Beacon of Light Women's Recovery Home

About this Recovery Home

Beacon of Light is a women's recovery home in Johnson, Vermont, in Lamoille County, operated by Jenna's Promise. It is the second stage in the organization's phased recovery housing program, for women who have completed the requirements of its structured sober home and are ready for more responsibility.

A Women's Recovery Home for the Second Phase

Recovery housing in Vermont is thin at every level, and it is thinnest at the step where a woman no longer needs a live-in manager watching the household but is not ready to sign a lease alone. This house is built for exactly that point. More responsibility is the stated difference, and the phrase means what it sounds like: a resident manages more of her own day, her own money and her own schedule, with the organization still attached. The address is not published, and placement runs through the operator.

Operated by a Certified Vermont Recovery Housing Provider

Jenna's Promise holds certification for its recovery housing through the Vermont Alliance for Recovery Residences, and its structured sober home was the first residence in the state certified at its level. Vermont's certification is voluntary and is granted address by address, so a woman applying should ask the operator directly about the standing of the specific house she is entering. What the operator-level record establishes is a published code of ethics, written fee and rule disclosure and an external complaint route.

Work and Wages While Living in Recovery Housing

Residents have access to the organization's two social enterprises, a coffee roasting company and a discount goods store, both created to give people in recovery paid work and real experience. A workforce program covers professional skills, educational goals, financial literacy and resumes. For a woman in the second phase of a program, employment and a reference are the two things standing between her and an apartment.

Recovery Homes in Johnson and Lamoille County

Johnson is a small town in Lamoille County with a Vermont State University campus, and the organization's community and recovery center anchors its housing within walking distance. Hyde Park is the shire town, Morrisville a few miles east holds Copley Hospital and the North Central Vermont Recovery Center, and the county's services concentrate along that short corridor. A resident stepping toward independence here does so without leaving the network she built.

Moving On to Transitional Apartments

The stage after this one is a set of transitional apartments the operator describes as a springboard back into the community. That final step keeps the organization's supports available while a resident takes on a household of her own, which is the point where most programs end and most people are on their own.