Worrel's Haven Provides Sober Living Home for Women by David Dinsmore
R
achael Cole did not want to establish a sober living home for women in Shawnee just because she knew people who could benefit from it. She learned the impact such a place can have on someone’s life as they recover from addiction firsthand. Cole struggled with addiction for 12 years, and when she was confronting it through sobriety programs, she became good friends with another woman on the same path. The two eventually moved into a sober living home together while steering their lives back on track. Cole experienced the benefit of having that refuge. “Not everyone has a safe place to go,” Cole said. “Their family is not always a place where they can go to live a clean life. I think it's important to try to provide them with a place that they can go live at and feel safe.” The importance of this stability became even more concrete four years ago when Cole – who has continued putting in the work to remain sober – learned that her friend with whom she resided in the sober living home died of an overdose after a relapse. Cole’s experience eventually led her to want to provide the kind of help she received to give women in this community navigating a path to lasting sobriety. She knows it couldn’t solve all problems, but it could give these women one more tool with which to rebuild their life. In June 2019, Cole opened a sober living home in Shawnee called Worrel’s Haven, nam-
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ing it for the friend she lost. “Our mission is to try to combine a structured living environment combined with the resources from the community in hopes of showing people how to build a life centered around sobriety,” Cole said. The first hurdle was finding a location capable of housing the tenants Cole was seeking and a landlord who would share her vision. “I honestly kinda got lucky finding someone who was willing to do this with their home in town,” Cole said. “That's not always easy you know.” Once she lined up the location and a few residents, Cole began working through the process of obtaining status as a recognized nonprofit while trying to ensure the rent and bills were met depending on the number of tenants they
“Our mission is to try to combine a structured living environment combined with the resources from the community in hopes of showing people how to build a life centered around sobriety." — Rachel Cole, Founder Worrel's Haven www.shawneeoutlook.com
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