Dianne Clay, Next Step Home board member, gives a tour of the finished home to ladies who attended a luncheon at the home Wednesday. Clay says the board is on the verge of opening the facility, as soon as a house manager is hired. (T-G Photo by Sadie Fowler) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

The Next Step Home houses, located on Union Street, were finished this spring, through combined efforts of local churches and schools. All that's needed before residents are selected and move in is a house manager.

"We are still working, working very hard," said board member Dianne Clay. "We recently interviewed a really good candidate. We want people to know we're on the verge of opening."

Applications are still being accepted for the house manager position, Clay said.

Clay, along with president Linda Vannatta and fellow board member Nancy June Brandon, invited a few ladies of the community to the home Tuesday to share in a small, intimate lunch.

Women-To-Women

"We wanted to make different members of the community aware of our Women-To-Women campaign and to see if they may be available to mentor (the residents)," Clay said.

Clay and Vannatta plan to hold several small-group luncheons in the weeks to come to discuss the campaign.

The purpose of the Women-To-Women campaign is to get 1,000 women in Bedford County to pledge $10 a month to Next Step Home, in addition to giving some of their time to Next Step residents. The money will go toward utilities, food, and other necessities of keeping the county-owned houses up and running.

"As (the women) come out of jail, we want them to know that we are here to support them, to help them better their lives," said Clay, explaining the concept of the new initiative.

"Many of these women have exhausted their resources," Vannatta said during the luncheon. "They get out of jail and they have no job, no money, no family."

Vannatta said this makes it easy for them to give up -- eventually rotating back into the jail system -- and say "who cares?"

"Well, these 1,000 women do," she said.

Next year, around Mother's Day, Clay said the board has set a goal for the 1,000 women to hold hands and make a circle around the county jail.

Women who sign up for the program will be asked, but not required, to give some of their time to the residents of Next Step Home. In order for the program to work, residents will need mentors, teachers, people to provide them transportation ... and friends.

Clay said they are still looking for women to sign up for Women-To-Women.

House manager needed

Board members are hoping to fill the house manager position within the weeks to come so that residents can be selected and moved into the home.

"She will be responsible for overseeing every aspect of the home," said Clay. "She will be in charge of making sure (the residents) are doing what they are supposed to do and being where they are supposed to be."

While Vannatta said there are no specific educational requirements necessary to be hired as the house mother, it is a job that requires great responsibility, organizational skills and compassion.

Clay said board members will also be heavily involved with the coordination of the program as residents begin to move in.

"A lot of this will be worked out as we go," said Clay.

About Next Step Home

Three main topics will be covered during a stay -- which may range from a couple of months to a couple of years -- at the home. Through counseling, education and life skills training, the program will prepare the women for dealing with peer pressures, job interviews, and communication skills.

"The women will receive both individual and group counseling," said Clay, explaining that the board will utilize local counselors, churches and also bring in outside counselors. "We are going to have to pay some counselors to come in."

The Next Step Home will make it a point to address the roots of the women's problems. In addition to drug and alcohol therapy, counselors will address co-existing disorders, -- which usually accompany those who suffer from substance abuse addiction -- such as depression and bipolar disorder.

The Next Step residents will be encouraged to focus on the 12 life areas as outlined in Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous programs, focusing on the "higher power" of intervention.

Requirements for The Next Step include being at least 18 years old, having completed a detoxification treatment program or being in a recovery program, being medically stable, and being willing to commit to a minimum of six months in the program.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

To sign up for Women-To-Women, or to help out in another way, contact Linda Vannatta at 437-2278 or Dianne Clay at 580-5964.

Donations may be made through individual churches in the Next Step name or to the program directly. Donations are tax-exempt and may be made to The Next Step Home, PO Box 378, Shelbyville 37162.