By Chad Koenen

Publisher

A former church parsonage in Fergus Falls is providing a new sense of hope for women as they transition to life after jail. 

Barbara’s House in Fergus Falls is providing transition-style housing for women who were recently released from jail and who need some additional support to transition into a life of freedom. The facility is named after the late Barbara Amundson, whose husband Lloyd Amundson , donated money to make a dream of helping women through their next phase of life a reality. 

The goal of Barbara’s House is to provide a safe, supportive environment to empower women to live a life of faith that is free from chemical dependency. The home essentially provides a safe, health, family-like sober living environment that supports individuals in recovery who have recently been released from jail.

“We have heard from a lot of people that I need a reason to just get up because for some people they have gone through a lot of trauma,” said Tammy Anderson of Barbara’s House.

Barbara’s House opened in June 2023 thanks, in large part, to a donation from Henning native and business owner Lloyd Amundson. 

Prior to coming to Barbara’s House, Anderson had worked with Amundson on a number of non-profit projects through the years. Though he had not necessarily delved into a similar field in the past, Anderson reached out to the long-time Henning resident to see if he would be interested in providing women a way to transition to their next phase of life. 

“Lloyd and I go way back to a lot of my non-profit work,” said Anderson. “I thought this was something he could get behind, even through it is very different than what he has done in the past.”

Always one who was willing to lend a hand in a time of need, Amundson said he thought the program sounded like something that could really assist people in a time of need.

“Somebody contacted me and said this was a necessary (program). I said it sounded like a good thing to me so I went along with it,” said Amundson. “I thought if it would help two people it would be worthwhile.”

Since opening its doors in June 2023, Barbara’s House has helped well beyond that amount as it routinely stays full with women from across the region as they begin their lives as a free person.

The transitional housing benefits the individuals in recovery by providing a safe environment where change can occur as women get back on their feet to life after their sentence. The facility reinforces a substance-free lifestyle,  directly connecting to other peers in recovery, mutual support groups, and recovery support services, in the community. 

Anderson said the house has filled a big need in the Fergus Falls and greater Otter Tail County area as it provides a positive opportunity for women to transition into everyday life.

“It’s very hard to find recovery housing, especially for women,” said Anderson. “It helps to create a safe space for women to live together.”

Currently Barbara’s House can have five women living in it at any one time, but the hope is to continue to find ways to serve the community far beyond just the people who call the facility home. 

  “Most of them don’t have any place to go at all. And unfortunately this place only handles five people,” said Amundson. “I’d like to help everybody if we can, but the truth is we can only take five in there.”

Anderson said the hope would be to expand the facility in the future, but unfortunately with the way Barbara’s House has been zoned, the facility would need to install a sprinkler system to house five more people. At a cost of $50,000 that kind of expansion would be cost prohibitive, but the hope is to continue to grow the program as much as possible to help women with their next chapter of life.

The facility relies on each of the residents to provide mutual support with one another as they make decisions that not only affect themselves, but the house as a whole. The physical environment, house meetings, peer support participation by all house  members and policies are designed to foster the social model approach to recovery.

“We focus on a positive peer support because they have to replace their addiction with something positive,” said Anderson. “We try really hard to connect them to their communities (through work and organizations).”

The average woman stays at the facility for about six months, with some graduating from the program a bit quicker and some taking 18 months. The hope has always been to provide women the tools to reconnect with their family, whenever possible, while also providing them a chance at success when they leave the friendly confines of Barbara’s House. 

Anderson said the house is a safe place for women during an oftentimes difficult transition in their life. She said many of the women say the thing they like the most about Barbara’s House is “having a safe place to lay their heads is a comment we receive a lot.”

Rather than drifting around from one place to the next, the hope is that at least five women who were recently released from jail will have the necessary tools to reconnect with loved ones, while also finding a job and getting slowly introduced to life after lock up.

“They look for jobs, but they also have a nice place to stay here. It’s clean and it’s a nice place,” said Amundson. 

  In addition to private donations and grants, Anderson said Barbara’s House relies on proceeds from a thrift store it operates in Fergus Falls to keep its doors open to the public. 

“Without donations and the thrift store there is no way we would be able to stay open,” said Anderson. 

A while back some of the residents at Barbara’s House came out to Amundson’s home to visit him in rural Henning. Amundson said the women were appreciative of the support he has provided the facility.

“The three ladies that came here to visit me they just said this was the greatest thing that could happen to them,” he said. “The people up there are pretty proud of it and I am really proud of it.”

Barbara’s House is located in Fergus Falls but will accept residents from across the region. For more information about the facility, check them out online at www.welcomehouseff.org. The thrift store that helps to support Barbara’s House is called Welcome Thrift and is located near Mills Fleet Farm at 1678 College Way, Fergus Falls.