KOKOMO, Ind. — To Stacy Moore, the cubicle-like living space she’ll move into this week is more than just a place to sleep. It’s a place to recover.

Moore was recently released from jail. Since then, she’s been living with her parents, but on Wednesday, she’ll move into a new transitional living program.

The Gilead House, an organization offering outreach programs and services for those in need in this north central Indiana city, has started a new program which will allow women recently released from prison the opportunity to live at the house, dubbed a “hub of healing,” free of charge for up to six months while they work through a recovery program designed to help them successfully re-enter society.

Moore began meeting with Reba Harris, executive director of the Gilead House, while still in jail. Moore said Harris convinced her to give the program a try.

“Miss Reba, she’s very open and honest,” Moore said. “She cares. She doesn’t judge any of us.”

Moore said she’s excited about the program, which she said will offer her a chance at recovery. Her long-term goal, she added, is to get custody of her son again.

“I wanted to get help,” Moore told the Kokomo, Indiana Tribune. “(Harris) is giving me a chance.”

The Gilead House worked with a transitional housing organization out of Indianapolis to get the program set up. On Wednesday, it will open its doors to its first few clients. Harris said she hopes it won’t take long to fill all 20 spots.

The program will include everything to help women recover from the reasons they were incarcerated, Harris said. It will include therapy, classes, meals and a place to live – all free to the women thanks to a reimbursement program providing funding for groups that offer services for individuals struggling with mental illnesses or substance abuse and addictions.

The Gilead House has also received several donations for the transitional housing program, including from the local prosecutor’s office and other government agencies and local businesses.

For the last few months, the Gilead House has been working on redoing its space to accommodate the program. A gym is scattered with partitioned rooms, each equipped with a trundle bed, trash can, floor mat and a footlocker, filled with toiletries, towels and a robe.

Across the hall from the gym is a dining room and a laundry room. In the basement are restrooms, where each woman will get her own locker. Down the hall from the bathrooms is a free clothing pantry, where the women will be able to shop for clothes for themselves or their children, who will not be living on-site.

Also in the basement is a gym and a quiet room, where women will be able to spend some time by themselves.

Tamara Biehle, a support specialist at the Gilead House, said the room is one of the most important pieces of the program.

“Everybody needs (alone time),” she said. “They’re coming out of jail, where the only alone time they have is in the shower. They may need a place to go breathe.”

Harris said the Gilead House is still seeking donations, saying it could take up to six weeks to get reimbursement from Recovery Works, and they’ll need to pay for staff and bills during that time.

She said the Gilead House will soon open a transitional housing program for men at a nearby location; she said the men’s program would likely open in the next six to eight weeks.

“We’re hoping that the Gilead House will become a hub of healing here in the community for as many people and as many different causes as possible,” Harris said. “We are a resource to those that are hurting.”

Pemberton writes for the Kokomo, Indiana Tribune.