BILLINGS — This December, the Downtown Billings Rotary Club donated over $21,000 to different organizations across the city. The Hannah House, located on the South Side, received $2,000 from this grant for the purpose of expanding its food pantry to improve the livelihood and health of women and children living in the house.
The Rotary Club's chapter president, Ernest Ross, said in a press release: "As Rotarians, we have a commitment to assist our community in promoting the wellbeing of all citizens. We are grateful that we have this opportunity to assist a wide range of organizations in fulfilling their missions."
The Hannah House was established in 2012 as a transitional home to help women with addiction issues, women who just got out of prison or jail, homeless women, and their children a safe place to stay while figuring out life's next steps. The house typically provides for 14 women.
When residents enter the Hannah House, they are allowed access to the food pantry any time they'd like.
Inside of the food pantry is a freezer stocked with meat, fruit, and vegetables, and ingredients to make home-cooked meals.
It may not seem like a lot to some, but for people like Christy Davidson, it means the most.
"I mean it's just amazing. People don't realize the little things in life make a huge difference. The care that we receive is just amazing, and then you think out on the streets just how hard it is. So I'm really blessed that I've got a place to (safely sleep)," Davidson said.
Davidson has been staying at the Hannah House for about two months as she strives to get back on her feet.
Before arriving, she was fighting active addiction. Davidson said she stayed at another sober living facility for an extended period of time, but feels safer at the Hannah House. She is eternally grateful she received help in getting a pillow under her head, and a warm place to sleep.
"(Our residents are) reuniting with their kids. They need a safe place to live, a safe space to reunify, a place where they can live in recovery and have the lessons that recovery brings," said Kaleb Perdew, the executive director of the Community Leadership Development Inc. (CLDI) in Billings.
The CLDI is a non-profit faith-based organization that works to improve and transform communities on the Billings South Side. The organization runs the Hannah House.
Perdew believes providing healthy and nutritious meals for the residents will improve both their physical and mental health.
"First and foremost, in sobriety, and any other health journey... food is so important. If people are getting the right nutrition, then their brains are getting the appropriate nutrition to be able to make healthy decisions," he said.
For Davidson, and other women living in the house, being able to grab food at any moment is something they are grateful for and don't take for granted.
"The food pantry here is unbelievable. I mean, I've never seen anything like it. You aren't in need of anything," Davidson said.
Besides purchasing food and ingredients for the house, the grant also provides funding for their weekly family dinners, cooked and prepared by the house's director, Jessica Smith.
"So we do Thursday night dinner. I would say that's probably one of the most exciting nights of the week for the women, because I cook dinner, and so it's like a home-cooked meal," she said.
Smith said residents can request certain groceries and prepare their own home-cooked meals for the rest of the week.
To Davidson, a home-cooked meal is more priceless than any Christmas present.
"I'm just really happy with what I have," she said.
"We're a lot like a family here," Smith said.
