A Home Where Women Rebuild Their Lives

My husband Rick worked on that house from sunup to sundown. (God sent me a carpenter, I often chuckle.) It took nearly two years to bring that house back to life .Looking back, I realize that’s how long it took in my own recovery before I truly began to feel comfortable in my own skin.

There were moments when the dream felt impossible. At one point Rick and I were down to our last few thousand dollars and wondering how we were going to keep going. I remember asking him, “What are we going to do?”

Not even ten minutes later, we received a phone call from someone who wanted to tour the home. After the tour, they handed us an envelope and said they requested three things. We want to remain anonymous, set the bar high, and open it after we leave. 

After they left, we opened the envelope. Inside was $100,000.

My higher power stepped in again, and the blessings have continued to this day.

That dream became Sisters of Sobriety.

For five years we lived out that vision in that home. During that time, we were blessed to open two additional recovery homes, expanding opportunities for women seeking a new way of life.

Eventually we made the difficult decision to move on from that house so we could relocate to an area that would provide more opportunities for the women we serve, especially employment as they rebuild their lives.

When I shared the news with my son Levi that we were selling the house, he asked me, “Why are you selling it?”

I explained that we needed to move somewhere that could better support the women.

Levi paused and then said something I will never forget:

“That house needs to stay in the family. I’m going to buy it.” And he did.

Today that house is Levi’s forever home, where he and his family are building their life together. In many ways, just as that house was restored, our family experienced healing as well. Levi lived through the pain of my addiction, as did my daughter Britteny, and today they both live in the blessings that recovery has brought.

Today the journey continues in Big Rapids, Michigan, where Sisters of Sobriety continues to grow. New programs are flourishing, new opportunities are being created, and women continue to rebuild their lives through recovery, community, and hope.

Since opening our doors, more than 500 women have come through Sisters of Sobriety seeking a new way of life. Each woman carries her own story, her own struggles, and her own courage to begin again.

My life today is filled with blessings. What began as a dream has become a passion, to share experience, strength, and hope with every woman who walks through our doors. 
 

And every time I see a woman begin to believe in herself again, I am reminded that the greatest miracle was never just the house being restored… It was the moment a broken woman like me was restored first.

Welcome to Sisters of Sobriety.