By Robb Murray
Free Press Staff Writer
MANKATO —
The House of Hope has been helping addicts overcome their addictions and move on with productive lives for nearly 40 years.
So it’s about time for a fundraiser.
“This is our first annual big deal,” said Diane Norland, House of Hope’s development director.
It’s set for Sept. 16 and will be called “An Evening of Hope and Laughter.” As Norland said, they’re hoping to make it an annual event.
The plan is for the event — which features dinner and a non-alcoholic bar — to bring in about $10,000. But that’s just part of the larger fundraising goal House of Hope has to address its primary concern at the moment: capacity.
House of Hope currently houses 29 men and 7 women in a residential treatment setting, and five men in a group residential home.
Nancee Mason, House of Hope’s director, said they could serve a lot more people if they had more capacity. And to serve them, they need money to make changes.
As of now they’re not quite certain whether the changes will come via an expansion of their current facility, an additional building to complement the existing one, or a new, bigger building to replace the current one.
Ideally, Mason says they’d like enough bed space to serve 40 men and 20 women at a time. And now the most acute need is for women.
Mason said they routinely turn women away because they don’t have room for them. During the past year, they’ve seen the number of women seeking help for alcohol or drug addiction rise steadily.
“Traditionally, women did not seek treatment because of the stigma,” Mason said.
Added Norland, “They also hid it more.”
Now, however, more women are coming forward for help, and the House of Hope would like to add more capacity to help them.
This comes, by the way, just a few years after the future of the House of Hope was uncertain.
“We were in a position a few years ago,” Mason said, “where we weren’t sure we were going to be able to keep the doors open.”
Now comes the time to raise money. Why now?
“One of the things that has always held us back was money,” Norland said. “It takes money to make money.”
They’ve put together an event they hope will help them on their way to reaching their financial goals, as well as maybe educate a few people along the way about their work.
Here’s one fact: While they don’t keep statistics on recidivism, House of Hope boasts that 61 percent of the people who begin their addiction recovery program finish it.
