Living with Pride, an addiction-recovery house tailored specifically to the needs of the LGBT community, opened its doors March 1. The house, located in the North Center neighborhood, is seeking applicants; it now provides services to two people, with a third on the way. Promising a safe and sober space for those facing substance abuse issues, Living With Pride is staffed 24 hours a day by volunteers.
According to Living with Pride's executive director, Dr. Claudia Mosier, it is the first LGBT-specific halfway house in Chicago.
In an interview that ran in the April 9, 2008 issue of Windy City Times, Mosier said, "'You can get sober and clean in general halfway houses, but we want a place where GLBT people can go to if they just want to be around primarily GLBT folks, where there is less likelihood that they'll have to deal with any prejudices anybody else in the halfway house might have about people being GLBT."
Living with Pride's board of directors consists of those who are in recovery, or people with an interest in the field of LGBT individuals becoming clean and sober.
"Some of them have been in [ sober living residences ] in their past recovery, so they know what it's like to be a GLBT person in a more heterosexual-based halfway house," Mosier said.
Although the community has far more options than it used to, one of the problems LGBT seeking recovery face is how much the community continues to revolve around its bars and clubs. Living with Pride aims to help people deal with that dilemma.
Mosier described the residence as a "house of hope."
See www.LivingWithPride.com .