History

The House of Hope began with George Conner, a service station owner on North Park Street, who allowed alcoholic men to sleep in his station and encouraged them to get sober. When a physician from White Cross Hospital suggested using the old “Sells” mansion at the intersection of Buttles and Dennison Avenues as a potential business location, George recognized it as the perfect spot for a halfway house.

In April 1959, members of the Columbus Area Council on Alcoholism, established in 1958, met to discuss creating a rehabilitation center for alcoholics. From this meeting, a non-profit corporation was formed, officially operating since May 25, 1959.

Our house at 825 Dennison is now dedicated as the Thomas Ramseyer House in memory of our former executive director, who led our agency from 1983 to 2007.

The House of Hope expanded its services in August 1996 by establishing an Outpatient facility to provide substance use disorder treatment for adult men and women. The current building at 1034 Harrisburg Pike was purchased and refurbished in 2012 to further these efforts.

A significant milestone occurred in 2008 when House of Hope opened its first recovery residence in Columbus’ south end neighborhood. Today, we operate seven recovery residences centrally located in Columbus, Ohio.

To better convey our mission, our legal name was changed in 2022 from House of Hope for Alcoholics, Inc. to House of Hope for Recovery. This change was accompanied by a new logo and a comprehensive rebranding campaign.

January 2023 marked the launch of the Short-Term Stabilization Program, which houses up to 11 men and offers the option to transfer to our long-term program, including vocational services and recovery housing.