‘Loving and understanding’: Non-profit helping women overcome addiction breaks ground on new facility

SOMERVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — Battling substance abuse is one of the toughest experiences anyone can go through, but TLC Recovery House in Somerville is creating a loving supportive space for North Alabama women to help them overcome their addictions together.

The non-profit organization broke ground on a new graduate home Saturday for those who complete its nine-month program, providing them more time to get back on their feet.

“Sometimes nine months is just not long enough, sometimes the devastation that we went through before we got here, we just need a little bit more time and I wanted to give that to them,” said TLC Recovery House founder Crystal Steelman.

Steelman is no stranger when it comes to battling addiction. Now eight years clean, she knows how difficult overcoming substance abuse can be and with community support, it’s enabled her to help other women with similar experiences.

“The service that I did in my own program helped me want to help other women just like me because I’m just like these girls and it hits different when they know somebody has been where they’ve been,” Steelman said.

None of what TLC does would be possible without Northrop Grumman, PPT Solutions Inc. and several others throughout the Tennessee Valley who make the program possible.

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Beverly Tanner completed the recovery program and will continue her journey at the new graduate facility.

For Tanner, she discovered an unbreakable sisterhood at TLC that’s helped her see the light at the end of the tunnel.

“When I found people that really loved me it made me want to change my life,” Tanner told News 19. “I’m fixing to be 56 years old and I was tired of being on the streets, I was tired of being abused, I have a family here.”

From a life of substance abuse to spending time in jail, Lissette Johns is using her resiliency to show others they too can overcome their struggles. Johns manages the TLC Recovery House working daily to assist others on a journey that she’s familiar with.

“For a long time I beat myself up, but God freed me for a reason,” Johns said. “The way I have to look at it is you’re not in jail anymore you’re not in hell anymore, you’re not in prison so you have to do the next right thing which is to be the example.”

The graduate facility is a milestone for the non-profit and for program participants, it’s one step closer to re-entering society as a changed individual.

“Eventually my journey will go beyond here, I’m fixing to get me a car, maybe next year or the year after I’m hoping to find me a place to live on my own,” Tanner said.

Steelman says plans are in place for a men’s program that’ll be named the “Josiah Project” in honor of her late son who died while battling addiction.

If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, more information about how TLC can help can be found here .

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