By Kimberly Gasuras

A recovery house for women will open in Bucyrus this spring.

Mary Jo Carle of the group, Together We Hurt, Together We Heal, said renovations are underway at the former location of the ADAMH (Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health) board at 907 N. Sandusky Ave., to create the Willow House.

“We chose that name because, like the Sycamore tree, the Willow tree is strong and survives the storms,” Carle said. “It may lose a few branches along the way but in the end, it still stands, much like the women who will live here during their recovery from drug addiction.”

The house was purchased through grants from the Ohio Department of Mental Health and the ADAMH board, other grants and donations, and fundraisers the Together group has held over the last seven years to fund the Sycamore House for men in recovery that opened on Wayne Avenue in Bucyrus and now, the Willow House for women.

“Without the help of the ADAMH board, we would not have been able to do this,” Carle said.

The ADAMH Board has relocated its offices to 113 W. Rensselaer St., the last location of the Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum before it closed its Bucyrus office.

Willow House will be home to five women at a time as they transition from rehabilitation from drug and alcohol addiction.

“They will be able to visit with their children at the house, but the children will not spend the night,” Carle said. “We do the same thing at Sycamore House.”

Carle said Sycamore House currently is full and four of the five men living there have jobs, follow the rules and pay their own bills.

“The fifth man is scheduled to be hired in this week at the place in which he is seeking employment,” Carle said.

The women at Willow House will also be required to attend meetings, hold devotionals, do household chores, and secure employment as the men at Sycamore House are required to do.

“Many addicts do not have stable homes to return to when they leave rehabilitation and the Willow and Sycamore houses provide them with that stable and structured environment,” said Carle.

Willow House is scheduled to open in March. For more information about Together We Hurt, Together We Heal, visit www.twhtwh.com.