FAIRBANKS -- A house for women who are living sober that opened its doors a little more than a year ago may have to close because of financial reasons.
The Safe and Sober Household for Women is equipped to house seven to eight women but has had trouble maintaining full occupancy and collecting rent since opening in May 2010, said Terri Babers, the owner of the house in Fairbanks.
Babers, who is a life and wellness coach as well as an adjunct faculty member teaching public speaking at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, decided to convert her rental property to a sober house two years ago, after learning that it had been used as a drug house by a previous tenant.
She originally intended it to be part of the Oxford House network of privately owned homes for recovering drug and alcohol addicts, but due to various circumstances was unable to do so. Oxford Houses operate on a self-run, self-supported model, in which the occupants elect a treasurer who collects the rent and utility money and makes sure that bills get paid on time.
Babers said the original house manager at her property didn't work out. Several of the women who were there also thought they could move out and start their own place, she said.
While those efforts failed, the disruption damaged the social fabric of the house as well as its reputation in the recovery community, she said.
Babers said the housemates' inability to self-govern meant rents weren't collected properly and utilities weren't paid in a timely manner.
"In the meantime, I'm paying the mortgage, the second mortgage, the loans in order to make the renovations happen, the taxes, the utilities, and I'm paying that but I'm not getting a full month's rent," she said.
Now she operates the sober house using aspects of the Oxford House model, but with a few changes to suit her situation with Babers taking over management of the house. Residents sign a "living agreement" and must follow house rules -- no drinking or drugs, pay your rent on time, manage your conflict usefully and be gainfully employed at least 20 hours per week.
The sober house has three occupants, and Babers is interviewing four or five "serious applicants."
Babers increased the rent from $500 to $600 a month and now is collecting the rent herself. Even with the increase, she is not making ends meet.
Once the house is back to full occupancy, she hopes to be able to catch up and drop the rent back down to $500. Even so, with almost a full year of renovations, followed by a year of spottily collected rent, her personal finances are in disarray and she doesn't know how much longer she can continue to carry the burden.
She said she's approached several local organizations about taking over the sober house, but so far has not found one.
By DOROTHY CHOMICZ
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner