A well-known Chattanooga business owner who has been sober for 19 years has opened a home to help other women struggling with addiction.
Restaurant owner Scottie Bowman built The Launch Pad, a sober living house for women, and opened the doors to residents earlier this year.
It's a place where women can navigate the road to sobriety and make a positive transition back into society.
Bowman, who owns The Big Chill & Grill and Scottie’s On The River, said that she battled addiction for 25 years.
“I actually remember drinking a whole bottle of Formula 44-D and getting drunk on that in third grade and going to school and showing out being drunk,” Bowman said.
Bowman moved around a lot as a child and says she always struggled to make a connection with other kids. She began using drugs and alcohol as a way to escape.
“I just wanted to feel different. I didn’t fit in anywhere,” said Bowman.
As she got older, Bowman said it became apparent to her that she was unable to stop drinking and using drugs.
“I tried to tell myself that nobody knew. When I finally admitted to people that I was going into treatment, they were like, 'thank goodness,'” said. Bowman. “They thought I was going to turn up dead.”
Bowman said the last straw was a nearly two-week drug binge in 2002 that she thought would kill her.
“I did a 12-day binge in Atlanta for New Year’s Eve that lasted until January 12th for me. I missed two weeks of work. I took as much cocaine as I could afford, a bag full of ecstasy, Xanax, bottles of vodka, Triple Sec and Kahlua. I drank it and took it and snorted every bit of the dope that I took with me on that trip,” said Bowman.
When she came home, she said she thought she was having a heart attack.
“I said, I’m gonna die if I don’t do something. I’m gonna die and that became my moment of clarity,” said Bowman.
That’s when she decided to check herself into inpatient treatment.
“I was desperate and broken and alone and I could not think to live through another day of addiction,” she said.
When she came out of treatment, Bowman says she turned around her struggling restaurant and opened two more restaurants. She improved relationships with friends and family members and continued to actively work toward her sobriety.
Since that time, Bowman’s goal has been to open a place to help others. Over the summer, she turned that dream into a reality.
The Launch Pad houses eight residents and a resident manager who lives in the home full-time.
The program provides structure, safety, accountability and recovery from substance abuse in a supportive and positive environment.
Mallory Hardeman said The Launch Pad provides the help she needs to turn her life around.
“I’ve had to live in tents. I’ve had to live in cars. There was a stint when I lived in abandoned buildings so to have this kind of fellowship and with everybody here is really amazing and I just thank God every day. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for God and these women,” said Hardeman.
The married mother of two children said she hopes she will eventually have the chance to win her two children back and get her life on track.
She said her final straw came last summer when her best friend died after a night of the two of them using heroin together.
“It’s really hard to talk about,” said Hardeman.
Women are allowed to live at The Launch Pad for up to 18-months and must work and attend regular meetings and stay sober.
Bowman has big plans to expand the program. She’s already purchased more property near The Launch Pad and plans to build more houses so she can help more women in recovery.
“There is a way out," she wanted to tell women struggling with addiction.
To learn more about The Launch Pad, visit the program’s Facebook page.
