About this Recovery Home
Dean House is a women's sober house at 110 Old South High Street in Harrisonburg, Virginia, an independent city in the Shenandoah Valley that belongs to no county. Strength in Peers operates it as a certified recovery residence at Level of Support 2 in DBHDS Region 1.
A Women's Sober House That Accepts Pregnant Residents and Infants
This house serves women, including pregnant women and women with children under one year of age. Almost nothing in Virginia recovery housing does. A woman in early recovery who is pregnant or has just given birth is usually asked to choose between keeping her housing and keeping her baby, and that choice is the single most common reason a new mother leaves treatment early. A household set up in advance for prenatal appointments, night feeding and an infant in the room removes the choice.
Where This Harrisonburg Recovery Residence Sits
Old South High Street runs through the older residential blocks just south of downtown Harrisonburg, between the city center and the Route 11 corridor. Downtown is walkable from there, and the city's bus system covers the corridors that matter: Sentara RMH Medical Center for prenatal and pediatric care, the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Community Services Board for behavioral health, and the retail and food service employers along South Main Street. James Madison University sits on the other side of downtown.
What Certification Requires of This Recovery Home
Virginia requires recovery residences to be certified, and operating without certification is a criminal offense under state law. This address is accredited through the Virginia Association of Recovery Residences and carries Level of Support 2, the Monitored tier. Certification commits the house to a published code of ethics, to disclosing fees and house rules in writing before move-in, to a written relapse and discharge policy, and to a complaint process that reaches outside the household. For a mother deciding where to bring an infant, a written and externally reviewable set of rules is worth more than any promise made on the phone.
A Peer-Run Recovery Housing Program
Strength in Peers is a peer recovery organization, and the housing is an extension of that work. Staff and recovery specialists carry lived experience, and the expectation set out for residents is straightforward: stay sober, work toward personal wellness goals, and stay engaged in recovery activity through the week. Clinical treatment stays with outside providers in the city. The organization also runs community resource centers in Harrisonburg and New Market, so the support around a resident is not limited to the house she lives in.
Women's Recovery Housing in the Shenandoah Valley
Certified recovery housing thins out fast north and west of Interstate 81, and housing that takes a mother with an infant is scarcer still. Harrisonburg is the largest city in the central Shenandoah Valley and holds the hospital, the university and the region's behavioral health services, which is why women from Rockingham, Page and Shenandoah counties look here first. Region 1 covers the valley, and this is one of its few maternal-capable certified addresses.
