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A free women’s recovery center is being planned for Laurel, Mississippi, and the people building it know exactly what they are trying to fix.
Brent and Candice Gilbert are raising money to buy a building for a residential program that would charge nothing, aimed at women in Jones County who cannot pay for treatment and have nowhere else to turn.
Why a Free Program Matters Here
Candice Gilbert has said that when she was in recovery herself, she struggled to find a place she could afford and ended up doing much of the work alone.
She described figuring out how to get sober as one of the hardest things she has done, and told WDAM that “you can’t put a price on recovery.”
That gap is the whole reason the project exists. Private residential treatment in Mississippi routinely runs into thousands of dollars a month, and women who are uninsured, underinsured or between jobs are often quoted a figure they cannot come close to meeting. Free and low-cost rehabs fill that space, and there are not enough of them.
How the Program Would Work
The planned facility is called Beautifully Mended. According to WDAM, it would run as a free two-step program combining residential recovery support with practical life skills training.
The first six months would be for the mother alone. After that, a second step would allow women to bring their children to live with them. The Gilberts told WDAM they expect to start with capacity for six to ten women.
The program is faith-based. Brent Gilbert has pastored at Lake Church in Laurel for four years, and he and Candice have been married 22 years. Seven years ago the couple started a recovery ministry called Restoring the Broken.
Both have been open about having faced addiction together, and Brent has described the goal as pulling women out of addiction and pointing them toward recovery. Christian faith is an explicit part of the program’s approach.
Who Qualifies for Free or Low-Cost Treatment
Beautifully Mended is not open yet, so admission criteria have not been published. Based on how comparable programs operate, eligibility for free faith-based residential recovery housing typically depends on being medically stable, willing to participate in the program structure, and in some cases being a parent seeking to reunify with children.
In the meantime, Mississippi residents who need care now have options that do not depend on paying out of pocket.
Mississippi Medicaid covers substance use disorder treatment, including outpatient services and, for eligible members, residential care.
Community mental health centers operating through the state’s regional system offer services on a sliding scale, meaning the fee is set according to income. Some accept clients with no income at all.
Supporting the Project
The Gilberts are raising funds to purchase a building. They are hosting a fundraiser called the Light the Path Gala on Saturday, August 29 at 7 p.m. at Bethlehem Community Church in Laurel.
Tickets are $50 per person, with a purchase deadline of Friday, August 14. Details are posted on the project’s Facebook page.
Free and Low-Cost Rehabs in Mississippi
While Beautifully Mended is still in the fundraising stage, cost should not be the thing that stops anyone from starting.
Rehabs.org lists free and low-cost treatment options nationwide, filtered by payment type so readers can see which programs accept Medicaid, run on a sliding scale, or charge nothing at all. Call
800-914-7089
(
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to get in touch with a treatment specialist today.
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