Serenity House Inc. helps men and women recover from drug and alcohol addiction, and with the opening of its newest house at 321 S. High St., Warsaw, it can now serve around 80 people at all six of its locations. Founded in 1994, the organization has two men’s units and one women’s unit in Auburn, and two men’s units and one women’s unit in Warsaw. “Why we opened up another house is to be able to open another house for women on East Market Street. We opened this house for men so the Market Street house could be used for women,” Executive Director Steve Smith said at the High Street open house Thursday. “The need will always be there because the demand is great. Our men’s houses always have waiting lists,” he said. The home at at 2016 E. Market St. opened Jan. 31, 2009, as a men’s unit. With the opening of the men’s unit on South High Street Sept. 1, the Market Street home opened as a women’s unit Sept. 1. The programs at the transitional living facilities for men and women who want to recover from drugs and alcohol are for a minimum of nine months, Smith said. “Residents follow 48 house rules. They must attend a minimum of seven recovery meetings a week, they must have a recovery sponsor and work the 12-step program with their sponsor. They must find a job, maintain the job and pay rent of $125 per week all bills paid,” he explained. Kim Kelley is the house manager at the women’s unit on East Market Street, and Abel David Jr. is the house manager at the men’s unit at 622 E. Fort Wayne St. Both were at the South High Street home open house Thursday and both are in recovery – Kelley for 21 years and David for 11. “One day at a time,” Kelley said. “I’m a recovering addict myself. I learned from my own experience and the experiences of others that addiction is one of the most persistent problems in our country, and there’s not enough facilities to help those struggling with alcohol or drug addiction,” David said. Kelley said she had two openings left at her 10-bed house as of Thursday. “We’re two short of being at full capacity at all the houses,” David said. Originally from New York, David moved back to Indiana recently from Arizona. He first came to Indiana in 1984. He graduated from Grace College and has his master’s degree in counseling. “That helps me do my job,” he said. Kelley said, “I have a passion, a deep, deep passion to help people with addiction.” She has a bachelor’s degree and transferred to Warsaw from the Auburn women’s unit. The woman who was her intern at Auburn now runs that facility. On Wednesday, Kelley will mark her two-year anniversary with Serenity. She said the best way she can tell a resident is making progress is “you can see their eyes light up that it clicks. They change their thinking so their behavior changes.” “The pay off is when we see the men and women get it,” David said. “They start seeing the benefits of recovery. They figure it for themselves.” But, Kelley said, “actions speak louder than words. They actually do.” Kelley said she has a fantastic group of women at her home who work as a team. They get incentives for their efforts, but Kelley said the key to their success is honesty and the willingness to do it. Women at the home can range anywhere from 19 to 55 in age, she said, but the average is late 20s to early 30s. Thursday morning, Smith thanked Kosciusko County Community Foundation, United Way of Kosciusko County and K21 Health Foundation for their help in making the homes possible. “Without each of you, it would not be possible. We are doing God’s work,” he told the three organizations’ representatives present. He also presented them with certificates of appreciation.
