Women’s Residential Program Update

Gemeinschaft Home welcomes first women residents in February.
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The women’s home, located at the Dean House (110 Old South High Street) officially launched with its first cohort of women in February, but there was much preparation of the household that took place in January.

While the lower level of the house recently had been used as office space for several organizations, the upstairs had only been used intermittently as a residential space, and rarely (if at all) since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.

Gemeinschaft Home staff, volunteers, and a number of current residents in the men’s home worked diligently to get the space ready for the new women residents, including cleaning, painting walls, installing blinds and A/C units, moving and arranging furniture, equipping the kitchens, and setting up the office spaces necessary to run the program on a 24/7 basis. ​

Like the existing men’s program, participants are required to complete a series of life-recovery group sessions, participate in community service hours and enrichment activities, contribute to household chores, and fulfill other probation obligations and conditions (such as attending counseling sessions with a medical professional).

Women enrolled in the existing day reporting program have also started to meet their case manager at the Dean House and to attend the same group sessions along with the women residents.

One unique quality of the women’s programming at Gemeinschaft Home (both residential and non-residential) is that the participants stay in the local area upon completion—which provides the possibility for aftercare and follow-up that is far more difficult when they leave the area.   

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