History of the Rockdale House(s)
Rockdale House was founded in 1974 by a group of concerned citizens with diverse backgrounds who met in an upstairs room on Center St. in Old Town Conyers. A committee was formed from which the first Board of Directors was elected: Brad Butler was the chairman and Barbara Edwards the secretary.
At first, alcoholics were taken in at Brad and Sue's home; eventually, the first evolution of the House was located at 995 Peek St., Conyers. It began as a co-educational venture but this was soon deemed too problematical in a recovery setting. Consequently, the women resided at Brad and Sue's home and attended meetings at the Peek St. venue.
The house on Peek St. was formerly the Brisendine residence; it had been converted into apartments and was severely dilapidated, a pickup truck full of beer and liquor bottles had to be carted away. To refurbish and furnish the property, a $5,000.00 loan was negotiated at Rockdale Bank, signed for by the original board members. Subsequently, grants from Delta Airlines and the Woodruff Foundation sufficed to pay off the note and purchase the first van. Sue and Brad sold their house and moved into Peek St. because they were the only staff.
In 1975, a greenhouse was established at Peek St. Sue was the director of the Men's House until 1985, retired for several months and then returned to inaugurate a Women's House which she directed until 1991. Diane Chandler was her assistant and became Executive Director when Sue again retired. The Men's House moved to Scott St. in 1987 and a back wing was constructed to accommodate more residents.
The program was available to anyone who wanted to overcome alcohol addiction. The Rockdale Mental Health System pledged a certain amount of funding per day per resident. Georgia Medical Health Institute donated enough funds to cover one half of the staff salaries. Local churches and civic organizations also helped fund the fledgling enterprise.
The program was tightly structured and based entirely on AA's 12-steps to recovery. Initially the neighbors were opposed to the House but ultimately warmed to the idea. In the mid 80's Rockdale House almost closed several times due to lack of funding but the Reverend Carl Smith, during his 20-year tenure on the Board, always managed to solicit sufficient donations. In 1982, Judge Clarence Vaughn interceded and helped the house acquire a state grant to be administered through the Gwinnett-Rockdale-Newton Regional Board, a branch of the State Dept. of Human Resources.
The house has subsequently helped to restore hundreds of lives and families. It has always attempted to maintain an educational component in its therapy. The policies and procedures are demonstrably effective: A study undertaken by the University of Georgia School of Social Work determined that 37% of Rockdale House men who completed the program and 40% of it's women, were still sober after five years. This is well over twice the recovery rate of other programs.
Ministers the Rev. Lee Womack of St. Simon's Episcopal Church, the Rev. Albert Myers of Conyers First Presbyterian and the Rev. Carl Smith of Smyrna Presbyterian with Linda Farris of the Rockdale Mental Health Association look over Rockdale House to determine what's needed (1974).
