91原创

The director of a recovery house for women found herself on a recent snowy morning in Athens clearing a path down its steep, lengthy driveway so the residents could get to work.

Betsy Anderson鈥檚 task was a fitting metaphor for to help women transition from addiction or incarceration back into society. It鈥檚 one of many jobs she has performed over the years while leading the nonprofit group, which she said owes its establishment and ongoing success in large part to the George V. Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service at 91原创.

For helping to start up the facility and continued support that includes a recent Social Return On Investment review, Anderson said she and her board of directors are 鈥減rofoundly grateful鈥� for the OHIO school鈥檚 efforts.

鈥淓verything they鈥檝e offered to us has been helpful,鈥� she said.

The SROI, funded through the Athens County Foundation鈥檚 John Glazer Impact Funds and the Ohio Department of Higher Education鈥檚 Appalachian New Economy Workforce Partnership (ANEP), was conducted by Kelli Coughlin Schoen, director of operations and management of the Impact Measurement Group at the Voinovich School.

鈥淚t鈥檚 like an ROI except we include social impacts as well,鈥� Schoen said. Those include the benefits of reuniting with children and resulting positive interaction with their parents, the increased confidence of the women and their reintegration into the community.

鈥淲e did a series of one-pagers for them that can be used for fundraising and to communicate their impact on taxpayer costs due to recovery from substance abuse and less subsequent use of the criminal justice and healthcare systems,鈥� she added.

The SROI also looked at impacts on the women in terms of their self-perception and the tools they acquired to help them stay sober when they reintegrate. A survey of women who stayed at Serenity House that found about 80% were still employed and all were sober at the time of the survey.

鈥淭here were very good outcomes,鈥� Schoen said.

Anderson called working with Schoen 鈥渁 delight鈥� and an example of the Voinovich School鈥檚 ongoing support that support included startup funds and other assistance for the recovery house, which now receives most of its funding through other sources including private donations and the 317 Board, the local ADAMH.

Serenity Grove serves as many as eight women at a time who pay as much rent as they can.

鈥淲e make sure they have the shoes they need, the clothes they need,鈥� Anderson said.

The SROI helped to quantify the societal benefits, such as getting residents jobs, in a way that can be shown to donors and grantors. For instance, she said the house has a 100% success rate on that front, thanks to Serenity Grove鈥檚 assistance with references, transportation and other services.

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The SROI provided data for the group鈥檚 annual direct ask letter, which recently was sent out, Anderson said.

鈥淭his year we highlighted the SROI by providing a link to the full report,鈥� along with an overview and taxpayer savings report, Anderson said.

鈥淲hat we鈥檙e hoping as an organization is this becomes something that helps us better show results to people who support the facility,鈥� she said.

Anderson said Serenity Grove has given its residents a reason to stay in the area, reintegrate into society and become taxpaying citizens

鈥淭he information she captured helps paint for us such a better picture of how, in so many ways, people are returning to a better quality of life and are somebody who could very much be your neighbor.,鈥� she said.

Schoen said the recovery house has helped fill a void in an area that鈥檚 been hit especially hard by the opioid epidemic.

鈥淭he picture that emerged is that there are a lot of rehab services across the state but there aren鈥檛 a lot of places especially for women in this area where they can go to be stabilized and supported while they transition back to their lives,鈥� she said.

The recovery house is 鈥減art of a network of organizations in the Appalachian region that are responding to the opioid crisis,鈥� Schoen said. 鈥淵ou can go through rehab successfully but then have difficulty staying in recovery because substance use is so endemic, because people in your social networks are using or are affected by it, which makes it very difficult to remain sober. So they made a little space in Appalachian Ohio where you can solidify your recovery.鈥