Faithful Servants opens transitional house for women and children

Faithful Servants Ministry Executive Director Ken Roberts, left, chats with Nichole Welsh, who is part of the program and plans to move into the new women and children transitional house in Kelso soon.

Less than a month ago, Contessa Diseth was at her “lowest point” after going to jail, using meth and bouncing from house to house, when she received a call turning her life around.

Around Oct. 13, Faithful Servants Ministry Executive Director Ken Roberts asked Diseth to move in to the nonprofit’s new transitional house for women and children.

Diseth, 26, has now been sober nearly three weeks, has a job, is in treatment and lives in a safe, stable home with her one-year-old daughter.

“I love it,” she said Wednesday. “Coming in, I was a little iffy, but now everybody is family to me.”

Faithful Servants operates five transitional houses for those who are homeless, recovering from addiction, leaving prison or escaping an abusive relationship.

The organization requires residents be sober, attend morning Bible sessions, church services and a recovery program. Residents also participate in community service, such as volunteering at food banks. All residents must pay rent, and the houses are self-sustaining. There is no limit to how long residents can stay.

Those interested in the program can apply through Roberts, and many residents are referred to the program by the Department of Corrections. People with arson, animal abuse or sex offenses aren’t accepted.

Shannon McKendrick said she and her 10-year-old son were sleeping in her vehicle when the Kelso School District put her in touch with Roberts. They moved in to the new house about a week ago, she said.

“(The program) has been great to us,” she said.

Nichole Welsh, who has lived at one of the single women’s houses for four months, said she’s started attending Lower Columbia College.

“I love it, it’s like family,” she said. “It helps you continue to do good.”

Welsh is working to get custody of her 4-year-old son and plans to move into the women and children’s house once she does so.

Faithful Servants rents its newest seven-bedroom house from Kelso Christian Academy for a “reasonable price,” Roberts said. The rent for residents is the same as the other entry-level houses at $350, and Roberts said he’s trying to figure out how to factor children into living costs.

“I’m kind of excited, and a little apprehensive at first figuring it out because it’s new,” he said.

Roberts said he’s “dreading” the day he’ll have to kick someone out of the women and children’s house but sticking to the rules helps the program’s success.

“It’s hard but we have to protect the others in the house,” Roberts said. “We have to hold that line as well here as the other houses.”

In the last two years, the ministry has gone from operating one men’s house to five total, as well as a thrift store on Commerce Avenue. Roberts said he hopes to have a total of 10 houses in the next couple years.

Next in line would be a third men’s house, but it’s difficult to find a house with enough bedrooms in the organization’s price range, Roberts said.

Roberts said he would also like to expand the ministry to include an intake center to connect people with resources like food stamps, medical providers, mental health services and transitional housing. Counselors or mentors would help monitor participants’ progress, he said.

Roberts said he wants the public to understand the ministry is trying to grow and affect the community in a positive way. The program requires community service to give residents a sense of worth and value to the community despite their past, he said.

“I understand, I have a past,” he said. “I worked to get past it, and it doesn’t keep me from doing what I can do.”