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New sober living home hopes to help women in recovery

A new sober living home in Centennial has opened its doors and is hoping to help women on the road to recovery.

The road to recovery for anything is hard. It takes time, patience and hope.

The owner of a new sober living home for women in Centennial says she has all that and she's ready to help anyone who knocks on her door.

"Sometimes a place like this is life or death for somebody," Erin Rasmussen said.

She just opened Zen Mountain Sober Living. It's a place where only women can stay after getting treatment and before going back home.

"The most effective way of breaking that cycle is of relapse, addiction, treatment - sober living," she said.

Rasmussen would know. She’s in recovery herself.

"I had to try a few times, I wasn't successful the first or second time,” she said.

But the third time, she tried sober living.

“I didn't even realize really what it had done for me until I left and I was completely independent and I knew how to do that,” Rasmussen said.

She hoping to help other women feel like that with the help of Laura Smith. She’s Zen Mountain’s house manager.

"The point of coming here is to learn how to live sober out in the world,” Smith said. "They can go home with the knowledge that, 'I can do this and anything I need on the way, I can figure out.'"

Smith is also in recovery.

"By my helping other women and seeing their lives change, that's only going to solidify my commitment to my own sobriety,” she said.

"That's how we keep what we have, sharing our strength and hope with other women,” Rasmussen said.

Zen Mountain is empty right now but because there’s a shortage of sober living homes for women in our area, Erin hopes to fill spots in the house soon.

"Addiction, in general, is only getting worse and worse and worse in our country so resources like this, they're necessary,” Rasmussen said. “They're important. We're hoping to help as many women as possible."

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