KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Healing House, or Erin's House, held its grand opening and ceremonial "breaking the chain of addiction" ahead of new residents moving in after vandalism in August pushed back the opening.
Healing House, a substance use disorder recovery organization, purchased the house and named it in honor of Erin Langhofer, the 25-year-old Kansas City woman who was killed by a stray bullet during a First Friday event in 2019. Her parents, Marcy and Tom Langhofer, helped make Erin's House possible through their nonprofit Do Good For Erin.
Jolene Carter remembers what Erin's House looked like before the redesign.
"Dragging trash cans up and down these stairs," Carter said. "It was a cold day, we were wearing masks, we were wearing gloves, you could get a needle, I mean, it was a mess."
The home near Independence Avenue was created to help women who struggle with mental health and substance abuse. They can stay with their children while going through the program, offering stability and community.
"All the kids are going to bond, all the moms are going to bond, it’s going to be a family, and it’s probably something they’ve never had before," Carter said.
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Erin Langhofer's parents, Marcy and Tom Langhofer, helped make Erin's House possible through their nonprofit Do Good For Erin.
"We are just such a small part of it, and as evidence by the hundreds of people who have already been here," Tom Langhofer said.
They said the home reflects their daughter in its beachy, calm design, spirit and mission.
"She would love that it’s for families, and that they get to hang out together in a big comfy living room, and a big kitchen bar with a dining room table," Marcy said. "She’d want to move in, too."
They hope the home is around for hundreds of years, offering generational change.
Carter wishes her son could have been a part of it. He lost his life to substance abuse. She believes in it because of the community, and because she knows people care, like the Langhofers.
"It’s just different here, and the success rate is different here," Carter said. "It’s beyond just this house."
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