStrong and the Michael English House

The Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office today announces partnerships  with two nonprofits, WellStrong and the Michael English House. Together, working out of The Bridge Center, we will enhance public safety by supporting addiction recovery and vocational opportunities for at-risk and justice-involved individuals.

"I have learned that many times the challenges of leaving incarceration are so insurmountable people cycle back into crime and addiction," said Barnstable County Sheriff Donna D. Buckley. "That is why we opened The Bridge Center, to provide that continuum of care necessary for lasting reintegration. Our partnership with these two nonprofits founded by people in long-term recovery will provide job-readiness and individualized support that is free and accessible.”

Founded in 2017 by Amy Doherty, WellStrong is a community wellness center led and governed by people in recovery. It provides a safe and welcoming space where individuals recovering from substance use can build healthy connections, strengthen their recovery, and improve their quality of life. Evidence-based programs include peer mentors, peer wellness coaching, peer support navigators, and a wide variety of wellness and fitness programs.

WellStrong will provide three staff, five days a week at the Bridge Center – a peer wellness coach, a peer support navigator, and a peer mentor. These peers are people with lived experience in recovery from substance use disorders who can offer assistance with navigation to resources.

WellStrong received an award from the Town of Barnstable Opioid Abatement Funds, making this peer-based model possible at the Bridge Center. 

Co-founders Vincent English, Dan Allen, and Joe Thorpe created the nonprofit Michael English House in 2024. Named after Vincent’s brother, who died in 2017 of a substance use disorder, Skilled Purpose is the nonprofit’s first program. It will train people for meaningful and lucrative careers in the construction trades. Skilled Purpose will use its partnership with the Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Cape Cod for job placement. Many of the board members and instructors are in recovery. The job environment will create a community of supportive sober colleagues.

Skilled Purpose will train two crews at the Bridge Center — one made up of people currently incarcerated and one made up of those in recovery. The Bridge Center will serve as a practical learning environment for program participants.  Being a century old, the building will benefit from light carpentry, painting and updating. Skilled Purpose and the Sheriff’s office are currently coming up with a list of projects for the crew to tackle.

The Bridge Center opened in April to address the challenges of maintaining sobriety and stability post-incarceration. Located in the Barnstable Court complex, the Bridge Center’s mission is to increase public safety by supporting successful reintegration.  Among other things, the Bridge Center allows us to connect people with a wide range of existing support services. Already, Duffy Health Center has a community health worker at the Bridge Center. There are also AA and NA meetings, a post-incarceration support group, and free legal consultations.

“WellStrong and the Michael English House are run by people with lived experience who understand the struggle to regain personal and financial control after incarceration and during recovery,” Sheriff Buckley said. “They fit our mission by providing practical, confidential and free services – services that lead people towards positive outcomes and that ultimately make us all safer.”