ESCANABA, Mich. (WJMN) – A safe place for women is officially open and they are looking to change lives. Located on South 11th street in Escanaba, two groups have partnered together to bring a place to women on their road to recovery.
“So we looked and one of the options of course was just to rent it out,” Ralph Peterson, Treasurer for Bethany Lutheran Church said. “We then got wind of Catholic Social Services of the U.P. were looking for a place we made contact with them and I think it’s just a great partnership.”
This house is the first of its kind in the area and will offer a variety of services in addition to being a place for six women to call home.
“Here they’re gonna do one on one with a counselor, group counseling, and then we’re gonna have access to new laptops for them to be able to apply for jobs, create resumes, and look for work,” Patty Seeley, House Manager for the Women’s Recovery House said. “Then they’re going to use this room that we’re sitting in now for supervised visits for any women that are trying to get their children back. This house is going to be a safe place for them to do that.”
The house is open to any women going through their recovery journey and looking to build a solid foundation in the new chapter of their life.
“There is no set length of stay, it’s really based on how long it takes them and that looks different for everybody,” Kyle Rambo, Director of Catholic Social Services of the U.P. said. “How long it takes them to manage their addiction behaviors, gain employment, really get integrated back into the community, reunited with their families, all of those things are key factors in recovery living.”
Even on the official day of its opening, the house is already making an impact.
“I am so very excited,” Seeley said. “I’ve been here for about a month getting the house ready and we have two residents right now that came in last week. So I have my first two women, and I’m just excited to get it moving forward and see what God’s got in store for the women that will be coming here.”
