Nonprofit Executive of the Year Finalist
Ellen Blathers
Executive director, Serenity Inns Inc.
At a time when the opioid crisis has reached new levels in our community and beyond, the work of Ellen Blathers, the board and the staff at Milwaukee’s Serenity Inns Inc. has never been more important.
Blathers, executive director of Serenity Inns, was part of the visionary team that witnessed the Samaritan Inns in Washington, D.C. and replicated the model in Milwaukee.
Serenity Inn, located at 2825 W. Brown St. in Milwaukee, provides a three-phase transitional program for individuals choosing recovery from their addictions.
The first phase is the Leadership Education Acceptance Program, which helps prepare individuals to be successful residents in phase two, the transitional living program. The newly created phase three is an independent living program that allows men who have completed the treatment program to live in a fully-furnished apartment for an additional 18 months to help stabilize their recovery. l