Being The Best You! –
Nov 19, 2019 – Pentkowski could have picked any sober home in northeast Ohio, but he chose the B. Riley House. “Being in a house that was 24/7 recovery and being that it’s an LGBT house made me feel more comfortable,” Pentkowski said. The B. Riley House is only one of two LGBTQIA+ sober houses in the entire country. Not only does that allow residents to be themselves, it sometimes helps them become themselves.
“When I came in here I was Melissa Pentkowski. Now I’m the person I was meant to be but I’m also clean and sober for the first time,” Pentkowski said. B. Riley House’s executive director, Tony Correa, says there’s countless stories like Pentkowski’s. “The LGBT community is two times more likely suffer from substance abuse and addiction and that’s because of social stigma, discrimination,” Correa said.
