Midtown is now home to a new three-story luxury sober living house, offering wraparound services to Tulsans.
The former dilapidated house, at 1379 E. 13th St. in the Cherry Street neighborhood, features six beds in three bedrooms, each with a TV. There are also three and a half bathrooms and a common area.
The house is owned and operated by Thrive Transitional Housing, a recovery transition company. Melissa Barron, Thrive’s operator, told The Eagle it’s open to everybody who qualifies with eligibility, with the exception of people convicted of a sex offense.
“Other than that, they’re able to apply and qualify, and we help them get a job,” Barron said. “We provide them with wraparound services. This is not just a head in the bed. This is a program from the inside out.”
The house is completely furnished with sheeted beds, a couch and multiple fridges. Six people will be allowed to live there at one time, while Thrive provides the tenants with assistance in finding employment, securing transportation and accessing mental health services.
Tenants are allowed to stay as long as necessary, so long as they remain committed to sobriety and recovery. The ultimate goal is to transition them into independent housing, Barron said.
Barron started Thrive alongside her husband, Jermaine Walker, in 2021. The two both grew up in Tulsa and share experiences of being homeless. Walker said they intend to be that last resource for people whose families and friends may have given up on them.
“I’ve dealt with my mother and father having everything, to losing everything to addiction, so at times we were homeless,” Walker said. “We gotta be that bridge that everybody burnt down.”
The main hurdle in developing the luxury house, Walker said, was acquiring the necessary funding as both he and Barron relied on their own dollars to bring the project to life.
Then Barron met with Darnell Blackmon, chairman of The Black Wall Street Chamber of Commerce. That conversation earlier this year led to a formal partnership.
“We haven’t gotten any government funding. It’s been all money out of our pocket to make this happen,” Blackmon said. “It’d be great if there’s funding out there, and if there’s not, we’ll continue.”
Blackmon and Tulsa City Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper, a founding board member of the Black Wall Street Chamber, joined Barron and Walker for Wednesday’s ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate their success.
Barron and Walker received an official certification from the Oklahoma Alliance for Recovery Resources to mark the beginning of their new venture. The house is named LeAnna, after the property manager’s mother who died last year, Walker said.
Thrive has already admitted one tenant, and Blackmon expects to have a full house by the end of the month.
The chamber plans to create a sober living park and is already in talks with potential architects and builders, Blackmon said.
Ismael Lele is a Report for America corps member and writes about business in Tulsa for The Oklahoma Eagle. Your donation to match our Report for America grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting this link.
