May 10, 2018 3 min read

WAYNESBURG – After Lynn Bird lost two daughters to fatal heroin overdoses in 2014, she wanted to find a way to honor their lives while helping others battling addiction.

She found it by working to launch the Bird Sisters Oxford House two years ago, one of two sober living houses in Waynesburg and one of the few in the region that caters to women.

Bird said she was “overwhelmed” Wednesday afternoon when state Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs Secretary Jennifer Smith visited the house to see what’s working in recovery and how to extend the model across Pennsylvania. Bird said the visit was an opportunity to raise awareness about the need for more long-term rehabilitation centers and sober living residences.

“I’m loving the attention because we need to get the word out and get help to Greene County,” she said after the secretary toured the house named after her daughters. “(Recovering addicts) need the support of other people.”

Smith marveled at the tidy, three-story home on North Richhill Street that five women call home, but can hold up to nine residents. She was joined by other county and state officials, including county Commissioner Dave Coder, Greene County Human Services Director Karen Bennett and state Sen. Camera Bartolotta.

“This is my kind of room,” Smith told her tour guides when she walked into a bedroom painted purple. “This is just beautiful. Amazing stuff. What a great tribute to your daughters.”

The secretary was in Western Pennsylvania visiting various rehabilitation entities in Greensburg and Belle Vernon earlier Wednesday before traveling to Pittsburgh today. Her department is under a tight deadline to create a process by next summer to certify and license recovery homes that receive state or federal money.

Although the Oxford House is a self-sustaining model that relies on rent from residents, Smith thought it would be a good example for what the department wants when it implements the regulations.

“If they were all this great, we wouldn’t need a process for certification,” she said. “We love a model like this that has such great community support. There are places you don’t see that kind of support.”

That’s what Angela found when she moved to the Bird Sisters House in October following her third stint in prison after years of abusing heroin and alcohol. The Fayette County native, who asked that her last name not be used, decided to get clean after leaving prison, but she needed a support system and had heard of success stories through the Oxford House system.

“I didn’t know anyone when I came to Waynesburg,” Angela said.

The house and its four other women, which she called her “recovery family,” have helped her over the past few months, including when she had hip surgery last week.

“I came here, and recovery is genuine. The recovery is real,” Angela said. “There’s a lot of time and wisdom here. They accepted me right off the bat. They made the transition smooth.”

That’s what Bird was hoping for after she lost her two daughters, Jennifer Bird Porter, 32, and Megan Bird, 30, within four months of each other.

“Whatever good can come out of it,” Bird said.

Anyone who is struggling with addiction can call the department’s help line at 1-800-662-HELP.