Contact: Melissa Ford melissa@cfwabash.org
For Immediate Release
Date: 06/12/2020
Raising Hope in Wabash County
The Wabash County Drug Steering Committee, Hope House Ministry, Inc., and the Community Foundation of Wabash County are pleased to announce plans to locate a transitional home for women in Wabash County. Currently, Wabash County has no transitional housing for women in recovery. The lack of safe, stable, sober, and structured housing poses a barrier for many women who could benefit from the support and safety transitional homes provide.
In 2019, Shane Beal, Tia Brewer, and Brian Blevins, residents of Grant County, Indiana, recognized the need for transitional homes and put their minds together to create homes for people recovering from substance use disorder. The homes, called Hope House, opened their doors to the community in March 2020, in Marion, Indiana. The opening was met with donations and accolades from the public, because of the community’s long-expressed desire to have a place that provided safety, structure, and support to individuals in their recovery process.
Meanwhile, in Wabash County, the Wabash County Drug Steering Committee had been investigating models for transitional homes. In discussing how the committee found Hope House, Marilyn Custer-Mitchell, President of Parkview Wabash Hospital and member of the committee said, “When we discovered Hope House, we discovered that their mission and vision were similar to ours – focusing on supporting, assisting, and guiding women as they recover from addiction. They have done in Grant County, exactly what we want to do in Wabash County. We are thrilled to welcome Shane and Tia’s outstanding program to Wabash County.”
Today, Beal, and Brewer, in a partnership with the Wabash County Drug Steering Committee, seek to open the first transitional home for women in Wabash County. To raise proceeds for a Hope House, a fundraiser called Hope House Under the Stars, will take place on Sunday, June 28, from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. at the 13-24 Drive-In Theater located at 890 N, IN-13 in Wabash. The event is free to the community and anyone interested in learning more about Hope House is encouraged to attend. The Lego Batman Movie will be showing and children are encouraged to dress as their favorite superhero. Gates open at 8:00 p.m. and the movie will begin at approximately 9:35 p.m. Raffle winners will be announced before the movie. A fund at the Community Foundation has been established to receive contributions. All free-will donations will be directed to the Hope House Fund and will be used to sponsor rooms, pay salaries, and provide meals and recovery-related programming for women living in the home.
Recovery homes are truly invaluable in providing residents the opportunity to build self-worth, self-empowerment, and self-efficiency. In speaking about the Hope House on Now Hear This, an Indianapolis podcast hosted by Chris Spangle, Brewer said, “Recovery homes provide a bridge between active addiction, early recovery, and a life-long recovery process long past when individuals leave Hope
House.” At a Hope House, residents have the unique opportunity to focus on their lives and rebuild relationships with the support and accountability of other “like-minded” women with similar goals and challenges. In speaking about the need for a transitional home in Wabash County, Sarah Lochner, Director of Court Services at Wabash County Court Services says,
“Witnessing our clients battle substance use and addiction without the benefit of safe, stable housing is devastating. When clients first get started, they are often looking for help and are motivated for significant change. However, the lack of safe housing with like-minded people can diminish that motivation in an instant. It begins to feel impossible for the clients to overcome some of the challenges they might face when living house to house or returning to living environments that don’t promote sobriety. For women specifically, when our best option requires them to move to another community, sometimes away from their children, and oftentimes without transportation- we see the motivation wane. Having a home in Wabash where women can learn to live safely within their community- and grow a community of recovery- will have significant impact. We’re so grateful to Hope House, and specifically Shane and Tia. Their work with our proactive courts as Recovery Coaches has already made a difference for our clients. I have no doubt that their guidance for a recovery home will have the same impact.”
To learn more about Hope House, the public is invited to attend Hope House Under the Stars on June 28th. Any donations for the Wabash County Hope House collected during or after the event will be directed to the Community Foundation and used to sponsor rooms, pay salaries, and provide meals and recovery-related programming for women living in the home. The Community Foundation of Wabash County will be processing donations and administering the Hope House Fund. All donations are tax deductible. To make a donation, you can visit www.cfwabash.org or mail a check to the Community Foundation located at 105 West Second Street, North Manchester, IN 46962 with Hope House in the memo line. With your financial support, you will help women in Wabash County maintain recovery, strengthen relationships, find freedom, discover purpose in their lives, and most importantly, find hope.
For more information on Hope House, follow Hope House on Facebook and Instagram or visit www.hopehousemarion.org.