Our Journey
Each Day a New Beginning is a sober living house for women. The doors were officially opened in November of 2016 and since that time many women have come through our doors. Right around the time of our first anniversary we were informed that Leadership Ascension Project team 1 had taken us as their project – “New Beginnings”. Since working with Leadership Ascension we have been certified as a Non-Profit organization by the state of Louisiana. We are also a nascent 501 (c)3 with the Federal government. With that status many doors have been opened to create incentives and benefits for our clients when they live a clean and sober life. Not only will we be able to provide housing but we will also be able to present educational opportunities and more.
There is truly a drug and alcohol abuse epidemic and our goal is to keep the doors open for as long as possible. If only one life is saved then it has been worth any effort we may have put forth. Maybe that life will be your child or mother or sister. The list could go on and on. The disease of addiction is rapacious and does not discriminate in any manner whatsoever.
The community has been supportive in many ways and we cannot thank them enough. It is by working together that we can truly make a difference.
Take a Closer Look at our beautiful 5-bedroom house
Our story
In 2014, three women – Dorene Bloodworth, Jeanette Cox and Renee Mire Michel – who have been sober for many, many years retired from their perspective jobs. Each was looking for something – not sure what it was – that would keep them active and helping others. Two of the women discovered that they had both been thinking about and praying about opening a sober living house for women in Gonzales. They knew how badly it was needed in this area. When the third woman heard about it she was all in.
The journey began in 2015 after establishing an LLC and processing all the required paperwork with the parish. It was an arduous process to find a house as the parish has strict zoning laws and the best place for a sober living house is in a residential neighborhood. The women thought a house had been found, but there was much opposition and the Zoning Commission refused allowing set up at that location. Heartbroken, the women continued to look, but were very doubtful that anything could be found that could be set up for a home environment. Then in September, 2016 a call was received regarding the house at 311 N. Pleasant Avenue and by the grace of God things fell into place and the first client was accepted November 1, 2016.
Initial funding came from the slim pocketbooks of the three original partners. There were individuals who were aware of what Each Day a New Beginning was doing who made some financial contributions even though they knew these were not tax deductible. Others donated furniture, towels, sheets, bedding, dishes, single beds and many other items. Original capital purchased appliances, bunk beds, mattresses, and everything else we needed. The business has continued to purchase items as needed.
Since Each Day a New Beginning has been open many women have come through the doors. Some have left in a very short time and of those the majority have relapsed and returned to the lifestyle they had been familiar with. Some have stayed until their feet were firmly planted in recovery and have moved on to become useful members of society – women who are happy, joyous and free. Those currently in the house are setting goals and learning how to achieve those. Women are working on obtaining a GED. Others are working on re-uniting and rebuilding their families. All have goals worth working towards and are learning how to face the challenges that will surely come their way.
The house is a wonderful 2-story house consisting of 5 bedrooms and 3 baths in the upstairs area. The house can hold up to 15 women. There are times that it is full and we have a waiting list and then times that there are several beds available.
There are obstacles to overcome. One of the biggest problems in keeping the house full is that the majority of women needing this type of living environment have no funds. However, after being adopted by Leadership Ascension – due to their tremendous efforts – donations have been made for scholarships. We also held our first fundraiser in the Spring of 2018 and more dollars were added to the scholarship fund. God continues to provide for all our needs and those of the women in our house.
Another problem is that Gonzales has no public transportation and it is difficult to help these women get a job and then get them to and from work. But once again God provides. The 3 women who started the house along with members of the community have stepped up to the challenge and all of our clients get to wherever it is they need to go. Some clients actually still have their own vehicle and they lovingly give rides to their sisters in recovery.
There is a saying that it takes a village to raise a child. Well, it takes a community to overcome the devastation addiction and alcoholism cause. Ronald Reagan said, “We can’t help everyone, but we can help someone”. That, we hope, describes Each Day a New Beginning.