LaShonda Wilcox, seated, provided visitors to Rose Home North with a testimonial of how the home improved her life. “I’ve rebuilt relationships,” she said. “The biggest one is with God.” Tammy Cotton, president of the board of directors is standing.

SYRACUSE — Rose Home North, a residential, faith-based recovery service near Syracuse helping women struggling with substance abuse since 2006, held its first “pancakes with a purpose” breakfast Dec. 2 in an ongoing effort to bring awareness to the home and its mission.

During the breakfast, guests learned about The Rose Home’s role in addressing the ongoing opioid epidemic. According to Tammy Cotton, president of Rose Home North’s board of directors, “There aren’t many recovery homes out there.” And there are even fewer offering longer term, faith-based recovery. The Rose Home South is located in Fort Wayne.

“When people come here they’re amazed at what they find,” said Cotton. The home sits on a 17-acre estate and offers numerous amenities and programs.

Unfortunately, she added, many in the community remain unaware of the home and its crucial role in helping those struggling with addiction.

Guests also heard from LaShonda Wilcox, who offered a personal testimony of her own experience at Rose Home North. “I didn’t know how to get help,” she remembered. Though Wilcox is now living independently, she returns to The Rose Home every week. “I’ve rebuilt relationships,” she said, “the biggest is with God.”

According to Beth Morgan, the home’s executive director, only 2 percent of those with addiction problems are receiving help. In the last year, two former Rose Home North residents have died from overdoses. “After care is vital.”

Guests also received a tour of the premises, which house 12 women, with a 13th bed always available for emergencies. “We’re at capacity all the time,” said Cotton.

The board’s near future goals include an expanded kitchen and dining room area, which the visitors could see “gets cramped,” as Cotton pointed out.

Bigger goals include meeting the need for a transitional house to help prevent relapses, such as those which led to the deaths of two former patients.

The breakfast is the first of what organizers say will be a quarterly event, through which they hope to attract badly needed volunteers, mentors and donations.

For more information, go to www.therosehome.org