Women's sober living home opens in Port Clinton

PORT CLINTON — A new sober living home for women in recovery opened in Port Clinton, and most of the beds are filled.Light House Sober Living for women opened last month with seven beds, up from the previously-planned six, and already has six residents, said Kenn Bower Jr., executive director of Light House Sober Living in Port Clinton.Bower said he already knows who the seventh resident likely will be."We are just kind of staggering when we bring residents in," he said. "We are trying to spread it out a little bit so we can build on a good atmosphere in the home, rather than filling the house immediately."The fact that most of the beds already are filled speaks to the local need, and also to the reputation Light House has established, Bower said.Jodi Zbierajewski, of Oak Harbor, was hired to serve as the house manager, Bower said.The women's home at 624 Monroe St. joins an already-established 15-bed sober living home for men operated by Light House.The men's home also is in Port Clinton, and the 15 beds are filled. Previously, it had 11 beds, but it completed a recent expansion. Bower and his board then launched an effort to open a women's sober living home.Light House took possession of the woman's home on Sept. 4 and the first resident moved in on Sept. 24.Light House paid $165,000 for the home. Furnishings and other expenses raised the total project cost to $198,500.The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services provided a forgivable mortgage of about $149,000 for 30 years. Light House Sober Living raised about $50,000 to cover the rest of the cost, helped by Leadership Ottawa County, Port Clinton Kiwanis and the Ottawa County Community Foundation. A contract is in the works from the Mental Health and Recovery Board of Erie and Ottawa counties to help cover day to day expenses.Bower said he's very excited to get the home for women up and running."It's been a lot of work to get this far, with raising the money and applying for the forgivable mortgage, picking out a staff, updating our policies," Bower said. "My whole goal from the beginning was just to work as hard as I could to get it open."Bower said that while further expansion might be possible in the future, for now, though, he is concentrating on running the homes day-to-day."We definitely want to maintain successful operations with the homes we have and not get too ahead of ourselves," he said.Light House Sober Living for women has opened at 624 Monroe Street in Port Clinton, providing a home and support for women in recovery.