Steven and Allycia Barr of Leola have a dream. Someday, they would like to own a farm with the space and facilities to bring in families that are dealing with addiction and teach vocational skills. The dream was born of a hard reality. When the Barrs' son, Steel, was born in Philadelphia in May of 2019, the couple was homeless and addicted, living in the back of a box truck in a friend's driveway. The hospital where Steel was born gave Allycia the opportunity to go directly to a rehab program following his birth.

"When (Allycia) left the hospital and went right to rehab, I was left in the box truck," recalled Steven.

"(I wish) there had been somewhere we could have gone together," said Allycia, who believes treatment as a family would have led to healing together more quickly. Allycia is several years clean, and Steven graduated from Restart Training Center Ministry in Strasburg in August of 2021. They now live in Leola - working and raising their son together - but the dream is not far from their minds. "Long-term we would like to have a property - (a place to address) emotional traumas that need to be healed," Steven said, noting that often violence and trust issues accompany addiction. "People know the whole dynamic of their lives needs to change," he said.

The Barrs know the length of the road that needs to be traveled when families tackle mental health issues and trauma. Allycia traces her initial steps on that path to a Florida jail cell in the spring of 2016. "I met Jesus during that jail stay," recalled Allycia, whose aunt and uncle in Mechanicsburg brought her to Pennsylvania to start over. She remained with them for eight months before moving to Tyrone. While living there, she met Steven online. When the pair was evicted from his apartment, they moved to his parents' home in Narberth. Two months later, they were living on the streets with only backpacks of clothes and Steven's motorcycle. "That was our life for two years," said Allycia. After Steven's motorcycle was stolen, they moved into the box truck.

Steel was a miracle, according to Allycia, who did not think she would be able to have children. His arrival prompted Allycia to beat her addiction and return to her aunt and uncle's home. Steven struggled for some time afterward, finally finding acceptance at Restart in February of 2021. Allycia, her aunt and uncle, and a church the couple attended in Dillsburg paid his tuition. "He hit his breaking point," recalled Allycia. Steven said that he knew he was going to die if he did not go into a program. He and Allycia were married at Celebration Community Church in Dillsburg a month before he graduated with both Celebration's pastor Mike Hammer and Jaime Santiago, director of Restart, officiating.

Steven was invited to join the Restart staff after graduating, and the family moved to Leola in December of 2021. Both are currently trying to start their own businesses - Steven working with motorcycles and Allycia encouraging healthy eating. They have also made more than five trips to McPherson Square Park, often referred to as Needle Park because of the drug use that takes place there, in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia. There they cook hot dogs and give out beverages and chips in hopes of starting conversations with the recipients. Steven is involved with the Midnight Riders Ministry, a motorcycle outreach overseen by the Rev. Jerry Conley.

Looking ahead, the pair sees the value of working with families rather than just individuals to facilitate healing. "Even if only one (parent) is a drug addict, the other doesn't trust them. There are likely codependency and boundary issues ... and think of the trauma the children have been living. They all need a place to go to build trust and boundaries over again," Allycia said. "When the families are on board, there's a team of people asking (the addict) to do something different."