BILLINGS — The Hannah House campus in Billings has expanded to six homes, and the nonprofit is planning more work to offer more women a place to heal and rebuild their lives. Beyond the bricks and mortar, it's the personal journeys that define the program's impact.
Shannon LaMere has called the Hannah House home for the last 13 months after her release from Montana Women's Prison on Jan 21, 2025.
"I got out of prison 13 months ago on Jan. 21, 2025. And it's just been a blessing to be in this community, the Hannah House," LaMere said Thursday.
Watch Shannon talk about how the Hannah House changed her life:
While incarcerated, LaMere reached out to the Hannah House monthly for six to eight months, writing letters with updates about her progress in prison. After years of addiction, the transition to sober living presented new challenges.
"It was really overwhelming because I haven't ever lived this sober life. I haven't had the support, had the community, had people that honestly want to help me to do better in life. I haven't ever had that," LaMere said.
Thirteen months later, LaMere says her life has transformed.
"I don't think without having them in my corner, I wouldn't have made it this far. My life has, it's been good," LaMere said.
Kaleb Perdew and Carey Darlington with the Community Leadership and Development Inc., which operates Hannah House, report strong success rates for the program.
"When women come in and they stay with us for longer than a year, we have a 75 percent success rate over the last 10 years of women staying in recovery. That flips on its head the national average," Perdew said.
The expansion increases capacity from 15 to 20 women, providing more transitional housing for a steady path toward independent living.
"We move from 15 to 20. And that's a huge capacity for us that we can build and then see more transformation that creates a ripple effect in the community," Perdew said.
The organization believes smaller numbers promote larger change.
"We believe that the invested relationship of having a smaller number of women promotes larger change in their lives," Perdew said.
The Hannah House receives nearly 300 applications every year, highlighting the community's need for sober living assistance.
"The need for sober living, the need for help is so prevalent in this community," Darlington said.
The $1.9 million initiative was funded through grants and community support, with zero debt, allowing every dollar raised to be invested directly into the women rather than construction costs.
With phases one and two complete in the spring of 2025, the organization is moving to phase three, which involves renovating office space behind the main house into a transitional apartment. The entire project is expected to be completed this fall.
For LaMere, the impact is clear.
"I would not be sitting here today if it had not been for Hannah House, honestly," LaMere said.
