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In 1972, Captain Andy Mathieu, Navy and Coastal Guard Veteran, and friend, Ed Dodson, managed an Alcoholic Rehabilitation Center. This enterprise operated as an outreach of the Riverside United Methodist Church. Within eighteen months, it evolved into a larger outreach becoming the first in the nation to experiment with rehabilitation of ex-offenders.
“Rehabilitation with Dignity” was a dream of Roberto Perez, a lay preacher, Reverend O. Dean Martin, Pastor of Riverside Methodist Church, and Jack Sandstrom, Director of the Dade Community Correction and Rehabilitation Department. Together, they envisioned a halfway house that offered the means for those with a first time offense the opportunity to rebuild their lives. In addition, they desired to establish an environment with caring people as a replacement for the hardened atmosphere ex-offenders were accustomed to.
Charles Babcock, Jr., a committed Christian, respected businessman and civil leader, felt called by God to help establish this residential center. He leased the apartment house directly behind the church to Riverside House for $1 a year. This was leased to establish the residential center. Jim Wiegrefe, then Executive Director, rendered a most important service to the program. He circulated a petition throughout the neighborhood requesting a zoning change for a halfway house. Since he was a man much loved and admired by the community, his petition was widely supported. The Zoning Board granted the change, and Riverside House came into official existence. In the fall of 1973, it opened as a joint project of Riverside United Methodist Church and the Dade County Correction and Rehabilitation Department. A grant from the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration provided the finances to maintain this program for the first two years of operation.
Cleveland Bell III became Executive Director of Riverside House in July of 1977. As a former ex-offender, Mr. Bell was no stranger to the feelings of frustration, anger, and rebellion often felt by those with similar backgrounds. Through the continuous outpouring of Mr. Bell’s personal life experiences with fellow men and women, and the dedicated, hard work of staff and Board members, the ministry of Riverside House has reached thousands of ex-offenders through jail groups, out-client participation, prison outreach, and inner city activities.
In 1989, Riverside House expanded its services to include a co-educational program, thus accepting its first female resident. In December of 1994, Riverside House added the Primary Care Substance Abuse Program that operated, over the course of twelve years, as a 31-bed alcohol treatment facility. In February of 1998, the Residential Substance Abuse Program for “Mariel” Cuban INS Detainees began and assisted many residents.
Today, Riverside House is a private, non-profit organization operating as a co-ed community residential re-entry facility for thirty-five years. In addition, Riverside House has acquired 31 years of contract experience with government organizations, such as the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Florida Department of Children and Families, and the Homeless Trust of Miami-Dade County.
Riverside House provides safe and comfortable living accommodations for its residents and understands that the community’s view of the program most often reflects the outward and inward appearance of the facility’s physical structure. Therefore, Riverside House ensures it meets the zoning, building, sanitation and health requirements, as well as fire requirements of Local, State, and Federal statutes. Our commitment and drive to maintain a facility that reflects excellence will always be paramount at Riverside House.
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