SYRACUSE — A lot of things are happening at Rose Home in Syracuse — most of them new.

On Saturday, Feb. 9, the ministry, now known as Rose Garden Recovery Community to reflect the expansion of its services, held a ribbon cutting ceremony and open house for its newest facility, a graduate home located in the former Anchor Inn Bed & Breakfast, 11007 SR 13, south of Syracuse.

NEW HOME — A small throng of community members attended the Saturday, Feb. 9, ribbon cutting and open house for the new graduate home of Rose Garden Recovery Community, formerly Rose Home North. Pictured are, front row from left, Andrea Keller, executive director, Syracuse Chamber of Commerce; Fran Allen, board member, Rose Garden; Cara Burnham, executive director, Rose Garden; Tammy Cotton, board president, Rose Garden; and Pat Park, board member, Rose Garden. In the second row are Kathy Coy, staff, Rose Garden; Kim Cates, Syracuse Chamber of Commerce and Kosciusko County Council; Gretchen Kellem, staff, Rose Garden; Hope Beezley, jail coordinator, Rose Garden; and Mary Schreiber, executive director, Rose Home Inc. In the third row are Lisa Becker, staff, Rose Garden; and Rob Parker, president, Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce. In the back row are Heather Brown, Darlene Oler and Julia Henry, staff, Rose Home. Oler is holding her two children, Lisa, 2 months, and Josiah, 2. (Photo by Ray Balogh)

The ceremony was attended by representatives from the Syracuse and Kosciusko County chambers of commerce and Rose Garden board members and staff. Informational literature with the organization’s new logo was made available during the open house, which ran until 4 p.m.

The board of directors recently recast Rose Garden’s mission and vision statements.

The new mission statement reads, “To transform the lives of women held captive by drug and alcohol addiction by providing a safe and structured Christian community for guiding and equipping individual pursuit of free, sober and productive living.”

The vision statement is, “To see women remain in recovery as they successfully reunite with family, return to their community and establish healthy relationships.”

VOILA — Cara Burnham, executive director for Rose Garden Recovery Community, unveils the organization’s new logo at the new graduate home during the Saturday, Feb. 9, open house. (Photo by Ray Balogh)

“We are redefining how we serve our community with our new organization,” said Cara Burnham, who became Rose Home’s executive director Sept. 28. “Our graduate home is going to be an integral part of that.

“When women graduate from our nine- to 12-month, five-level recovery program, what we found was that those on limited income or who have felonies may not be able to secure safe accommodations and find themselves back with ‘people, places and things’ that may cause relapse.”

“The board of directors and staff are very excited that we have this opportunity to serve our community,” said Tammy Cotton, board president since January 2015.

“This has been a vision and a dream for us the last several years and we feel blessed to see it come to fruition.”

“The graduate home will provide the opportunity for women to build on their skills in a positive environment that allows them to transition into a different life,” said Burnham.

The women will make good neighbors, she said. “All women living in the graduate home will be employed, will have gained substantial sobriety and will be graduates of a program, including ours. They honestly desire to live and work hard as part of the community.

“They will have already exhibited substantial personal work, including counseling, working, going through a 12 Steps program, giving back to the community through service projects and undergoing a tough and intensive faith-based program.”

“We are very thankful for the community’s support,” said Cotton, citing individuals and businesses who have volunteered with painting and other preparation work.

Rose Home’s recovery program receives applications from several counties and as far away as Indianapolis. “We get phone calls every single day,” said Burnham. “We get in excess of 25 inquiries a month and there will always be more inquiries than we have beds.”

The recovery home has 12 beds and the graduate home can accommodate nine residents. Children up to age 5 can also reside at the graduate home.

The ministry is in need of “financial donations and every volunteer we can get,” according to Burnham.

For more information, or to donate or volunteer, call Burnham at (574) 457-4408.