TimberHut Building Sober Living Community
TimberHut Building Sober Living Community
Local Cabin Company Wants to Help Aid Recovery in the Community
A few short years ago when Brooks Anderson founded TimberHut Cabin Company, the world was immersed in a global pandemic and unprecedented numbers of people fled their home offices (or dining room tables) for the great outdoors. From ski resorts to campsites, the need for more sustainable, comfortable spaces was evident, and Anderson knew he could create a product that would not only outlive the pandemic-induced trend but could revolutionize the outdoor industry. TimberHut’s custom luxury cabins, built locally in Great Valley, are being delivered all over the U.S. and beyond to winter resorts, glampgrounds, recovery retreats and individuals who want a beautiful, unique space to retreat from the world. Now, these cabins are a critical tool in aiding the recovery of those afflicted by drug and alcohol addiction in Buffalo’s Lovejoy District.
Anderson recently partnered with Pastor Al Johnson of Spirit of Truth Urban Ministry, who is dedicated to helping people in his community recover from addiction through the most effective means possible. Anderson explained, “He has a connection through various life experiences and family experiences to help those afflicted by addiction, depression, and other mental illnesses. He approached us about 18 months ago about potentially helping develop a campus of sorts that would be run out of his organization, the Rebecca Rose and JA Hauser Recovery Sobriety Centers of WNY.” This 501(c)3 non-profit organization owns multiple homes in Buffalo that house young women who are beginning their sobriety journey.
Anderson noted that the traditional halfway house can be far from ideal and often leads to relapse or recidivism. “There’s a lot of chaos in a halfway house or group home - there’s shared services, shared bathrooms and kitchens and living rooms. There’s no real privacy, no area that you can call one’s own, and it’s got a lot of triggering mechanisms.” Robinson and Anderson envision a “pocket community” comprised of 10 to 12 small deployable housing units designed and built by TimberHut. “These units will have certain design elements, aesthetic elements, and scientific elements that will all aid in a faster, more permanent recovery, and that extends from colors, textures, the use of light, and use of hot and cold sensory elements right down to certain ways to block EMFs (electromagnetic fields) or 5G signals that you and I are bombarded with every single day that really have no positive effect on the body.”
Anderson noted that if these signals can be blocked out during certain times of the day - especially at night - individuals in recovery can achieve a level of wellness that is crucial to sobriety and recovery. Beyond cliché notions of “feng shui,” Anderson said that design includes more than furniture arrangement and paint color. It’s about waking up in an environment that is comfortable and safe. “All of these factors aid in everybody’s wellness, and we’re going to be building with that in mind,” he explained. “Even the units we build for the resorts, they’re all going to be developed in the frame of mind of wellness… It’s where I want to take this, and I want to be able to bring this to as many people as possible if they’re sick or not. I think everybody has a right to wellness.”
Anderson said that the project is still in the design and development phase, as he, Robinson, and Erie County officials are working on the size and the number of people who will occupy these units (ideally a maximum of two each). He anticipates the units will be ready by the end of this summer. “We have our plans to use this as a pilot project and develop similar communities in other places,” said Anderson. “Our objective is to develop a system where the next one is going to go in Dunkirk where we have land available, in Jamestown where we have land available, and maybe even in Olean because they’re right here.” Anderson is enthusiastic about the possibilities of these pocket communities and added that “if we can develop this correctly and we develop the right system, we would love to take this nationwide. There are a lot of subsidies that are necessary, obviously, but I really think we have a shot at affecting positively the lives of many people.”
Anderson noted that this is a very large-scale community effort and over the next few months, “We will be very active and looking to partner up either financially or logistically and looking for more people to be involved in this campaign.” Those who are interested in being involved can contact Anderson by email at brooks@timberhut.com. To learn more about TimberHut, located at 4580 Route 219 in Great Valley, visit www.timberhut.com or follow the company on social media.