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Sober house up and running in former Villa Succes building

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The director of the sober house, Kari Sanding, stands in the kitchen.

The sober house has a nice living room for residents.

By Ted Pennekamp

 

It took a little longer than originally planned, but the sober house in Prairie du Chien is now up and running in the former Villa Succes building at 121 S. Prairie Street.

“We are open and we have one resident so far,” said sober house director Kari Sanding, who noted that she and various volunteers continue to work at getting the interior of the house in tip-top shape. “We’re in the home stretch,” she said.

Sanding said the purchase of the large house was closed in mid November, and the sober house opened in mid December. The original goal was to buy the property and have the sober house up and running by February or March of 2020, but all’s well that ends well.

Sanding said the house is informally called the sober house or simply, The Villa, but an official name hasn’t been chosen yet. She said that perhaps there will be a large donor in the near future that the house can be named after.

The house was purchased by the non-profit organization For Pete’s Sake via a loan and through numerous donations. For Pete’s Sake is named after Pete Zibrowski, the sober house manager. For Pete’s Sake was formed in May of 2019.

Sanding said there is a huge need for a sober house for Crawford County residents who are fighting alcohol and/or drug addiction. She said there is no in-house therapy, but there are Alcoholics Anonymous meetings at 10 a.m. on Saturdays, and Narcotics Anonymous meetings on Tuesday nights at 7:30. In addition, there is a women’s post traumatic stress disorder support group. Meetings are open to the public, and people can drop in to see what the sober house is about and also for peer support.

The house will be a co-ed sober house that will be less “institutional” and more like a home and living with roommates. It will provide the structure most people need when they are transitioning back to the community from prison, jail, or treatment, said Sanding. If a resident falls back to using drugs or alcohol again, they will be removed from the house.

The sober house is run through the help of volunteers and is looking to get more staff as soon as possible. “Our volunteers are a really good staple of our program,” said Sanding. 

She added, the house has nine rooms for residents and is run via a combination of rent payments and donations. The rent is comparable to Prairie du Chien area motels, she said. There are single rooms and double rooms. The sober house also has a large living room, a kitchen, a meeting room, and three bathrooms.

“It’s all coming to fruition,” said Sanding who also noted that donations are welcome. 

Those seeking more information or wishing to donate can call (608) 380-1068, or log in to the website www.4petessake.life, or the Facebook page Four Pete’s Sake.

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