Women’s recovery home invites public to dinner

Beneath the Shade, a long-term transitional living space for women in recovery, will host a public dinner on Friday, Jan. 19 at 5:30 p.m. at the First Christian Church in Dover. The goal of the event is to familiarize the community with the services and facilities Beneath the Shade offers to women who are seeking recovery from alcoholism or addiction.

“It’s all about how we connect,” said Nick Javas, secretary of the board of directors for Beneath the Shade. “Sometimes it’s hard to explain what we do here, why it’s important and how it is actually transforming lives.”

The transformation to which Javas refers is taking place in a remodeled country home just outside Dover, where women can live as they work to overcome addiction and become self-sufficient, independent members of the community.

The journey of recovery is different for everyone, which is one reason why Melissa Metz, program manager, wanted to get involved. “I think it’s important for people to understand not everyone can do recovery the same way,” she said. “God is going to call you to your own unique path, and we’re here to support you in that.”

Planting the seeds

It somehow seems fitting that people working for an organization called Beneath the Shade should speak in terms of planting seeds. “We’ve only been open a relatively short time, and we’ve seen the seeds we plant start to sprout,” said Mindy Jones, live-in manager at the transition home.

Beneath the Shade’s space has room for up to five women at a time. “It’s small, and that’s intentional,” Javas said. “We’re not trying to be a factory here or to mold people and put them back into the world. It’s more about living and community.”

The Beneath the Shade website says, “We believe that small, intentionally personal, long-term and Christ-centered living space is needed to truly ground women in their recovery.”

The stated mission is to cultivate a nurturing interim living space for women with substance-use disorders, supporting the hard work of learning to love God, self, neighbor and creation.

To achieve that mission, Beneath the Shade allows women to live at the house for anywhere from two to 14 months, with each woman’s journey dictating the length of stay needed. Women are expected to seek and hold jobs, but help is available for that: Jones just happens to run a cleaning company.

In the end it is not just the women who are changed. Just as addiction is a family disease, families can be helped to recover. “All the women who have been here so far are mothers,” Jones said. “We’re not just serving the women who come here; we’re blessed to be able to serve their children and maybe even their parents.”

What happens when they leave?

According to Jones, most women who have come to Beneath the Shade do not have a safe place to go when they leave. “The main goal is to build a community here for them by providing a warm, safe place,” she said.

To help make the transition, Beneath the Shade is remodeling a home in New Philadelphia to serve as a rental property when women leave. “It’s in a good location and will be affordable for somebody just leaving,” Javas said. “It’s also in town near many of the resources they may need.”

Overall, the goal, according to Metz, is to give women the space they need and arm them with a number of tools so that when they move on, nothing is different except their address.

Ways to support the mission

Javas said it’s important for Beneath the Shade to remain a nonprofit funded privately by community donations rather than insurance or government agencies. Those options carry restrictions on the way the organization operates, he said.

Those who wish to help can do so in a number of ways. Shopping at the Threads Thrift Shop on Third Street in Dover supports the operation, Javas said, as does hiring Jones’ cleaning company or simply donating online at www.beneaththeshade.org. Checks also can be mailed to Beneath the Shade, P.O. Box 463, Dover, OH 44622.

Volunteers also are needed as mentors, event helpers and for other roles.

Dinner information

Tickets for the dinner are $15 each and are available at eventbrite.com by searching Dinner with Beneath the Shade. A home-cooked lasagna dinner, prepared by Legacy Church, will be served family-style at tables. The program will include testimonies from women who have gained sobriety at Beneath the Shade, the opportunity to meet board members and staff, and a Q-and-A session.

First Christian Church is located at 3029 N. Wooster Ave. in Dover. Call 330-316-5287.