Foreclosure: Home for women behind $220,000 on land payments

Heroin befriended Pat Jackson when it took away her emotional pain. Then it stole her self-control and self-esteem, and nearly her life. She arrived at the Gastonia Potter’s House in 2005 a broken woman who had run out of options.

“This was the first place that really helped me get real with myself,” she said of how the nonprofit fueled her recovery. The Christian-based programs offered by the Potter’s House since 1997 have helped countless women overcome substance abuse, eating disorders and depression, among other life-controlling issues. But the operation is now in jeopardy, as the land and buildings it leases in Ranlo are on the verge of foreclosure.

Executive Director Cindy Marshall said she and other supporters are working desperately to keep that from happening. “We’re trying to cry out to the community to help, and to let them know we are here as a resource,” she said. For women like Jackson, who returned to the Potter’s House to work and volunteer after her recovery, the reality that it may go under is traumatizing.

“It hurts,” she said. “It’s been my home for so many years.”

Deal to purchase: Women who enroll at the Gastonia Potter’s House go through an 18-month program. They live together on the Burmil Road campus, which consists of four buildings on just over 8 acres. They spend the first nine months focusing on their recovery, then find jobs and begin gradually reinserting themselves into the local community. Licensed therapists and counselors help them along their path.

The operation launched in June 1997 with 12 beds and one “student.” Women who enrolled didn’t have to pay for the services, and property owner James Hope only charged $1 per year to the Potter’s House to use the land and buildings. Hope and Marshall were married 10 years before they divorced in 2010. In 2008, they helped to negotiate an agreement for the Potter’s House to buy the real estate it was using, making it a permanent home.

The April 2008 deed of trust called for the nonprofit to pay the full $230,000 sales amount within five years. Marshall said she never doubted that would be possible. “The year we signed the contract, the economy was flourishing and I was getting grants from a lot of foundations,” she said.

Economic fallout: But when the economy collapsed in 2008, reliable funding sources dried up. Hope said he has received one payment of $10,000 in the last five years, but is still owed $220,000. At 78 years old, Hope said he wants to begin paying debts and getting his finances in order. Since the five-year deadline to pay for the land passed last April, he has given the Potter’s House several more months to figure out a solution.

“It looks to me like they’re not able to come up with the money, or they’re not trying,” he said. “I don’t know how they’re going to continue.” Marshall said the Potter’s House has no trouble affording the roughly $6,800 monthly cost for running the facility, but paying for the land has been difficult.

The program has four full-time staff members and several volunteers who help oversee classes on Bible study, arts and crafts, nutrition, money management and other things. Students also work toward receiving GEDs if they didn’t graduate high school. Marshall said she is paid $500 a month “when we have it.” 

“We operate on a shoestring budget,” she said. Hope said if the Potter’s House could make a large payment, then give him some reason to believe they’ll be able to settle the rest of the debt soon, he might be able to give the agency more time. “It’s great work that they do,” he said. “I really don’t want to see it go under.”

Jack Ford, the longtime chairman of the Potter’s House board of directors, said leaders working hard to make that happen. One donor has promised to provide a $50,000 match if the Potter’s House can raise $50,000 elsewhere, he said. “(Hope) has been really gracious,” said Ford. “We’re really working hard to try to make this thing work.”

Focus on recovery: Services were offered free at the Potter’s House for many years. But in 2012, the financial constraints forced them to begin charging a $1,000 entry fee and $400 a month from each woman, Marshall said. “That’s been really hard for us because by the time these women get to where they need us, they pretty much don’t have anything,” she said. “They’ve lost about everything.”

Jackson, 59, was living in New Jersey when she became addicted to heroin. She was referred to the Potter’s House through a pastor who knew about the local venture. She says she quit a good-paying job to come here and reclaim her life. Jackson returned home after completing her rehabilitation, but soon realized she wanted to become a permanent part of the Potter’s House. Her husband later moved with her back to Gastonia, and she has found immeasurable value in helping other women overcome the same demons she faced.

“A lot of times, when new women come in, they think the people here working with them like me have never experienced what they have,” she said. “When they learn we’ve been right where they are, that relieves them.” Marshall said she has solicited help from local sources that have traditionally helped her, such as the Community Foundation and Glenn Foundation. But a number of grant cycles have passed, meaning help may not be available from those groups until next year.

She’s not giving up yet. “We’ve got some irons in the fire,” she said. Jackson is also among those trying to hold out hope, even as the situation becomes more daunting. “I’m going through every day knowing that someone will help us,” she said. “I’m walking by faith.”

You can reach Michael Barrett at 704-869-1826 or twitter.com/GazetteMike.