After being diagnosed with MCS I was living a torturous existence trying to find housing that would accommodate my needs, especially since I had been forced on to disability having to quit my job as an English professor at the University of Wisconsin. I met Robert Damiano, a fellow MCS suffer, who was renovating and building in a less toxic manner attempting to accommodate individuals with MCS.

I was His first tenant in a 6-unit complex for low-income individuals, which he developed here in Revere, MA a costal city north east of Boston. Since moving in 1994 my health continues to improve and I am getting a life back. Robert has done a great job with this building. I have also stayed at the Pride and Joy Condos North and did very well there. I would recommend Mr. Damiano as a landlord, developer, or consultant to anyone in search of healthier homes.

Joseph Gleeson, Revere, MA
March, 2008

I escaped the North on a winter day. It had been 0 degrees for a week and there was no end in sight. Since I was late arriving at the Pride & Joy Condo, I took just enough time to orient myself inside, and with a flashlight went directly to the ocean. It was wonderful to smell the salt air. There was enough light from the night to see that magnificent stretch of empty beach.

Back at my condo, I looked around. It looked as if it were a set up for a book on allergy-free living: nothing new or plastic, very little wood, lots of windows for natural light, cotton on the bed and futon, colorful lamps and shades, steel shelving and no chlorinated water! Nothing I should put outside. I washed the travel out of my hair and off my body, my own clean nightie and I climbed into a great comfy bed.

Everyone I met during my stay was eager to help and be sure I had everything I needed, and nothing I didn't need. The guests were thoughtful too, maybe it was contagious!!

Going to the local grocery and health food store proved to be no problem, I brought stamps. I think the surrounding community must be supportive of this community. I am a Universal Reactor, and sometimes have trouble in my own house, built for me. Someone else does my shopping, I cannot go into the post office, and many other businesses do not accommodate me. It is a thrill to be able to care for myself here.

Jane Thomassen, Gouldsboro, PA
February 2007

Importance of your motel!
Just wanted to tell you how important you are and how important is the work you are doing. I live in VA and recently tried to take a much needed vacation in Myrtle Beach, SC. I have had chemical sensitivities but have fixed my house to be free of chemicals, pressed wood, pesticides, etc. I got sick 20 years ago, had to quit working, and after a long time found a doctor who figured out what was wrong and treated me for food and chemical sensitivities. So, I thought after all this time and having lived in a healthy house for a while, I could stay in a smoke-free, pet-free hotel room. Despite my husband's relatively new car in which I rolled down the windows, all went well until I walked into the beautiful hotel room that had been recently renovated. I felt like I was suffocating and could smell the new carpet right away. I also got a headache - something I never have. I asked to be moved to a room that did not have new carpet and my headache went away but after I went to bed I could feel my throat swelling, my glands swelling and my nose stopped up. I opened the window although it was 30 something degrees outside and was able to get through the night with a large dose of Vitamin C+ soda, minimal heat, and luckily lots of warm cover provided. However my throat was sore when I woke up and since the temperature was cool (daytime in the 40's & 50's) outside, I did not see how I could do anything but go back home. I could not walk on the beach since it was much too cold in the breeze, nor go to the malls because of all the fumes, or stay in the car with its new car fumes. So my husband and I had to turn around and drive all the way back home - a 6-hour drive. Needless to say we were exhausted and very disappointed. So you see - for you to provide a haven for the chemically sensitive is a wonderful and so needed thing to do. I am sure everyone who stays with you is enormously grateful. Maybe some day when I can travel more, I can also stay at your place. Thank you for being there for all of us.

Phyllis M.
January 2007

Dear Robert,
I am writing to tell you how happy I am to have found your Pride and Joy Resort, a safe haven by the sea, where I could recover to a significant degree.

I truly appreciate the kindness and the help extended by you and your staff. It was also reassuring to find health practitioners in the area who could competently treat MCS patients. To all of you I offer sincere thanks.

The focal point of my stay and my improved health was of course the beach. Never before have I lounged on the sand reading while surrounded by Pelicans and Herons. The air was always pristine. The Atlantic roars in at Melbourne Beach with all its healing power and pure salt breezes.

Thank you, Robert, for providing us with a safe, fun vacation spot. I was happy to meet you and many other new friends. Like so many of your guests, I hope to return many times to Pride and Joy.

Very sincerely, Barbara Schwitz
May 5, 2006

Dear Robert,
My birthday comes this week & I'm so aware of how much better this coming year will be for me for having spent those weeks at Pride & Joy. So I'm sending you a thank you in writing for letting me come back- it's meant a great deal to me.

I'm really glad that you & I had a chance to talk & visit. I wish for you a year ahead of evolving health in body & joy of soul. I thank you Robert, for working so hard to make Pride & Joy a safe sanctuary for all of us.

-- With gratitude, Marion
April 24, 2006

A place to heal – that’s what the Pride and Joy Environmental Resort represents to me. More specifically, it’s a place where nature and community combine to provide a well of support toward an individual interested in healing, particularly from environmental illnesses. While living at the Pride and Joy I was free from a vast majority of environmental triggers/threats. This allowed me to feel safe, which in turn allowed me to relax and turn my attention toward healing instead of surviving.

The natural environment on this property presents many opportunities to commune with nature and participate, if only by watching and connecting, with the wonder of it all. From the magnificence of the mighty ocean to the beautiful vulnerability of a newly hatched turtle, moment-by-moment and day-by-day, one can awaken to the awesome process of life. The ability to just be, and to observe and connect with a power greater than ourselves, invites the healer within us to gently guide us toward a better way.

The Pride and Joy is a place in which one may practice, utilize or seek any healing modality free of constraints and obstacles, except from within. There is usually plenty of support no matter what path is chosen. Though I believe healing can occur anywhere, I recommend this place to anyone who is interested in healing and who may need to remove themselves from our typical, “civilized” environment full of modern day stressors and hazards at this time.

-- Marsha James Valutis, Ph.D.

I have been a long term resident at the Pride and Joy Environmental Resort for approximately three years. We initially came for a weekend to check things out and we fell in love with the area and are currently in the process of building our own environmental home just south of the resort.

Getting back to the basics--warm, sunny days, good air, and enjoying the healing negative ions and tranquility of the ocean--have been very bene-ficial to my health. I have spent hours on the beach watching dolphins gracefully swimming in the ocean, herons and seagulls flying above, and, on a really lucky evening, you may catch a glimpse of a Loggerhead turtle laying her eggs on the beach.

Melbourne is a progressive community offering good alternative doctors in the area and is also very open to many other healing arts.

Living in an MCS community has given me an opportunity to meet many wonderful and supportive people from across the country. I hope to continue my road to recovery while living here on Melbourne Beach.

-- Judy DeLeonardis

From experience I have found that there is no better place to heal than in a clean, stress free environment. Several years ago I found this environment at the Pride & Joy and have since been a regular guest. The surroundings can’t be beat. A clean ocean, constant sea breezes, and desolate sandy beaches have all done wonders for my healing process and outlook on life. When I’m here, I feel like a new person and have witnessed the same effect on others who have stayed here.

-- Chris Gagnon
November 5, 2003