Transformation House offers new beginnings

*Some sources are identified only by their first name out of respect for their sensitive situation

MOSES LAKE - Serve Moses Lake has provided support and a tangible expression of faith to the greater community since 2006. This summer, their outreach took on a new dimension as Serve gave some of the Columbia Basin's most at-risk residents a place to call home.

The Transformation House, which opened in August of 2012, gives those recovering from drug addiction and stints in jail a space to reclaim their lives.

"Almost from day one at Serve, we had people coming to us," Director Tim Cloyd said. "They needed a fresh start, a place they could go where their friends weren't using, where they could get back on track."

At that point in 2008, the fledgling organization was not prepared to help, Cloyd said. So, Serve ministers sent people with this request to more established branches in Spokane or Tri Cities. In 2012, a plan to provide this service locally began to take shape.

"We started to pray that we would be part of the solution," Tim Cloyd said. "At the same time, we'd been blessed financially. So, it was a short transition from the start of the conversation to the reality of today."

That is not to say there weren't obstacles along the way. Although the house and land for the Transformation House were donated, Cloyd said a few of the house's neighbors were not overly enthusiastic about a group of former addicts and convicts moving in next door.

Neomi Heroux said she has lived across from the building that became the Transformation House for 37 years and "was more than a little annoyed at first."

"I wasn't shy about telling people how upset I was," Heroux said. "It wasn't the program so much as the way they went about it. They should have come to the neighbors first, before they even asked the Moses Lake council."

Knowing other neighbors might share Heroux's concerns and have more of their own, Serve ministers and volunteers held several meetings to assuage their fears. Cloyd said the more community members understood about the program, the more they were willing to accept it.

"We needed a willingness of the community to trust the program," Tim Cloyd said. "We needed them to understand it wasn't a prison or a lockdown, but that it was very structured and that it could make a difference."

The structure Cloyd spoke of included a carefully planned and regimented four-stage program. For the first stage, "Black Out," residents have no contact with anyone outside the house for 30 days to allow them time to acclimate and learn the rules of the house. During the next stage, "Breaking Old Patterns," residents are allowed outside correspondence and short weekend trips, as they begin the real work of changing their lives. For the last two stages, residents are taught job skills and eased back into the wider community. The entire process, Cloyd said, takes only one year to complete.

"That we had such a well-developed plan helped the community to get on board with what we were trying to do," he said. "But in the end, they had to understand it wasn't like a family moving in; it was a group of individuals with real issues. They decided they were willing to take that risk with us."

Many of the neighbors, including Heroux, came around to the idea after meeting the residents themselves.

"I've always been pretty vocal to my neighbors. There are some things I just won't tolerate here," Heroux said. "But once they moved in, we haven't had any noise; we haven't had any crime. You wouldn't know this house was different from anyone else moving in unless you met them."

When the first Transformation House opened, it was specifically for men desiring to change their lives. The Serve board believed strongly it should not be a half-way house or homeless shelter. Instead, they wanted to create a small, highly organized and supportive home for their incoming residents.

"We wanted to make sure the houses stayed small," Pastor Gary Pierce, who directs the original Transformation House, said. "There's more accountability that way, just like a family."

Pierce said almost as soon as the men's house had opened, Serve began to see a need for a women's house as well. Thanks to another house donation, the women's Transformation House opened in November with Tanya Maxfield at the helm.

Both Transformation Houses were completely outfitted via community donations, whether furniture or cash offerings used to buy bedding, decorations and other necessities to complete a home. As they were shopping for the houses, Maxfield said they looked for quality pieces, bearing in mind they did not want to create a dorm-like or Spartan atmosphere.

"We were really excited because the Lord blessed us with such nice houses," Maxfield said. "We didn't put anything in them that we wouldn't put in our own houses because we wanted the people who live there to feel like they're not just being thrown somewhere, that they're worth nice things."

Today, according to Pierce and Maxfield, the two Transformation Houses have four female and five male residents, as well as a medley of volunteers to make sure both houses are staffed 24/7.

"We have people from all different backgrounds and walks of life," Maxfield said. "The thing they have in common is that something happened in their lives to leave them broken. The Lord uses us to bring them back and to show them that they can be whole again."

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Men's House

After being released from prison, Brian Godfrey intended to become the Transformation House's first resident. Shortly following his Aug. 6 arrival, he transitioned from a resident into a leader.

"I already had that spiritual upbringing," Godfrey said of being raised "loosely" Christian. "But when I got here I found people who understood what I'd been through. I found nothing but support."

Because Godfrey had a head-start on many of the residents with his Christian background, Pierce asked him to help lead prayer and Bible study. Godfrey was happy to accept.

"I'd made a lot of bad decisions in my life, but I finally figured out I couldn't make it alone," Godfrey said. "The fellowship here is what I needed to keep me in focus. And now I'm just trying to give back what's been given to me."

