Headley is executive director of the foundation as well as cofounder.

So the two of them set out to open Pride House, operating it as a program of the non-profit Russell Freeman Foundation - named after Headley’s brother who had struggled with addiction and died of AIDS two years ago - so that they could make it more accessible to people who might not be able to afford other recovery living facilities. Then he met drug and alcohol counselor Nancè Headley at a party and realized he found someone who shared his goal. McGuire already owned other sober living houses, but decided he wanted to open a house specifically for LGBT people. “That certainly wasn’t going to help them in recovery.” “It just seemed like, if someone was gay or transgender or whatever, I’d see a lot of harassments and discrimination toward them,” McGuire said. But then when I moved into the sober living house, I finally felt like I was part of something good.”īut, he said, on his one 13-year road to recovery, he had noticed that LGBT people in those facilities had a rougher time. “Before, I always felt like I wasn’t good enough. Being in a sober living house made all the difference for him. Pride House owner and co-founder Chris McGuire said that he has been in recovery for 13 years, but getting to this point wasn’t easy. Still, even these “recovery communities” can be problematic for LGBT people in recovery if they don’t feel safe to be open about the truth of their lives.īut now, LGBT people in recovery in North Texas have an option: the Russell Freeman Foundation’s Pride House Sober Living residence. Add in the mix an addict’s struggles with issues around sexual orientation and gender identity, and the LGBT relapse rate may well be even higher.īut studies have also shown that those in recovery who stay within a “recovery community” are much more likely to stay clean and sober. And the relapse rate among those battling addiction ranges between 40 and 60 percent. Tammye Nash | Managing to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, more than 21 million Americans age 12 and older battled some form of substance abuse disorder in 2014. Nancè Headley and Chris McGuire Russell Freeman Foundation opens Pride House sober living facility for LGBT people

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