Supportive living house opens for women in recovery

LACONIA — Women in recovery, particularly those of low-income, can have a hard time finding a safe, clean place to live while they try to put their life back together.

A house on Union Avenue will now serve this purpose for eight women.

Lakes Region Community Developers, Horizons Counseling Center and Navigating Recovery of the Lakes Region collaborated to create Compass House, which had its grand opening on Wednesday.

The two-story, 2,900-square-foot house was built in 1904, according to city property records, and was formerly used as the office of Lakes Region Community Developers, which moved in August to the old Walter’s Market building at 193 Court Street.

The house will be used by women who have completed a residential treatment program for substance use disorder, with a priority for those coming out of such programs in jails and prisons.

Lakes Region Community Developers traditionally has focused on developing rental homes for low-income families. Carmen Lorentz, its executive director, said it now also develops affordable starter homes, and with this project, supportive housing.

Jacqui Abikoff, executive director of Horizons Counseling Center, said there is a strong need for such housing.

“What we know is that people with substance use disorder are still discriminated against when it comes to a lot of things, and housing is one of them,” she said. “But you know who's even more discriminated against — people with substance use disorder coming out of jails and prisons.

“We decided to target women first because they are more vulnerable when they come out into the community and don’t have a safe place to live.”

She said the eight women Compass House will initially help is a drop in the bucket.

“But hopefully it will be the beginning of more projects like this,” Abikoff said.

Each guest at Compass House will be guided by a trained recovery coach from Navigating Recovery.

Daisy Pierce, executive director of Navigating Recovery, praised the various groups that got together to finance the project, remodel the building, furnish it and decorate it, down to the detail of bedspreads.

Each bed has a quilt donated by the Belknap Mill Quilters Guild.

“Anyone who has heard me speak knows my favorite part about working in the Lakes Region is the community collaboration that happens here,” Pierce said. “It is more impressive than other places in the state.

“The collaboration that it took to put this together and what it’s going to take to keep the project going is just spectacular and it works so well in this area. I just love that we’re able to set this model for the rest of the state.”