LGBT Philadelphians who are struggling with drug or alcohol abuse and are looking to get their lives back on the right path now have a new support system to aid them in that effort.
People R Us, a transitional-living program that offers services specifically for LGBT individuals, opened late last month in North Philadelphia.
The two-house conjoined structure, on the 2100 block of West Tioga Street, can house 14 tenants in each building; one house is designated for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals and the other for transgender residents.
Darrin Molletta, founder of People R Us, said he was motivated to open the establishment after witnessing the challenges his transgender brother faced when he tried to seek assistance at a mainstream recovery house.
“About two years ago, he went to a recovery house and called me on the phone crying and told me that the people at the house told him he had to remove his wig and take off his makeup and come back in as a man and then they would accept him,” Molletta said. “I talked to the administrator and he said, ‘These type of people can’t make it in this place. We don’t want those people here.’”
Molletta, who also operates two other shelters in the city, said his facilities employ a three-strike policy — residents who test positive for drugs or other substances three times must enter an inpatient facility — and that he’s seen LGBT individuals experience problems similar to his brother when they transfer to these locations.
“I’ll talk to them and they say that they didn’t want to sleep in the same room as some other people, that they were afraid to go into the room by themselves or that they felt that they always had to prove themselves,” he said. “I carried all those experiences with me and thought that we needed a recovery house for transgender, gay and lesbian people so they can all have the same opportunity to recover and go on and live their lives.”
People R Us will house LGBT residents for up to a year and provide them with a range of services that will help them stabilize themselves. Residents can receive both individual and group counseling to learn more about the root causes of their addictions and create plans to keep themselves clean in the future.
Molletta said People R Us will assist residents in attaining their GEDs or other educational goals; developed computer skills at a computer lab on the premises; and training as a beautician or barber at an on-site studio.
“If people are ready to get their lives together, they now have a place where they can feel comfortable getting services. They don’t have to worry about being discriminated against,” he said.
Although research shows that LGBT people are at a higher risk for alcohol or drug addiction than their heterosexual counterparts, People R Us is the first recovery house of its kind in the area and one of just a handful in the country, along with similar establishments in Chicago and Los Angeles.
Molletta said the safe, welcoming environment LGBT people will find at People R Us will be crucial to their path to recovery and attaining their individualized goals.
“If you’ve never had your GED before, you can get that now. If you’re interested in learning more about becoming a barber or a beautician, you can do that. You might be HIV-positive and here you can be taking medication regularly, getting a balanced diet and feeling good about yourself. The staff is like you, the program cares about you and you will be working with people who understand you. Maybe no one ever sat you down and said that you can be something better in life, and that’s what we want to show you.”
For more information about People R Us, call (267) 639-3135.
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].