Living with Pride, a sober living space tailored specifically to the needs of LGBT people, may have to close next month, pending a decision by the city zoning commissioner. The house has been open only since March 1—and, with eight residents, is already full—but complaints from members of its North Center neighborhood have mired the house in controversy since its inception.
And though the house has only existed for a matter of months, it is the culmination of a long process for its founder and executive director, Dr. Claudia Mosier. In the 1990s, Mosier and a group of people she worked with at the Chicago Lakeshore Hospital opened a group of sober living apartments on Jarvis Avenue.
Up until that point, she said, those working with LGBT people who struggled with substance abuse "had about a death a month"—the outcome of insufficient support leading to relapse. When the apartments opened, the death rate plummeted, highlighting the importance of culturally specific treatment for people who might not feel comfortable in traditional sober spaces.
When the apartments moved farther west, to Pulaski and Fullerton, Mosier started looking for a more central location from which residents could have easier access to medical services and 12-step meetings. She acquired nonprofit status for Living with Pride three years ago, and began fundraising and looking for a suitable house.
In February, she found a two-story house on the 2500 block of West Collum Avenue—close to public transportation, with an agreeable landlord and a garden in the backyard. She signed a lease and opened the doors March 1. In an effort to establish a presence in the community, Mosier met with 47th Ward Alderman Gene Schulter, hosted an open house and sent a letter to neighbors introducing herself and her project.
She began to have trouble immediately.
Although neighbors have complained—and, according to Mosier, engaged in behavior toward her residents akin to harassment—zoning regulations proved to be the primary sticking point. Mosier said that when she researched the issue prior to opening Living with Pride, she felt confident that the house qualified as a "community group home"—in which residents could stay for an open-ended period of time—and was therefore zoned correctly. Neighbors, and ultimately city zoning commissioner Patricia Scudiero, claimed that it was a "transitional" home, and therefore required a special-use permit.
While Mosier appeals the decision, Living with Pride continues to house its eight residents. House members keep a garden in the backyard, attend work or school, volunteer or participate in intensive recovery services; the house planned a sober barbecque on the day of the Chicago Pride Parade. Living with Pride also hosted 12-step meetings for the first few months of its existence, but, in an effort to placate neighbors' concerns, no longer does.
R., a resident of Living with Pride, described the house "a place in which I can find my way back to myself."
"It's a very healing environment," she said. "It's a very serene environment." She said that she has begun making plans to re-enter her profession—which, because of concerns over confidentiality, she could not disclose—re-energized in a way that might not have been possible without her stay at Living with Pride. "I feel happy enough and productive enough to want to work," R. said.
Mosier echoed those sentiments; she said that she was told by another house member that "she hadn't realized she'd lost all her self-esteem until it started coming back" when she moved into Living with Pride.
"The house members have really taken ownership of this place and made it their own," said Jimmy Carney, a doctoral student in clinical psychology who volunteers at the house. House rules, for instance, are constantly negotiated among residents and volunteers ( nobody, including Mosier, is paid for their work in the house ) —more "conversation," said Carney, than dictation. Residents are responsible for cooking for themselves; they share common space and host events; and all abide by a set of protocols they are given when they move into the space.
The protocols reflect the unique niche filled by Living with Pride, as a place catering both to LGBT people and to those who struggle with substance abuse. The introduction to the sexual conduct policy, for instance, highlights this: "Sexuality is a precious aspect of life," it reads. "We work hard to come out and to claim our sexuality but so often trauma, chemical dependency and associated behaviors damage our sexuality. The rules and suggestions in this policy are in place to help heal damage done to sexuality and to help residents envision and eventually obtain a healthy [ and ] fulfilling sexual/romantic life."
Protocols for individual and mutual respect notwithstanding, Claudia Mosier said that much of the neighborhood controversy around Living with Pride has centered around concerns over safety. Early on, she received what she descibed as "vague" complaints from neighbors worrying about the safety of their children: "We don't have any [ specific ] concerns," Mosier characterized the complaints, "but we have children."
Mosier and her residents allege that a series of complaints escalated into what they describe as "a campaign of harassment"—one woman, said Mosier, stood in the alley and yelled at neighbors in the yard, saying, "I wanted to see what an addict looks like." Residents on their street, Mosier said, have called the fire deparment to the house on a number of occasions, with no apparent pretense. Residents have found small plastic bags on the property, which they allege were left there by neighbors trying to drive people to relapse. ( "Nobody's relapsed since we opened," noted Mosier. )
The controversy culminated in a community meeting in early June that Mosier described as "scary." Although the meeting's host, Schulter, "tried to keep it as fair as possible," she said, "I felt threatened." Ultimately, Schulter held a vote on whether community members felt the house should be granted a special-use permit. ( However, Mosier has not applied for one; her appeal to the zoning commissioner is based on her insistence that the house is already properly zoned. )
"They soundly voted that they did not want use there," said Mosier.
Schulter said that neighborhood problems could have been avoided if Mosier had done a better job introducing herself and her residents to the community prior to moving in. "When you go into a community," he said, "you really need to do your homework." He said that at the community meeting, Living with Pride's neighbors asked, "Why didn't you reach out to us in the first place?"
The hearing for Living with Pride's appeal is set for July 17. More information on the house can be found at www.livingwithpride.org .
