Chrysalis House, Inc.
1589 Hill Rise Drive
Lexington, Kentucky  40504
Tel: (859) 255-0500 

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Chrysalis emerges anew
First Step House is overhauled, improved
By Alex Fontana
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER

David Perry/Staff
Chrysalis House board president Julie Hamilton, left, showed Diane Berkley and Hamilton’s children Noelle and Gunnar a renovated bedroom. New bedrooms and bathrooms have increased bed space from 14 to 24.

When women enter the Chrysalis House program for substance abuse treatment, the first place they go is the First Step House.

It's the place where the women continue their journey through recovery, the place where they start a new phase in their fight against addiction.

Chrysalis House officials hope a renovation of the First Step House will help in that journey. Yesterday, Mayor Teresa Isaac and Chrysalis sponsors and directors visited First Step House to celebrate the building's overhaul, which includes structural changes and a new interior look.

The Chrysalis House's non-profit substance abuse treatment program for adult women and their children focuses on life skills, relapse prevention, employment opportunities and computer skills. The program offers vocational, GED and computer classes to prepare women for rejoining the workplace.

The 24-bed house's renovations -- including new bedrooms, a new bathroom and refinished wood floors -- were done with help from Lexington architect Tom Lett and corporate sponsors.

Renovators also added aesthetic changes such as landscape paintings on newly painted cream, baby blue and sea-green walls. The house is on Chrysalis Court near Samaritan Hospital.

Chrysalis Program Director Lisa Minton said the program can last from one to two years, and there is one track for women with children and one for women without children.

Both tracks start at the First Step House, where the women are assessed and receive individualized plans for treatment.

Board President Julie Hamilton said the program's goal is to provide a safe environment to lead women on the path of recovery to rewarding lives. "The greatest reward is the client's gain of self-respect and dignity," Hamilton said. The newly renovated house will provide a comfortable environment for new admittees, she said.

The renovation's sponsors and participants include Fannie Mae, United Way, Home Depot, Kentucky Housing Corporation, Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati, Republic Bank and Trust Company, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Enterprise and the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government.