AMESBURY — About 200 people are expected to head over to Friend Street on Thursday to see the men’s sober house, Elms of Amesbury, renamed The Quinn House to honor Loren “Big Larry” Quinn.
“I’ve been told that he is responsible for the sobriety of thousands and thousands of people on the North Shore,” said Paula Newcomb, executive director of Housing Support Inc. “I know a lot of people in that community and I am astounded at the number of them who are familiar with his work.”
Quinn, a giant in the local sober community, died at age 83 in 2021. He had 59 years of sobriety under his belt at the time.
At 11 a.m. on Thursday, what has been called the Elms of Amesbury will officially be forever known as The Quinn House.
Although Newcomb said she tried to keep the new name of the house a secret, word got out in the sober community and she’s heard from plenty of people in recovery who are excited about the change.
“I’m getting calls from all kinds of people,” she said. “We’re hoping for a very nice day.”
Housing Support, founded in 1990, is a Newburyport-based nonprofit organization dedicated to giving people with various disabilities a place to live.
“We have nine different buildings with folks who are clients of the Department of Mental Health and veterans,” Newcomb said. They include the Main Street Supportive Residence in Amesbury for those with developmental disabilities and the Main Street Veterans Residence.
“We also have a couple of sober houses,” Newcomb said.
One of the sober houses, Elms of Amesbury, has been on Friend Street across from City Hall since 1992.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Housing Support sunk roughly $1 million into renovating the entire property.
The nonprofit organization has overhauled the management and staffing at Elms of Amesbury, Newcomb said.
“We have 2.5 full-time equivalents, including an overnight person there now,” she said. “We also have a house manager who has a lot of experience. Plus, we have another program manager.”
Earlier this year, the board of directors decided it needed a more personal name for the renovated building.
Quinn’s name was the first to come up.
Quinn, a Newburyport native, co-founded and was the first executive director of the John Ashford Link House, a halfway house in his hometown. At the time of his death, Quinn lived in Salisbury.
Brenda Harkness, Quinn’s daughter, said her father was a man who turned his life around once he gave up drinking.
“His police record is crazy,” she said. “He did five years in (MCI-Cedar Junction), two years in (Northeastern Correctional Center). But when you see what he did with his life through Alcoholics Anonymous and all of the people he helped, it’s just amazing.”
Housing Support board member and former Essex County Sheriff Frank Cousins said he couldn’t think of a better tribute to the man he called a friend for many years.
“He devoted 59 years of his life to helping other people,” Cousins said. “Sometimes, he did this quietly, sometimes he did this openly. But, whenever he was needed to help people, he was there.”
Although Quinn was always looking to help others, Cousins said he’s not sure how his old friend would respond to having a sober house named after him.
“He’d probably growl when he heard about it,” Cousins said. “But, at the end of the day, he would be very grateful that people thought that much of him. This would be a great day for him.”
Harkness agreed her father would probably make light of the honor. But she said helping others was his purpose in life.
“I’m just so proud to be his daughter,” she said. “And to anyone who is struggling with drugs or alcohol, if he can do 59 years, you can do one day.”
Elms of Amesbury offers 24 subsidized rooms with residents spending 30% percent of their income to live there, according to Newcomb.
Newcomb thanked Newburyport Bank for its assistance in financing the property’s renovation. She also thanked the state Office of Housing and Urban Development, which provides rental subsidies.
The upcoming naming ceremony is an opportunity to bring members of the community in and to show them around the place, Newcomb said.
“We want them to understand what we’re trying to do for the men there,” she said. “But the most important thing is honoring Big Larry. We’re rebranding the building so it’s clear to the community what we’re doing.”
Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Newburyport for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.