The Shepherd Inn: Life after addiction

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By Emilie Parten, The Roving Reporter

The Inn Corsicana may not be a very well-known establishment, having just celebrated it’s one year anniversary in historic downtown Corsicana, but it carries a message, both powerful and important, within its mission: to provide safe housing, education and job training to individuals and families seeking recovery from addiction and trauma.

Corsicana’s drug and crime problem is no secret. A majority of cases that go through the Navarro County Courthouse are drug or alcohol related in some way, shape or form. What’s worse is the sobering fact that 40 to 60 percent of people who seek treatment for drugs or alcohol relapse within the first 30 days, and 85 percent relapse within the first year. While a large part of that problem is because of the nature of addiction, another very important part of the issue is the stressors that make people seek an escape, like money or shelter. Attempting to find either with a criminal record is exceptionally difficult. As a fellow survivor with nearly three years of sobriety under her belt, founder Victoria Shepherd Burnett knows the plight better than anyone. She brainstormed the program that exists today alongside five other women she met in a treatment facility, all seeking a life without drugs or alcohol. They came together after being discharged from that treatment facility almost three years ago and created an extensive and well thought out system that provides a survivor with the structure and services needed to get back on their feet.

The Shepherd Inn provides no cost then low-cost housing, offering a sober living community with transportation provided to therapy and beyond, free for the first 100 days then only $115 per week, all bills paid and fully furnished, available for up to two years while rebuilding credit, creating a stable life for their children, saving for their future and many other important factors. The Inn also provides financial support for online schooling options with a list of thirty certificates that can be earned in high demand jobs like Social Media Marketing or Intuit Bookkeeping, that can be obtained within a three-month span.

Burnett’s dream of building a sober living community has overcome its first hurdle. In the Corsicana City Council Meeting held on Monday, May 19th, the council members unanimously approved a zoning change, turning a residence owned by The Inn Corsicana from a residential to a multifamily plot. Burnett intends to place six 650 square foot homes on the just over half and acre stretch of land, converting the main house into a community center with a large kitchen, multiple living rooms, a laundry facility and a computer lab to aid in the education of the residents. Each of the six dwellings would consist of two bedrooms and a bathroom, and the housing seeks to aid mainly single mothers and women. The modular dwellings will be built locally, provided by Pineview Buildings for around $20,000 per building plus another $6,000 for the finish out. The project will cost around $200,000 between the renovations on the main house, the new small houses and permitting fees, and the project has a tentative completion date of November 30th.

Several community members are concerned about property value dropping and crime rates increasing in the area with the underlying message being that they don’t want alcoholics and addicts living next to them. These individuals face discrimination even after years of sobriety due to back ground checks, finding it difficult to find steady housing and work despite their best efforts to turn their lives around. With no place to live, no jobs, no skills, no education, many feel like the only option they have is a life of crime and addiction and fall easily back into old, bad habits. The Shepherd Inn seeks to eliminate obstacles and provide as many opportunities for success as possible, advocating for a place for recovery, healing and hope. As one speaker for the project stated in Monday’s meeting, “Where do we put it if nobody wants it in their neighborhood? It’s unreasonable. This is a service that we need here.”

Now that the zoning change for the soon-to-be sober living community has been approved, fundraising will begin to make the dream a reality.

A capital campaign will be starting soon and if you wish to help this project or want to know more about the mission of The Inn, you can get more information on their website, http://www.theinncorsicana.org or stop by their new, larger donation drop off location in downtown: 220 East 4th Avenue.