The beds are gone, the couch is gone...no more laughter, no more tears, no more failures and no more successes. No police are called there, or I at 3am. No more rides are needed from there. The air conditioner no longer runs when it is cold, the furnace no longer blasts while the windows are open!
Nothing more good or bad is going on there!
Wait...what?
No, we're not closing, we're not giving up. Just a pause, just a renovation. We had an overall average of an 8% success rate. That is to say, that out of 75 guests, half a dozen succeeded.
"But, Dean, that's terrible!", I hear some of you reading this think. But is it? We were - and are - the cheapest sober living home in Springfield, and no one provides more than we did and will be doing again shortly.
Seventy dollars a week got every guest a bed, access to the internet, a washer and dryer, kitchen facilities, food aid, all utilities paid, free rides at the start, aid in getting IDs and social security cards, resume assistance, interview advice, rides to work and much more.
Each person had our full attention, we would go over any problems they had, alcohol or addiction related or not. Obviously many - from the streets, from under bridges, from rehabs, from prison - were not ready for the kind of aid we had to offer.
But those half a dozen were. They were able to get a job. And then a vehicle. And then an apartment. They were able to go from rags to the modest prosperity that is all any of us not in the 1% can hope for.
It's had a cost, though. Broken windows, torn up bathroom floor, bed bug infestation, damaged furniture, stolen goods. Aiding those - especially those who don't want real aid - can be long and wearying road.
But we aren't weary.
This pause is for needed cleaning and repairs and refurbishing and refurnishing. New paint, new flooring, new window, new furnishing.
And our new plan.
We've never run this for money - anyone who knows us knows that. As my wife and I joke, we put the "non" in "non-profit"!
We have always run it at a loss, with the income of my wife and I, and some crucially essential donations now and then, run it without charging what should be charged. Hence we being the cheapest sober living house in town.
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Our Food Pantry that serves over 20 sober
living homes, halfway homes and battered women's
homes is still going full bore!
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But after much prayer and discussion, we believe we can give more without charging more. Instead of having each bedroom hold two guests, we're going to give each guest their own bedroom. At the same low price.
Less revenue to us - but more dignity to them. We believe that this will help us in gaining and retaining more of those who are really serious. And thus result in less of the routine drama and damages that have cost us so dearly.
We're going to need some help, though. Cost of the interior clean up - free, because obviously we're doing that. Cost of painting - well, that's us, too, labor and time we have in abundance.
We're going to need roughly $250 for tearing out and installing a new bathroom floor, though. And another $100 for miscellaneous stuff like new smoke detectors (they get stolen, heavens know why) and such.
And we're going to need two twin beds. They don't have to be new, just clean. And we're going to need a couch, and a chair. And two lamps. And a dresser. All can be used.
And yes, we are a bona fide incorporated tax-exempt charity! If you like, we can send you one of those letters that your accountant can use to get you some deductions!
Obviously it's not much we're asking, and the question of "Why don't they just pay that?" might flit through your mind, but the simple answer is that without any revenue at all in that house, it makes it pretty hard to do anything but stay afloat.
And there are still two others in our own home that we're providing for.
Could we have let those there stay while doing the fix ups? No...with some guests we've had, that could have been, but the last guests we had were kind of a part of the problem. Of the last four, all were destructive of the home, that can happen sometimes. Two I think meant no harm, just were still sick with addiction and other difficulties.
Another two...well, sometimes some just like to tear things down to their level, rather than in any way try to rise up. It happens. We resisted the temptation to boot them all out at once and get on with this new and better plan, as it was not any particular individual's fault what the sum total of all guests could do to one small house.
But as each left, we did not replace them with another, so we've already been under a financial strain anyway. The second to last one we had leave, when he not only refused to clean but made death threats to us. I wish I could say that was unusual. The last one we put out when I found all the empty beer cans under his bed, I wish I could say that was rare, too.
We've been in active business aiding others for over three years - so we know we can and will be doing this. This timely pause is only to let us do it better. And to be able to provide more to our guests than we already were. And to lessen some of the troubles we've had to deal with.
When it's all said and done, we'll be aiding four people at a time instead of six. But they'll pay the same, while getting more. We think that will work out well for everyone.
If you can be a part of helping us to this goal, which we full well expect to achieve in less than a month, please call us at 217-720-2568, to learn how you can be a part of our mission! A few pieces of furniture, a few hundred bucks and lots of sweaty labor on our part, and we'll back better than ever!
