As Dowagiac’s Shelia Helmuth has witnessed dozens of times over the last several years, even the smallest of kind gestures can have the largest of positive impacts on someone’s day, especially those who feel isolated from the rest of the world.

Monday morning, employees with Dowagiac’s Honor Credit Union happened to make a very large gesture to the community’s downtrodden — a gesture worth $500, to be exact.

The local credit union donated the money, raised during their annual “Casual for Cause” charity drive, to the Apostolic Lighthouse’s Hope’s House, a transitional home for local women dealing with substance abuse issues. Helmuth, one of the church’s leaders and coordinator for the program, accepted the check from Branch Manager Janie Reifenberg and the rest of the credit union staff.

For the last seven years, the church, in partnership with Cass County Courts, have provided women recovering from drug addiction with a safe and stable foundation to re-establish their lives upon release from incarceration. Formerly known as Hope’s Door, the program has thrived over the last several years mainly through the support of residents and business owners throughout the community, who donate their time, energy and resources toward maintaining the house or assisting the women who inhabit it, Helmuth said.

“Dowagiac has been very responsive to the needs of women in recovery, by helping give them a second chance,” she said. “We’ve seen so much success.”

The staff of Honor Credit Union in particular has been a tremendous supporter of the program, donating items such as blankets, towels and puzzles for children residing with their mothers in the past. The management has even offered to hold mock interviews and provide financial literacy courses for residents, Helmuth said.

Other organizations regularly provide assistance as well, including downtown’s Shabby Bou-Chic, which provides job training for program participants. Even entities outside of Dowagiac have lent aid in the past, such as the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Berrien Springs, which has provided baskets filled with basic hygiene products for women moving into the house, Helmuth said.

“It’s so nice to see the community come together to make this ministry work,” she said.

Since its inception, the recovery program has provided shelter to an average of 10 women a year, with nine currently living inside the home today, Helmuth said. In addition to providing a safe environment for women while they undergo rehabilitation, the shelter offers ministry and spiritual counseling to residents.

“A lot of these women don’t know what actual love is,” Helmuth said. “Some feel that just receiving attention from someone is enough. We teach them what God’s love is like.”

People interested in donating or assisting Hope’s House can contact Helmuth at 269-782-1193.

“Donating something as small as pillow can help a lot, especially for someone who has just gotten out of jail,” Helmuth said. “Something that small can mean a lot.”