One to grow on: Women’s recovery home to celebrate anniversary
Kathy Neal is the founder of Beneath the Shade, which will hold an open house on Sept. 10 celebrating its first year of serving women in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction.
Beneath the Shade, a Christian transitional home for women in recovery, will celebrate its one-year anniversary on Saturday, Sept. 10 from 5-8 p.m. Wood-fired pizza donated by Park Street Pizza, ice cream and other refreshments will be served, and tours on the home and grounds will be offered.
As the home celebrates its first year of helping women recover from drug and alcohol addiction, at least one woman will celebrate graduation from the program. Those attending the open house also will hear testimony from some of the women living at BTS, sharing their stories and how BTS has helped them.
BTS requires women to stay for at least 12-18 months. Kathy Neal, founder of BTS, acknowledged a year or more seems like a long time, but getting sober is only part of the struggle. A life of addiction typically creates a storm of financial, relationship and job difficulties that don’t go away on their own.
Neal said women need that time away from other stressors to learn how to address those issues and to live life in a productive way. Women at BTS must hold jobs and do chores around the house and property in addition to working a 12-step program of recovery.
The Bargain Hunter first ran a story on BTS in spring 2020, as Neal and others were cleaning up the property and renovating the home, which accepted its first resident in August 2021.
“We call the residents MVPs,” Neal said. “It stands for Most Valuable Person. It just feels right.”
In the year BTS has been in operation, Neal said she has seen transformations take place. She spoke about one woman who is looking forward to attending her daughter’s wedding sober.
“She is also able to buy her daughter’s wedding dress, which is huge,” Neal said. “She has been having trouble with her car too, and someone is letting her borrow theirs. She said a year ago, nobody would have let her borrow a car, but now she is trustworthy and she is maturing.”
Neal said two marriages have come out of BTS as well. “One of them is a woman who is a volunteer here, and she ended up getting married because of a conversation that happened in this house. Also, a former board member met her spouse at an event here.”
Aftercare is an avenue BTS is exploring as they close out their first year. There is no formal program as of now, but Neal said the staff does a great job of following up with women who have gone through the BTS program.
“It’s a natural thing to do because we have formed friendships while they were here. And of course anybody that graduates is encouraged to come back so we can stay engaged with them,” Neal said.
Neal said BTS is starting to loosen up some of the restrictions placed on women as they near the end of their time there. “I think it can be a mistake to keep restrictions so tight and then all of a sudden, send the person back out into the world when they don't know what to do with their time, their jobs or just figuring out what real life feels like,” she said.
A number of organizations came together to make BTS a reality including Jay and Rhonda Yoder of Dundee and members of the congregation at LifeBridge Community Church, according to Neal. “The entire Yoder family has been involved from the beginning,” she said.
Dover United Methodist Church also has become involved, as have members of the congregation at LifeBridge Community Church, where Neal and the Yoders are members.
The Threads tie-in
The Threads thrift shop at Third and Wooster in Dover provides financial support for BTS. It also provides jobs for some of the women in the program.
“Threads ends up being actually a pretty significant part of the program,” Neil said. “The women go there during their first three months and volunteer. They are not required to have a job in the beginning, but they are required to spend time at Threads as a way of paying for what they receive here.”
Tucked in the basement of LifeBridge Community Church at 301 N. Wooster Ave., Threads provides clothing and other items at bargain basement prices. Store hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The store also accepts donations during store hours or in a drop-off box behind the building on Peach Street.
Beneath the Shade can be called at 405-668-2403 and can be found on Facebook. It is located at 5916 Middle Run Road in Dover.