10 April 2023
TOPEKA (KSNT) – Drug and alcohol recovery houses are a big need in Topeka, and Friends of Recovery Association is expanding to house more people in need.
Friends of Recovery has been helping people overcome addiction for nearly 50 years. The goal is rehabilitation through community.
“The fellowship and their willingness to bring me along with them,” Oxford House member Dylan Gallagher said. “These men that I moved in with showed me how to live in a way that I never did before or I didn’t think I was capable of. It opened my eyes, it changed my perspective.”
Gallagher came in as a member three years ago and is now helping the rehab community grow.
“Oxford House was the only people that was willing to accept me and give me an opportunity to change my life,” Gallagher said.
There are currently 27 Oxford Houses with over 200 people in Topeka. However, they are out of room.
“That just shows what the need is,” Friends of Recovery Outreach Coordinator Ashley Hennessy said. “That just means we need to expand more and more.”
There are many people on the waiting list, and Friends of Recovery say expansion is crucial.
“The future is looking pretty bright for us, I mean there’s going to be tons of expansion coming,” Hennessy said. “We just get so many people that we don’t have enough. We’re putting people on couches. That’s how much we want to help these people.”
Hennessy started her recovery with the Oxford House, and she understands the need for more women’s and children’s housing. She says there are several factors that can make finding new locations difficult.
“That is what I’m working on next is for the women’s and children’s house,” Hennessy said. “We’ve been looking for one for so long, but all the houses that become available, they won’t work for a women’s and children’s house because they’re on a main street, or we want something where kids aren’t going to get hurt, so we have to be very picky on the women’s and children’s houses.”
Gallagher says he learned many lessons during his time at the Oxford House and lives by one especially.
“What I do to pay it back is to pay it forward,” Gallagher said. “I try to expand and help the next person because that’s what we do, that’s what they did when I moved in.”