Ellen’s House inaugurates loft space for recovering mothers and children
One year ago, Ellen’s House first opened its doors to mothers undergoing the final stages of recovery, becoming Butler county’s first — and currently only — state licensed recovery home for women and children.
On Thursday, a new loft space on the third floor, which was conceptualized to allow residents to spend quality time with their children away from the frenzy of real life, was introduced with a ribbon-cutting.
The project was a joint effort of the Ellen O’Brien Gaiser Center, which owns the property and operates the recovery house, and members of the Butler AM Rotary Club, which raised the funds, gathered the required material and volunteered to do most of the work.
The loft space is a key development in the core mission of Ellen’s House’s, which is to support women recovering from alcohol and substance abuse who have children. Women in that situation often are not accepted in recovery houses.
“Nobody wants to take them because they have kids. Nobody wants to take on that liability,” Joe Mahoney, executive director of the Ellen O’Brien Gaiser Center, said.
“When you’re not able to have your children connected to you, that can be a detriment to that area,” marketing manager for the Alliance for Nonprofit Resources, which supports Gaiser Center’s marketing, Cara Friez said of the recovery process.
Mahoney said Ellen’s House helps provide recovering mothers affordable, safe housing, which helps them reunify with children and find permanent independent housing and jobs.
“This house provides a safe space to do all that before they fully enter independent living,” he said.
Ellen’s House, a 2,765-square-foot house with four bedrooms, three bathrooms and a kitchen, opened in July 2024 in Butler. The house is named in honor of longtime Gaiser executive director Ellen O’Brien Gaiser.
Dawn Halle, Butler AM Rotary Club president for the 2024-25 term, said in just a year, Ellen’s House already has had an impact on many women’s lives and had a generational impact down the line.
Halle said the new loft space is intended to further that mission and be a safe haven for women in the last stage of recovery, which is a crucial chapter in the recovery process for women with children.
“Having that warmth, that connection, that bond is just such an important piece in the last step of recovery,” Halle said. “If the environment is not set up properly, it doesn’t allow them the opportunity.”
“It’s all kid and family friendly up there,” Mahoney said. “It’s really going to be that — we’re envisioning — a true bonding space for the mother and the child.”
The loft area used to be attic space, according to Mahoney. There was nothing up there except for a floor and a roof. Members at Gaiser Center started visualizing a living area where mothers and their children could relax and do fun activities together.
After considering Gaiser Center’s vision for the space, the Butler AM Rotary Club approached Gaiser with the plan of making the loft space their fundraising project for the 2024-25 year.
Old beams and insulation had be replaced, Halle said. Dirt and dust everywhere had to be cleaned. Painting the area, redoing the floors and carpeting the loft all needed to be completed. Throughout the process, Halle said there was a lot of doubt regarding whether the project could be finished but the volunteers stepped up.
The area was designed into nooks with separate spaces allowing different activities — from playing board games to watching television and even desks to do schoolwork. Bean bags, bubble machines and toys are neatly assorted across the area.
Along with activities, the area also was designed with the residents’ well-being in mind, Halle said.
“We really needed to create a safe environment, not just a fun environment,” Halle said.
Halle said the loft space is multifaceted in that it not only help mothers spend time with their children, but also opens up more space for residents who don’t have children.
“Everyone’s just as important, and that’s why that loft is a vital piece to what’s happening here in the house,” Halle said.
Supporting the initiative were children of the house’s previous owner, Anna Stevenson Heasley, who were at the ribbon-cutting.
Stephen Heasley, son of Anna Stevenson Heasley who lived at the house, said Gaiser Center’s mission with Ellen’s House was a reflection of the beliefs and life’s work of Anna Stevenson Heasley, who lived in the house for more than 50 years and passed away in 2022.
“She was one of the most generous people you would ever meet,” Stephen Heasley said. “She never excluded anyone. What they’re doing here, their mission, is true to her heart.”
He said his mother herself created a safe haven for her entire family.
“She would share with anyone and everyone in need,” Billie Heasley-Blostein, daughter of Anna Stevenson Heasley, said. “It was just her way, and that’s why this is perfect.”
The support of the family was significant to the loft’s successful launch, Friez said.
The loft’s creation was a joint effort including individuals across Butler County, Halle said. Originally slated to be a $25,000 project, the Butler AM Rotary Club was able to reduce the expenditure with the help of volunteers.
“This list could go on of all the things that were donated, and that, to me, is community,” Halle said.
“We were so fortunate for the support we received from the community with this house in general and with that project in particular,” Mahoney echoed.
