“This is a solution to a problem,” Laura Francesconi, the Banquet Committee Chair began, “We do not have a recovery home in this county… We need one.”
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The 7th annual Worthy Recovery Home Fundraising Dinner took place at Heston Hills Banquet Center with full hearts. Sonshine Troche, the mastermind behind the Worthy Women Recovery Home, was overwhelmed with the tremendous amount of love and support that came walking in through the doors.
“Every year we hold a banquet to gain funds for our home,” Patricia M. Graham, the Building Chair said. “I’m here to get a report on how our home is coming.”
At the beginning of the night, in order for the house to be completed with furniture and all, $50,000 was still needed. With the presence of a silent and live auction, that number slowly dwindled as the night went on. Various businesses donated items to grab the crowd's attention. Items included a trip to Disney World, baskets filled to the brim with different goodies, jewelry, and even a vintage gas pump. “We did some research in trying to find a recovery home in the area,” Sonshine Troche said, “So when we couldn’t find one, we said, ‘Well… Let’s make one.’”
Troche gained much of her inspiration from her past. She was born in Bamberg, Germany. She was raised in a Kinderheim, or orphanage. When her mother married MSG Michael Wood, an American war veteran, she moved to America. She was eight then, and struggling to find herself in a new world. For over 19 years, Sonshine wasted those precious years of her life suffering through the grip that is addiction. Through those battles she found a light at the end of the tunnel: God. She gave her life over to Jesus, and soon she was becoming the woman she was truly meant to be.
Today, she teaches Bible classes to women, and gives potential to women who have lost all hope in themselves. She wants to give women exiting prison a place to belong and a place where they can become the women they were meant to become as well.
Called up to speak were two women who were given hope by the Sonshine. Both suffered through addiction and have done time in prison where they first met Sonshine. Those two strong women were Mandi Jasicki and Phelicia Young. Both women were running through the dark, trying to find a bit of light. That was the moment when Sonshine broke the darkness and everything made sense. Their lives were just as valuable and special as anyone else's, and they were getting the help that they needed.
Awards were given out to the top volunteers who have helped through the Worthy Women Recovery Home’s steps and phases. NIPSCO awarded the home project with a $7,500 check that will be doubled the following year.
The night concluded with the feeling of Sonshine’s hugs and the sound of laughter and happiness of the night’s events. The Worthy Women Recovery Home is much needed in the community. It is a place that will give women the worth they never lost, but needed to rediscover.