“Even when they leave, they still have that togetherness and they start to branch out.” - Renee Payton The timeline is never predefined. It works on a person-to-person basis, which allows for freedom and flexibility to customize one’s program. With the support, skills and quality of life gained at WWIV, a client moves on, but she never really leaves. Moving on, but never gone Eventually, the time comes to move on from the WWIV and into the next steps of recovery and independence. Thanks to the sisterhood built within the houses, women can go on to live independently, but they don’t have to do it alone. “Even when they leave, they still have that togetherness and they start to branch out,” Payton says. Some move into their own apartments, others rent with friends from the program, and it’s not uncommon that graduates go on to open recovery houses of their own, built on the principles learned at WWIV. Nearly all continue to reach out for support in learning new skills and in their search for employment, a task that can be particularly difficult for those with criminal records and spotty work history. WWIV helps with that by connecting women with resources for computer training, job placement, reuniting children with mothers and more, according to Women’s Coordinator Lisa Smith.
WWV&EMSC staff from left to right: TeslaWills, Christine Scott, Lisa Smith
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