Oct. 25, 2019 New Sojourner House board member Ron Szwarc has wasted no time introducing himself to the Sojourner House community. This fall, Ron has spoken with the staff and Sojourner House mothers, not about his board work, but about his years in recovery. In 1981, Ron’s drinking led him to his first stint in rehab while in the Air Force. “I did everything on my own. Ego led me to believe you can do this on your own,” he said. He was dry for 15 years, but the stress of an international deployment in Malaysia found him back in rehab. After 20 years trying to do it on his own, Ron gave up and made a commitment, “I’m going to do everything AA says.” With decades of experience, Ron now dedicates his time sharing his experiences with others in recovery. As one of two keynote … [Read more...] about New Board Member’s Work is A Family Affair
Events
At the beginning of each academic year, Point Park University’s prestigious Honors Student Organization chooses a local nonprofit organization as its Donation Drive recipient. Much to our delight, this year's recipient was Sojourner House. Approximately 120 students brought their donations to the organization's Aug. 19 Welcome Dinner. The huge amount of donations included cleaning supplies, toiletries, hygiene products, paper towels, and other household supplies. "We started the tradition of a carry-in donation drive some years back with our new honors students, to not only continue the tradition of service that many of them started in high school, but also to get them to move up to service learning," said Helen Fallon, Professor of Journalism, Director of the University Honors … [Read more...] about Point Park University’s Honors Student Organization supporting Sojourner House
The 26th Annual Strawberry Festival at Shadyside Presbyterian Church took place in early June and was a sweet and tasty way to spend a beautiful early summer evening. The proceeds from this event provide valuable support of day-to-day essentials for the women in the treatment program. Sojourner House has been adopted as the beneficiary of this annual summer celebration for many years. Volunteer and creator of the festival, Ann Brooks first experienced strawberry socials in England, as a teaching and exchange student. She knew that other local churches had festivals and thought it would be a perfect way for the Shadyside Presbyterian Church community to have some fellowship, enjoy their beautiful lawn and give back to the community. The first year, Ann made some … [Read more...] about Ann Brooks Created a Legacy of Volunteerism
2019 marks the 15th annual Victorian Tea, an annual fundraiser event geared toward raising funds and awareness for Sojourner House. The annual high tea brings hundreds of mothers, daughters, fathers and sons to come enjoy tea and pastries and enjoyable entertainment and programming, and most importantly to help contribute money towards Sojourner House and their mission of providing rehabilitation, treatment, and housing for mothers and their children. Given the impacts of the opioid crisis on Western Pennsylvania, the organization is more important than ever. This year, our honorary co-chairs of the Victorian Tea bring a unique perspective because of first-hand experience working with Sojourner House. Harris Ferris has served as the executive director of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre … [Read more...] about Annual Victorian Tea Fundraiser Honorary Co-Chairs Janet and Harris Ferris are Strong Believers in the Importance of Sojourner House
The Pennsylvania Treatment Alliance is a recently formed collaboration between three organizations focused on combating the opioid epidemic in Western Pennsylvania, with a specific emphasis on treatment for women and families. The Alliance is a combined effort between Sojourner House, which provides compassionate, faith-based addiction recovery services to women and their children; Family Links, an organization committed to building healthy communities by strengthening individuals and families through provision of comprehensive, quality services in matters including addiction; and POWER, whose mission is to help women reclaim their lives from the disease of addiction and to reduce the incidence of addiction in future generations. The trio of organizations has been working together for … [Read more...] about Sojourner House, Family Links and POWER Join Forces to form Pennsylvania Treatment Alliance, Combating The Opioid Epidemic
Since 2012, MFA program candidates from Chatham University have consistently visited Sojourner House residents every Thursday during Fall and Spring semesters. The purpose: to help our women use the written word to help them cope with their respective journeys to recovery. This past semester of the Words Without Walls writing program proved to be another semester for our residents to bring self-awareness, vulnerability and talent, not to mention compassion for each other in an open-hearted environment. Resident Kari Childs graciously shared the work to be published not only in the booklet published at the end of each semester, but also on Sojourner House’s blog: “A Stand” Look at her she chose to just leave. She preferred to be with a man that beats her. Shame & Guilt … [Read more...] about “Words without Walls” collaboration with Chatham University