Gaiser center teams with county to open first three-quarter house
The first licensed recovery house for women and children in Butler County could open in June.
Joe Mahoney, executive director at the Ellen O’Brien Gaiser Center, said the center has partnered with the Butler County Drug & Alcohol Program to buy a house at 606 E. Brady St. in Butler where up to 12 women and their children age 12 and younger can live temporarily as the women prepare to transition to fully independent living.
“It’s a really, really nice old Victorian farm home,” Mahoney said.
He explained the three-quarter house would provide a stable place to live for those in the final stages of their sobriety journey.
“It comes right before fully independent living,” Mahoney said.
One requirement for living in the three-quarter house is each resident will have completed higher levels of care for drug and alcohol treatment.
Mahoney said residents may come from the Gaiser center’s inpatient program.
“A three-quarter house enables them to have a stable roof over their head,” he said.
He said because many suffering from addiction relapse and return to treatment up to seven times before remaining sober, stable housing as they work on the end stage of sobriety can be an issue.
“This step enables them to have the opportunity (to work toward independence) without worrying about where they are going to sleep from day to day,” Mahoney said. “They can focus on stabilizing their recovery.”
He said Gaiser center officials began talks with county Drug & Alcohol Program officials in January 2023. At that time, county officials said there is a need for a licensed three-quarter house for women and children.
When Donna Jenereski, director of the county Drug & Alcohol Program, put out a request for proposals seeking a provider of addiction services to operate a three-quarter house, Mahoney offered the Gaiser center.
“In April 2023, the Gaiser center was approved for the project and we began to search for a house that would be fitting,” Mahoney said.
The Brady Street home was found on Aug. 23, and the many steps in the process to buy and renovate the house began with the county.
Mahoney explained that the Gaiser center bought the house, then was reimbursed by the county using state grant funds.
He said renovations began six weeks ago, and will include new windows, waterproofing the basement, a security system, a new kitchen and bathrooms, and new flooring and carpet.
He said upstairs bedrooms will have single beds or bunk beds, depending on the room’s dimensions. A large master bedroom on the ground level will become a suite for mothers and their children.
“We’re expecting more of kids visiting overnight as opposed to living there full time,” Mahoney said.
Sheets, linens, towels, dishes and kitchenware, and a washer and dryer will be provided, but residents must buy food, grooming products and other personal items.
The Gaiser center is within walking distance so residents can attend programs there, and bus transportation also is accessible from the house.
Residents from outside Butler County also could be housed at the three-quarter house if it is not full, Mahoney said.
“This is the first type of this home licensed in the county,” Mahoney said. “Many of the women coming out of the inpatient program at the Gaiser center could really, really benefit from a three-quarter house, and there aren’t enough of them.”
Women could live in the house for up to about 18 months, but the expected term or residence is about one year, he said.
Mahoney said no programs will be held at the house, which, by state requirement, can only be used for housing.
The Center of Excellence program at the Gaiser center provides case management, which will help the residents link to job resources, child care, and Dress for Success, which provides business clothing to women for interviews and the workplace.
Regarding those in the neighborhood who worry that the three-quarter house will impact their property values, Mahoney asks those who would complain to consider the tax burden on residents for incarceration.
“Addiction is a true community problem, not just a problem with the individual,” Mahoney said. “By having programs like this, you kind of get your money back.”
Mahoney said the three-quarter house is slated to be complete for a ribbon-cutting ceremony in June.
He expects more three-quarter houses to pop up in the future.
“It’s a place for these women and their children to have a safe space,” Mahoney said. “It’s going to kind of remove the burden of housing for them.”
This story was updated April 9, 2024 to reflect that the house is the first licensed recovery house for women and children in Butler County. A previous version of this story incorrectly said it was the first three-quarter house in Butler County.
