A group home in Juneau for women experiencing addiction or leaving incarceration has just reopened after being rebuilt following flood damage. T’áa Shuyee Hit Haven House is now accepting applicants.
Haven House is run by the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. Christina Lee is the operations manager for Tlingit and Haida’s Reentry and Recovery program. She says Haven House is a place for new beginnings.
“The women in our community, and everywhere, need to know that there’s a safe place to come,” Lee said. “Need to know that there’s an opportunity to start over.”
Up to nine women can live there and it costs $600 a month. Each resident gets their own room and must participate in programs that support mental health and recovery.
The group home in the Mendenhall Valley originally opened as a nonprofit in 2015. Tlingit and Haida had just taken it over in 2020 when, months later, the entire house flooded and was shut down.
After rebuilding from the ground up, Tlingit and Haida began accepting applications for residents last month.
The program doesn’t allow children to live in the house with their parents, but kids can visit. The same goes for romantic partners.
The program is voluntary and requires participation in programming, so Lee said their applicants tend to be more self-selecting. They’re women committed to their healing and recovery.
“They have to be able to do chores and be responsible, as long as they can live in a community with other women and be able to hash out any differences that there is,” she said. “That’s kind of what we’re wanting.”
Lee says the program lasts two years, but if life circumstances change, it can be shorter.
Tlingit and Haida President Chalyee Éesh Richard Peterson says programs like Haven House mean that women can take steps away from old, harmful patterns.
“We’re excited that it’s a place that’s going to create a supportive environment, hopefully to reduce relapse, reduce recidivism,” Peterson said. “And help our folks break those cycles that have kept them trapped in difficult situations.”
The application process is ongoing. More information can be found on the Tlingit and Haida website, or by calling 907-463-7266.
