Serve Moses Lake closes Transformation House
Residents of Serve Moses Lake's women's Transformation House enjoy a game of dominos together in March 2013. The four Transformation Houses will be closing at the end of July.
MOSES LAKE - The Serve Moses Lake program will be closing its "Transformation House" recovery program July 31.
The Serve Moses Lake program itself will continue, Tim Cloyd, the organization's director, said. "Part of our difficult decision to close the Transformation House was to insure the ongoing ministry of Serve Moses Lake to our community," he wrote in a letter announcing the closure.
The Transformation House program had four locations, where people recovering from substance abuse and other problems could live temporarily, Cloyd said. The program opened with a house for men in August 2012, and added a house for women in November 2012. A second house for men was opened in April 2013, and a second one for women in December 2013.
Before the homes opened, people had to receive help in Spokane, two hours away, or about 70 miles south, in the Tri-Cities.
"There were some powerful things that happened during that time, no doubt about it," Cloyd said. About 75 people were helped through the Transformation House program, some short-term, some long term, he said.
The Transformation Houses filled a need, and "the need is great," he said. "We definitely understand the need in our county and believe that the Transformation House model can work," Cloyd wrote.
But the Transformation House program was a big job for an organization that had other tasks, Cloyd said, and the program grew quickly. "We were unable to sustain the tremendous amount of expenses needed to operate these homes. In addition, we are still learning how to manage the variable resources well and did not have an adequate structure in place," he wrote.
In those circumstances board members wanted some time to think about the experience, he said. "There are a number of things we need to address or assess," he said. "An honest look at what we did well and we didn't do so well."
Cloyd said the Serve Moses Lake board hasn't decided whether or not to revive the program. "That's our heart's desire, would be to reopen it," he said.
Board members and program operators need time to digest the lessons learned, he said, if they decide on another attempt. But the need is great so operators don't want to wait too long if they decide to revive the program, he said.