SARASOTA COUNTY (WSNN) – Breaking the chain of addiction is not easy. But, one Suncoast organization is offering women a safe space to do just that. Two brave women share their stories.
“I didn’t know anything about recovery, but I knew there had to help out there,” SARA House resident Amber Sevenack said.
And Sevenack found it at Sarasota Addiction Recovery Assistance. It’s a recovery home for women struggling with alcoholism and addiction.
“We offer a safe and structured environment to recover in and to be around like-minded women who are also trying to better their lives,” SARA Founder and CEO Danielle Thorpe said.
After 23 long years of using drugs, Sevenack knew she needed to make a change.
“I grew up thinking that drugs and partying are what we do, and it’s not,” Sevenack said. “I’m being shown a completely different life and it’s amazing.”
Thorpe founded SARA with Tim Gallien in 2017, two years after getting clean from her own addiction to pain killers.
“They made me feel the way I always wanted to, more relaxed,” Thorpe said.
But with support from people who cared about her, she found help to get sober.
“Every day is not a beautiful day, every day is not perfect,” Thorpe said. “But every day that I’m clean is so much better than the best day when I was using.”
So, Thorpe repurposed her life to support other women who are struggling in the dark.
“It’s what gets me out of bed in the morning,” Thorpe said. “A lot of the days, it’s what keeps me clean. Knowing that I have a purpose today, that I don’t just live for myself, that I live for others.”
Through a 4-step Cares program, SARA women have the opportunity to rebuild their lives, provide a foundation, and become the mothers, daughters, or sisters they want to be.
“We just give them the structure that drugs and alcohol take away from so many,” Thorpe said. “To get up, to do a chore, to be held accountable so that they can become productive members of society.”
Sevenack says she hopes to continue healing with the support of the women at SARA.
“It’s something I’ve never felt before in my life,” Sevenack said. “It’s amazing all the way around.”
Sevenack is working on her GED and hopes to reunite with her family.
The organization recently hired a case manager, Donna Schinelle, to help the ladies in the program.
SARA has five houses. Three of them still need some love and care to make them a home. The group is always in need of volunteers and donations. If you want to help their cause, you can visit the non-profit’s website, here.
