<\/p>\n
Gerry Geraghty\u2019s private house is a revolving door for people hoping to overcome their run-ins with the law.<\/p>\n
Since 2001, he estimates more than 100 people have taken shelter in his six-bedroom home \u2013 some are addicts, some are ex-convicts, others are just down on their luck.<\/p>\n
Some are also like Geraghty, whose mother was an alcoholic and whose wife, Lauren, is a recovering addict.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn many ways, these men and women in jail and people suffering from addiction are like orphans,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019ve lost friends and family because of their criminal behavior. This is a home where people can land after getting out of jail or prison and have a safe, supportive living environment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Each person who stays there has a personal story of struggle.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a grandmother living in the homeless shelter that I met at church, and she lived with us for 10 years until she got housing on 32nd Street,\u201d he said. \u201cShe had nowhere to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another woman lived in the Geraghty house after her husband divorced her and kicked her out.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose two women didn\u2019t have criminal records, but they were lost and broken,\u201d he said. \u201cComing to live with us repaired their lives. That is one end of the spectrum, and the other is people who come from prison.\u201d<\/p>\n
Geraghty\u2019s house, named Phoenix Fellowship after the bird in Greek mythology that is born again from the ashes of its predecessor, operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and sober-living home. He and Lauren started sheltering people 17 years ago.<\/p>\n
Geraghty was driven to this full-time job because of his family\u2019s history and his deeply-held Christian beliefs.<\/p>\n
Even after having children \u2013 their sons are 12 and 14 \u2013 Geraghty\u2019s conviction to help ex-convicts never wavered. He said people often ask him if he is ever afraid living with men and women after their release from jail. His response is always the same: No.<\/p>\n
None of his clients has perpetrated crimes against him or his family, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cGod gave us this house and passion, and we trust that he will take care of us and our safety,\u201d Geraghty said. \u201cBut we aren\u2019t foolish. \u2026 We\u2019ve called the police before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tenants are required to sign a contract and follow a set of rules that includes abstaining from drugs and alcohol.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have a test for people to get in,\u201d he said. \u201cWe go over the contract with them beforehand and they have to agree to it. We\u2019ve given second and third chances to some people.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Geraghtys receive some private donations, but most money comes from rent the tenants are required to pay. Tenants live downstairs with a shared bathroom and kitchen. A private bedroom is $440 a month and a shared bedroom is $270, including utilities.<\/p>\n
Typically, three people live with them at any given time, but they\u2019ve had as many as six people living with them at once.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I have an opening, I put out calls to probation officers and Axis Health to see who they recommend,\u201d Geraghty said.<\/p>\n
He also visits the jail two to three times a week to show movies and offer Bible study as part of Good News Jail & Prison Ministry, a Christian nonprofit that serves in correctional facilities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe movies that I show are specifically chosen to demonstrate proper male character,\u201d he said. \u201cThese are the lepers of our society, and my passion is to be alongside them. Not to judge or lecture but to love them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Geraghty sometimes attends drug court if his tenants are involved. Over the years, he has networked with probation officers and judges at the La Plata County Courthouse.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt times, I\u2019m allowed to speak on behalf of someone and say they have support and are living at a sober-living home,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are times judges have let people out early because they knew they\u2019d come to our house to live.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Geraghty family welcomes tenants with open arms. They go to church together. They play games and watch movies together.<\/p>\n
The goal is for tenants to find a sense of normalcy in their lives and to be reintegrated into society, Geraghty said.<\/p>\n
Lauren understands some of the tenants\u2019 struggles because she has experienced them. She has been sober for 31 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe make a good team because she can get in their face and tell them what to do because she\u2019s part of that club,\u201d he said. \u201cShe\u2019s in recovery and still goes to meetings from time to time.\u201d<\/p>\n
But not everyone finds comfort in what the Geraghtys do at Phoenix House.<\/p>\n
In February 2013, their neighbors on Rio Vista Circle objected to their decision to house William Vollert, a sexually violent predator.<\/p>\n
Vollert was one of three such identified predators living in La Plata County at the time. He was 20 when he had sex with a 14-year-old girl and pleaded guilty to attempted sexual assault on a child.<\/p>\n
Angela Lokken, who lives three houses down from the Geraghtys, said she feels uncomfortable with some of the people who live at Phoenix House.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is what it is,\u201d she said. \u201cWe don\u2019t like it, but they don\u2019t bother me. I don\u2019t know these people, so who am I to judge? I could just be being prejudiced.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other neighbors contacted for this story did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n
Vollert was not the only sex offender to live in his house, and Geraghty said he stands by the decision to help him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Will came to live with us, it was gold because his mom dropped him off, and within 20 minutes, he was having a Nerf war with our kids and their friends,\u201d he said. \u201cHe was having a fun time without any substance abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Geraghtys focus on people struggling with substance abuse because they believe drugs and alcohol are the foundation for criminal behavior.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you use, you do not have rational thinking. \u2026 You can do just about anything,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not a criminologist, but when they are off the substance, they have their lives back. It is like a demon; it enslaves them and has them on a chain, so to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jesse Rose was one of three men living at the Geraghty house in February. Rose\u2019s criminal record shows a long history of substance abuse, including methamphetamine and heroin.<\/p>\n
Rose said he started using drugs at a young age and began stealing to pay for his addiction.<\/p>\n
\u201cI caught my first felony when I was 18,\u201d he said. \u201cI went to prison for 18 months, and when I got out, all I did was party.\u201d<\/p>\n
He racked up more than 10 property and theft crimes in La Plata County alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve done violent things, but I\u2019m not a violent person,\u201d he said. \u201cI could never hurt anyone physically.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose spoke to The Durango Herald on Wednesday. He was arrested the next day \u2013 less than a week after moving into the Geraghty house \u2013 and booked into the La Plata County Jail on suspicion of using methamphetamine.<\/p>\n
Before his arrest, Rose said he was thankful for the structure at the Geraghty house.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard going from the lifestyle I was living before to now,\u201d he said. \u201cIt has slowed down a lot, which is a great thing, but it\u2019s hard to adjust.\u201d<\/p>\n
Geraghty has watched many different tenants fall off the wagon \u2013 Rose included.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had a lot of rough roads and tough situations,\u201d he said. \u201cSometimes police have to come here in the middle of the night.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leverette Begay, who has lived with the Geraghtys for almost six months, suffered a relapse in November and spent about a month in jail before moving back in December.<\/p>\n
Since then, he has found a job at McDonald\u2019s and is making more efforts to stay on track with his sobriety.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s reassuring to have a safe place to live and with good people who acknowledge my sobriety,\u201d he said. \u201cI enjoy going to church with them because it helps to get my head right.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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