Vision House

In a weeklong series of stories that concluded Saturday, Bob Miller eloquently described the trials and turmoil in the lives of some of the women living at Vision House, Cape Girardeau's faith-based, long-term transitional living facility for homeless and addicted women. Their stories no doubt opened the eyes of readers who have little firsthand experience with addiction.

The unfortunate truth is that drug addiction is taking a toll on an increasing number of families, many of whom don't fit into stereotypes.

Vision House is former addict Theresa Taylor's vision of a home to help addicted women who have been through rehab reintroduce themselves into the community. The facility opened in March 2005.

Based on more than a year of interviews, the stories chronicled Taylor's struggles to find funding, to make a living if possible and to maintain her own family life. Other women at Vision House -- live-in manager Karen, Katie, Erin, Suzanne, Debbie and others -- have their own struggles, relapses and stories.

Melissa Mackey's story may be the most poignant because she seems to have so little ability to control her addiction, not even for the sake of her little girl. Once Vision House's poster child, a speaker at events that raised money for the program, by the end of the series she is back living at her mother's apartment, recovering from a binge of drinking and drug-taking, speaking highly of Vision House but not knowing where she would go next.

Eighty-three percent of the women who entered Vision House when it opened were still clean at its one-year anniversary. Vision House does not promise women a cure. They are promised a chance. We are fortunate to have such a facility in our midst and thankful to the women of Vision House for opening their lives to us.