Addiction remains a severe health crisis for women across the United States. In states like Maine, the lack of dedicated, trauma-informed treatment centers leaves many without the critical support they need. Substance use disorder damages families, isolates communities, and creates an urgent demand for safe residential recovery spaces designed specifically to address the unique needs of women.
The Tessa Lee Libby Foundation directly addresses this gap by opening Tessa’s House, a new 16-bed facility in Washington, Maine. Funded by a $1.1 million state grant, the center honors the legacy of figure skater Tessa Lee McCue by offering evidence-based, peer-supported care. We spoke with Diana Lammerts of Virestra, representing the facility, to discuss this new project, trauma-informed care, and the importance of community support in addiction recovery.
Q: The facility recently secured a $1.1 million grant from the Maine Recovery Council. How did the team utilize these funds to develop this 4,000-square-foot farmhouse into a comprehensive recovery center?
Diana Lammerts:
Tessa’s House began with Tessa Lee McCue and the promise her family made after losing her to addiction. The grant helped carry that promise into something women can actually walk into: a safe residential setting built for recovery.
The farmhouse was renovated into a 16-bed treatment center with private bedrooms, counseling suites, and outdoor areas for reflection, gardening, and walking. The intention is to provide a calm and predictable space, which helps in addressing trauma. Recovery is already hard enough. The environment should help a woman feel safe enough to stay, participate, and begin again.
The funding also supported the structure around the home, including clinical assessment, 24/7 staffing, medical oversight, licensed substance-use counseling, peer support, and staff members with long-term recovery experience, and we are expanding services to provide the continuum of care.
Q: Tessa’s House focuses on a trauma-informed model specifically for women. Why is it necessary to build women-only programs rather than relying on general substance use treatment facilities?
Diana Lammerts:
Many women arrive in treatment with trauma underneath the substance use. Sometimes it is visible. Sometimes it is something they have learned to survive around.
A women-only program can create a different level of safety. Residents have space to talk honestly about their lives, their families, their bodies, their losses, and the choices they are trying to make now. That matters because recovery requires trust before it can require change.
The model at Tessa’s House is designed around that reality. The work includes treatment, peer support, recovery skills, and family reintegration, so women are not only stabilized in the moment. They are building a way forward.
Q: Tessa’s House uses adjunct therapies like nature, art, mindfulness, and horticulture. How do these outdoor spaces and activities complement the standard clinical care provided by the medical staff?
Diana Lammerts:
Clinical care gives the program its foundation. The adjunct therapies help residents practice recovery in daily life.
A woman may understand something in a counseling session, then need another way to process it later. Walking outside, working with plants, making art, or sitting quietly can help her regulate her body and stay connected to the work she is doing.
Those pieces matter in a residential setting because recovery happens all day. The outdoor spaces give residents room to breathe, reflect, build routine, and experience calm in a way that supports the clinical care.
Q: The facility relies heavily on peer recovery specialists and individuals who are in long-term recovery themselves. How does this peer mentorship model improve the daily environment for the residents?
Diana Lammerts:
Peer support changes the room.
When a resident is struggling, it can make a real difference to hear from someone who has walked through recovery themselves. There is a kind of trust that comes from lived experience. It cannot be manufactured.
The clinical team provides professional care and structure. Peer mentors help residents through the day-to-day moments that can make or break early recovery: wanting to leave, feeling ashamed, not believing life can look different, needing someone nearby who understands without overexplaining.
That kind of support helps women feel less alone.
Q: Tessa’s House accepts MaineCare and commits to publishing audited financial statements annually. Why is this level of financial transparency and accessibility critical for a modern nonprofit recovery center?
Diana Lammerts:
Access matters because families in crisis often do not have time to navigate impossible barriers. If a woman is ready for help, the system should make it easier for her to receive care, not harder.
Accepting MaineCare helps make treatment reachable for women who may not have the ability to pay privately. For a nonprofit recovery center, that is central to the mission.
Transparency matters for the same reason. Families, donors, community partners, and the public are trusting the organization with something serious. Tessa’s name and legacy are attached to this work, and that carries a responsibility to operate with care and accountability.
The discussion with Diana Lammerts highlights the vital need for specialized addiction treatment. By combining clinical oversight with peer mentorship and adjunct therapies, Tessa’s House provides women with practical tools for lifelong sobriety. Transforming personal grief into a structured, fully staffed recovery haven creates a lasting, positive impact on the local community.
The demand for safe, trauma-informed care environments will only increase as the national addiction crisis continues. Facilities that prioritize evidence-based models, high-level staffing, and financial transparency set a new standard for nonprofit healthcare. As Tessa’s House opens its doors, it provides a strong, scalable blueprint for effective women’s recovery programs nationwide.
To learn more, visit https://tessaleelibby.org/