GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — A newly opened sober home in Grand Rapids is designed specifically to help women in their recovery journey.
Kendra's House, by the nonprofit Guiding Light, opened in June.
The home has space to accommodate up to 11 women, offering support, resources, and amenities to create a foundation for success.
"They're here, cooking, cleaning, living as a community, really establishing those grassroots recovery supports that we all need, and learning kind of how to live with structure," explained Elisha Ash, Guiding Light Women's Program Manager. "Long-term structure is really what we as people in recovery need."
Ash, now nearly 15 years sober, is excited to help others overcome addition.
"There's so many different hurdles and hoops to jump through just to get healthy," she told FOX 17 News. "This can have the greatest impact just because women, we kind of drive that family force."
Guiding Light CEO Brian Elve explains the new home's focus on women is needed as the group is often stigmatized for struggling with substance abuse.
"A good mother wouldn't have this problem. A good wife wouldn't have a drinking problem. And so women do tend to keep this secret a little more hidden or in the dark than men do," Elve explained. "It's not about just putting a plug in the jug or stop using substances...It takes work. It takes time. And the more that the community can get involved in that, usually, the better the outcome."
Participants also have access to therapy to address underlying issues that contributed to their addiction.
"The substances are but a symptom of what's really going on, and with the women's program, and just with my own recovery, I know that there's an underlying base of sometimes trauma and things that need to be addressed," Ash said. "It's challenging, and sometimes people don't get it right perfectly. You're not going to get a perfect human being... It wasn't an overnight process for us to get to a point where we need help. Getting healed is not going to be an overnight process."
Residents of Kendra's House can stay anywhere from four to six months, utilizing the services offered for free.
"I look forward to filling this house up," Ash said. "All that they have to do is show up and invest in themselves."
To learn more about Guiding Light and Kendra's House, click here.
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