For women addicts, a prison alternative

After 17 years of sobriety, Kim Morrell of Rocky Point relapsed into her drug addiction, she says, when the economy tanked, the bank foreclosed on her home and business, and she became homeless last year.

"I went back to my old life. I was done. I lost all hope," she said. That is, until Morrell says she "lucked out" and was able to serve her jail time on drug charges at Harlem's residential treatment home Kandake House, an alternative to prison for women battling drug and alcohol addiction.

The home, run by nonprofit Greenhope Services for Women Inc., in East Harlem offers women a place to live while they receive counseling, job training and can earn a high school equivalency diploma.

Kandake, an ancient African title for queens and queen mothers, also inspires creativity through yoga, cooking, art classes and planting organic gardens -- all in an attempt to help rebuild lives.

The women are assigned to Kandake House through the judicial system. They stay at the home until they complete their sentence.

The atmosphere, said Morrell, 45, "saved my life. I am very fortunate. I feel really good. I don't feel like I want to run out the door." Morrell said she wants to open a new store where she can again make and sell organic soap and jewelry on Long Island. She is applying for a business loan with the help of administrators at the Kandake House.

"This is a life and death situation for these women,'' said the Rev. Anne Rebecca Elliott, executive director, who after 10 years of fundraising, spoke at the grand opening of Kandake's new $15-million building last week. The money came from state grants and through private donors.

The new eight-story building, which has private rooms for 72 women, is equipped with medical services, rooms for group counseling, a nursery, a playground and two roof deck gardens.

"We reconnect our women with their families and allow them to realize what makes life meaningful again," Elliott said.

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-Harlem) said the residential home was a long-awaited project whose founders never gave up. "The Kandake House is a symbol of what we can do," he said at the grand opening.

Tracey Herman, 36, a certified medical assistant who grew up in Brookhaven, was arrested on armed robbery charges in 2005 after she was involved in a Manhattan jewelry store heist. At the time, she said, she was hooked on heroin.

"I went to prison and when I was on parole I smoked marijuana. I relapsed. Right now, I am looking at the whole picture -- losing my freedom, my home and everything I have worked so hard for.''

After testing positive for marijuana, Herman was assigned to Kandake House for 90 days. She finishes on June 7 and after that she hopes to move to Arizona to be with her mother and continue her recovery.

Herman said she started using drugs again "when life was getting hard. I was facing struggles and I got high. Now I understand that everyone has struggles and I don't have to get high."

Life at Kandake House allows Rosa Rodriguez, 37, to live with her 3-year-old son.

Rodriguez was living in a New York City shelter with her son after leaving an abusive relationship, she says. She was later arrested on marijuana charges. "The first day here I loved it. My son and I have the support we need. I have services that helped me stop smoking. I have gained weight and feel healthy. I'm no longer depressed," she said, with a smile.