Freedom Place Inc

Freedom Place is a St. Paul-based 501(c)(3) non-profit that has operated sober living homes since 1991. Today Freedom Place owns and operates five homes in St. Paul’s Frogtown and East Side neighborhoods.

Freedom Place operates a structured, supportive program to provide a safe and sober living environment for individuals in recovery. We are designed to foster sobriety through community living and accountability. Each home is equipped with a house manager and residents are required to attend sober support meetings, rotate chores around the house, and follow additional program rules.

Freedom Place was founded by Mark Thisius. As a community activist Mark saw medium-term affordable housing as an unfulfilled need for lower-income individuals attempting recovery through sober lifestyles. Mark believed in self-sufficiency and implemented the canvassing program in which residents without jobs can be paid for raising funds to support the Freedom Place mission. Mark believed in personal responsibility and rejected government funding – now, nearly three decades later, Freedom Place has never accepted government monies. Mark believed in personal initiative and in promoting self-sufficiency by having select residents fix, repair and rehabilitate the homes as needed.

In November 2019, Mark Thisius unexpectedly passed away. He is missed but his legacy, through Freedom Place, lives on. 

In March 2020, the board of directors hired a new Executive Director, and continues to operate under the model that Mark developed.