Since 2011, local women determined to forge a path out of substance abuse have found a long-term ally in Restoring Women Outreach, Inc., a Cullman-based nonprofit first launched by founders Carol Berry and the late Dorothy Frady.
Housing women in mentored group settings at homes the organization operates across the city of Cullman, Restoring Women serves as a stabilizing force amid each participant’s turbulent sea of personal struggles.
Those often include legal problems, a lack of education, financial obstacles, isolation from family and friends, and, of course, overcoming addiction itself. In many cases, says Berry, it includes all those challenges at once.
“What we really provide is a home base for these people beyond just recovery,” she explains, seated in the “Destiny” house — the fifth and newest home, each named in accordance with an optimistic recovery-minded theme, that recently opened as the final housing stop on its residents’ long restorative journey.
“Our goal, before you leave us, is to help get you a good job, to get your G.E.D., to connect you with a supportive community and really give you a network of accountability that helps you leave substance abuse in your past,” she says. “It can be tough. I mean, it’s tough when you first get somebody in here, getting them healthy and able to work, getting their mind ready for what’s ahead. If they’ve been sitting in jail for six months, they’re not exactly where they want to be when they first come to us, you know?”
Recently restored with abundant support from Restoring Women’s vast array of community partners, the Destiny house will welcome the public for an open house tour aimed at showcasing the outreach’s efforts while hopefully extending awareness of its mission to even more potential future supporters. Set to run from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 29, the open house will offer food and tours of the property, whose historic three-bedroom interior has been decorated by six local designers.
The Destiny house can accommodate three women, and each who resides there, says Berry, are program participants who’ve remained sober for at least two years.
Berry hopes the new house’s opening marks the start of a new, bigger chapter in the outreach’s ability to accommodate eligible local women’s needs.
“I’m hoping for some apartments” in the near future, says Berry. “And then, honestly, I would also like to pull out into the country somewhere and get some land where we could have more of a larger area; a place with dorm-style living for those crucial first three months when women first come to us. Those are areas where I can really see us being able to help in ways that kind of build on what we already have.”
For details on how to attend Tuesday’s open house, contact Restoring Women Outreach by phone at 256-727-6531. To donate to the nonprofit or learn more about the program, phone the above number or reach out via email at kim@restoringwomenoutreach.org.