Bliss House
CLM Bliss House is more than a halfway house, we provide a residential program for women in recovery from alcohol and/or substance abuse.
- We have the capacity to house twelve women in the program.
- Most of our referrals come from the court and legal systems.
- All residents must find employment, complete chores, and pay rent.
- Residents must complete a 12 Step Recovery Program that is supported by mandatory AA/NA meetings.
- Residents must attend house meetings and follow house rules.
Our mission at Bliss House is to improve the quality of life in our community by improving the quality of life for individual community members in need of a halfway house residential program as they work through the recovery process.
We also offer Bliss Too transitional housing for those who graduate from the Bliss House program. It allows women to live independently while having continued access to programs and a network that helps foster long-term recovery.
A Bliss House Graduate’s Story
Sisterhood can be defined as a feeling of kinship or closeness to a group of women. Prior to sobriety I had no idea that something like this existed and, even if it did, I wanted no part of it. Women were bad news; they only kept each other around as a means of picking one another apart in order to feel better about themselves. I knew better than that and always chose to keep them at arm’s length. It wasn’t until I got to the Bliss House that I realized I could not have been more wrong. My time there gave me much more than I ever dreamed of having. I received an inner peace for the first time in my life, got my family back, and got most of the material things, but the one part that I got the most out of were the relationships built within the walls of that beautiful home.
I walked into the Bliss House in 2016 and was immediately welcomed with open arms and open hearts. I heard things like “Together we can do what I cannot do alone”. I heard the loudest belly laughs that felt genuine. There was a true sense of compassion for one another and I couldn’t understand any of it. My mind kept trying to convince me that everyone there was putting on a show. There was no way people could actually be this happy in a halfway house. I watched for a long while before deciding that I wanted what they all had. I allowed myself to be a part of and made some of my fondest memories with the women there, but it wasn’t long before the old way of life sucked me right back in and I was off and running back with those old “friends”, in those old places, living out the old ideas that I had fought so hard to get out of.
One thing that I held onto while I was back in active addiction was how much I missed home. The Bliss House was home. I could always go back, and my sisters taught me that. When it came time for me to make that decision again, I didn’t fight it. And when I made it back to Bliss in 2018, those women that I made those memories with showed up just to welcome me with the same love and kindness that they had showed me that first day. Through the Bliss House I learned to never give up, to get back up when you fall, and to lean on those who are on the journey with you. I learned not to quit before the miracle happens. I learned the true meaning of friendship and how to build people up rather than tear them down. I learned how to be a mother, a daughter, a sister, and a true friend. I learned that no matter who loves you, leaves you, or dies you don’t have to use over it and you NEVER have to experience those things alone.
Yes, I learned how to keep a job, be responsible, pay my bills, and how to do simple things like sort my laundry, but nothing will ever compare to those nights on the front porch laughing with the women that I get to call my family for the rest of my life. It was in those moments that I learned that I was okay with being myself. That was a piece that I missed out on for 30 years.
Apply for Bliss House
Please download and complete the application. You can mail it to the address on the form or email it to stephanie@layministries.org. One of our volunteers will contact you.
