Organization seeks to expand addiction treatment for women

A Union County nonprofit that helps women battling addiction is asking county leaders to approve a new residential treatment campus near Marshville. House of Pearls said the expansion would double the number of women it can serve and could open by the end of the year.

A plot of land off Camden Road could soon be home to up to 40 women looking to overcome an addiction.

Erica Sullivan grew up in York County and said she started using drugs during her junior year of high school.

“I took everything,” Sullivan said. “I was homeless, out on the streets when I was 18.”

Sullivan said she started stealing to feed her addiction and, in 2024, landed in the Union County jail.

She had been in jail for two days when she learned that her older brother, Chris, had died from a fentanyl overdose.

“That’s my biggest driving force for completing this program, is I think my brother would be proud of me to not see me go down the same route he went down,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan is in a 12-month program through House of Pearls, a nonprofit that helps women overcome addiction.

Last week, Union County commissioners held a public hearing on a proposal by House of Pearls to build a long-term residential drug rehab facility, which would include four homes and a life center.

“The reason we set it up that way is, because the woman heal better in a home, instead of it being one large building where it feels like a facility,” said executive director Delois Carpenter, House of Pearls.

She said over the last five to six years, they’ve had 853 women apply for their program, but only had space to serve 150 women. Sullivan feels lucky to be one of them.

She credits the program for helping her secure a job, save money, and find the tools to succeed in a life without drugs.

“Above all, it’s going to save lives,” Sullivan said. “I know several girls would all be dead if we weren’t here. And they’ve turned away too many people in the last five years simply because we don’t have the space for it.”

If Union County commissioners approve the rezoning request on Monday, House of Pearls said it plans to break ground immediately. It’s possible women could move in by the end of the year.

Some neighbors expressed concerns about the impact the project will have on traffic.

House of Pearls said that it won’t be an issue because the women in the program can’t have cars on the property and will get around via a bus shuttle.

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