Night manager Kenny Kern took a different path to the Transformation House.

"God, Christianity - I grew up pretty divorced from that," he said. "But the Lord wore me down over the course of 30 years and put it in my heart to serve this house. Now, I get to walk with Him and with the people here. I've gotten to see such awesome things."

One of the awesome things, Godfrey said, is Donn, the current longest resident at the house at slightly over six months residence. He hopes to remain on track to become the Transformation House's first resident to complete his year-long commitment.

A former court interpreter with Grant County, Donn said he struggled with alcohol for many years. In 2011, he said, his alcoholism overwhelmed him, and he resigned his contracts with the county. Dan said he was at a low point in his life when he met Pastor Pierce. Pierce offered him the choice to live at the Transformation House, an opportunity which Donn said has been "just incredible."

"Since I moved in, I've been able to focus on what's really important," he said. "I plan on being an instrument of God's work in the community." Donn added that he might even return to the Transformation House as a volunteer to help others in his situation.

The men of the Transformation House keep a busy schedule. Each day, they rise at 6 a.m. and spend the early hours praying, reflecting, and studying the Bible because, as Godfrey said, "They tell us in church to 'give the first fruits unto the Lord.'"

At 10:30 they head to the Moose Lodge to meet with the women in their sister house and serve the needy in the Moses Lake community. Cloyd said he, the Serve board and the volunteers at both Transformation Houses always intended service to play a large part in the residents' healing.

"Service is an important element in all our lives," Cloyd said. "Serving others changes something in you; you start feeling better about yourself. Learning to love others takes the focus off you in a way we felt would be really beneficial for the residents."

Through the rest of the day, the men have guest speakers, go to job training, spend time at the gym thanks to a donation by Gold's Gym, and assist their neighbors when they can. According to Pierce, the residents have done everything from moving furniture to raking yards for their neighbors.

"People were a little nervous about us at first," Pierce said. "But now the neighborhood really likes us. People are surprised by how nice it (the Transformation program) is."

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Women's House

The women's Transformation House, like the men's, exudes an aura of home. It smells lightly of cinnamon, as if someone has recently been baking, and is bathed in natural light. Soft Christian genre music plays in the background.

"Peaceful" is the word night manager Cassandra Olund uses to describe it, and several of the residents nod in agreement.

"It's nice to welcome people into a family environment and to know that it's more than just a place to sleep," Cassandra said.

Cassandra said she had worked with Serve for about four years before God called her to the Transformation House. She stays in the house from early evening, sharing dinner with the residents, until about 8:30 the following morning.

Like their male counterparts, the women of the Transformation House have a highly structure schedule, beginning at 6 a.m. and lasting until quiet time at 9 p.m., followed by "lights out" at 10 p.m. They also participate in Bible study, volunteer in the community, and attend life skills and recovery classes. The structure seems to agree with the residents, though.

Erin, one of the house's residents, said the schedule helped her regain her grip on a meaningful life.

"I was able to drop my old life at the door," she said. "For me, it was about breaking the cycle of a non-productive life. Here, I have a new focus. I'm learning to chase the light and to chase Jesus."

Now, Erin leads morning prayers and says she is blessed to know the other women in the house.

Another resident, Kristi, said she has found the experience to be a blessing as well.

"To have somewhere safe and drug-free has been a very positive thing for me," Kristi said. "Once you break down those walls of addiction, it's a really beautiful place. There's a lot of love here."

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The success of both Transformation Houses has not gone unnoticed. Cloyd said the nature of the program requires a close partnership with the state Department of Corrections (DOC), which has been mutually beneficial.

Tim Logan, a community corrections officer at the DOC, is impressed with how well Serve keeps his department apprised of the residents' situations. Logan said a DOC officer visits both houses for an unannounced meeting about once a week and is generally welcomed into the home.

"I think they're really improving the situation for these people who would otherwise be floating around from couch to couch," Logan said. "Without this program, stability like this would be hard to find and a lot of people would wind up in places they don't want to be."

Logan said he believes the existence of both Transformation Houses decreases the potential for relapse or re-offending.

"Ultimately, Serve and the DOC, we have the same goals about people succeeding and overcoming their past," he said. "They do their job and we do ours, and it just happens to work really well together."

Cloyd said the program's success has inspired Serve to pursue a third house, depending on community donations and support. Eventually, he said, the vision is to have many Transformation Houses scattered throughout Moses Lake.

"They're going to change lives," Cloyd said of the Transformation House residents. "People are going to recognize that their lives are different now and realize that they were a part of that healing. Hopefully, it will just keep spreading."

To find out more about the Transformation House program or to make a donation, please contact Serve Moses Lake at: (509) 764-8276 or P.O. Box 548, Moses Lake, WA 98837.