University House came together when three friends in recovery finally located a property that could physically meet their goal for developing a dignified sober living environment.   Its ideal location in the heart of the University of Minnesota's residential area, just four blocks northwest of the U of M's Dinkytown retail area and the U of M Campus, prompted these three men to focus exclusively on current and prospective University students in recovery.  These men understand the perils of college life, especially for someone trying to recover from alcohol and drug addiction.  

  The recovery community brought these three men in contact with experts in the area of developing quality living standards in recovery-based education.  From these mentors and friends in recovery,  the three developed the purpose and guidelines by which the University House men live their day-to-day lives in recovery .  Through personal experience, research, and extensive observation, we believe that it is almost impossible for a college-aged addict or alcoholic in recovery to succeed in school without a safe and sober place to live.  However, given a safe harbor, it has been shown that students in recovery can not only succeed in college, but excel.