Samad House’s Tahira Malik and Caroline Gaston Speak to Helping Women Achieve Sobriety

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Photo by Tom Jenz

Tahira Malik and Caroline Gaston - Samad House

Tahira Malik and Caroline Gaston

Tahira Malik once told me, “If you've ever lived in drug addiction, you lose all sense of self. You lose who you are. You lose all of your values and integrity.” Malik would know, having been a dedicated drug addict for 16 years before her recovery. But she has been drug-free for as many years. As a girl, she had been a model student, graduating from a Catholic  girls high school, and then from Alverno College. Later, she suffered a car accident, and the severe pain launched her into drug dependence. Eventually, she landed in the county jail. Ironically, this incarceration led to recovery and her purpose in life.

In 2020, Malik founded Samad’s House. Her mission is to assist women drug addicts by helping them through a recovery treatment process. With three resident homes and a behavioral health clinic, Samad’s House offers a 120-day intensive program designed to support women through every stage of sobriety. It features a holistic approach that addresses the mind, body, and spirit.

Samad’s House also focuses on recovering women transitioning from correctional facilities, hospitals, or detox centers. The system provides a safe haven for them to rebuild their lives. Beyond residential treatment, Samad’s House provides harm reduction resources, distributing life-saving tools like Narcan and fentanyl test strips to the community.

Recently, I met Samad’s House director, Tahira Malek, and her chief ambassador, Caroline Gatson, at a Samad’s House on Wells Street in the inner city. We gathered around a plain kitchen table and talked plainly. Despite all she has been through, Malik still has a sense of humor and an infectious laugh.

Tahira, as a younger woman, you got into a car accident, and the resulting pain changed you into drug dependence. Eventually, you ended up in the county jail. Then, you lost relatives and your best friend, all to drug overdoses. How did those experiences change your life?

Malik: I come from a stable two parent home. I finished high school, then graduated from Alverno College in 1997, and got a good job. I found a boyfriend. We fell in love, but this man was rarely home at night. I had my first child at 25 and my second child at 31. As for the car accident, I was put on pain pills, and I became obsessive compulsive and a full-blown drug addict. I lost everything. Me, my uncle, my cousin and my best friend, Tanisha Hill, were often in the same house getting high together. At that point, I’d gone through 15 years of getting high, and I was a mother, and I was tired. In 2012 and 2013, I was locked up in jail for 13 months. That kind of forced me into recovery, and I got clean. I worked on my spiritual and physical appearance. But in 2013 and 2017, I lost my uncle and my cousin to drug overdoses.

How did those losses affect you? Did you go back on drugs?

Malik: No, I spent lots of time with my very best friend, Tanisha Hill, who was an addict, but she never suggested we get high together. Tanisha was a hairdresser and did my hair every Friday. One day in 2018, she called and said, “I am finally clean, come on over,” but when I got there, she was dead. I was crushed, but I stayed off the drugs. I tell people, “If you want sobriety, it is a fight.”

So, when did you establish Samad’s House, your group home for recovering women addicts? 

Malik: In 2018, Samad’s House was in the planning stages. Tanisha’s mom, Constance, helped me. Every Sunday, we went through a plan to organize the future group home. In 2020, I opened the doors. 

What exactly does Samad’s House do?

Malik: Samad’s House is a nonprofit. We started out as “sober living for women.” Later, we added women with children to help keep families together. I had been fortunate because my parents looked after my children when I was in jail. We also became a harm reduction agency, which means we go out into the community and provide resources like Fentanyl test strips and Narcan for drug users. Often, the women who complete our program help us do that. We conduct the harm reduction services in conjunction with other nonprofits and the Milwaukee Health Department. 

Do women in recovery live in your houses?

Malik: Some women live in our houses, and they are allowed to stay for 120 days. While here, they attend alcohol and drug treatment programming. We have three homes and a behavioral health clinic for therapy. We try to provide all the tools that help women stay sober. The goal is always self-sufficiency.  

Caroline Gaston is “chief ambassador” for Samad’s House. Caroline, Samad’s House provides parenting and family support. Give me a brief summary of the 120-day program.

Gaston: Upon their arrival, we give the women an intake, explain what is expected of them. We give them 30 days to become job ready. Most of them seek employment. We encourage them to work second shifts so the job won’t interfere with their recovery schedule. 

Malik: We provide resources for our women, and we train them with job readiness skills.

Gaston: We make sure they attend support meetings, which includes prevention and exercises. They have to go to therapy counseling once a week. On Mondays, some help us with harm reduction services out in the community. We host celebrations for Mother’s Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and holidays. 

Malik: We try to make it a family environment, all part of the healing process. 

The Sadam’s House Ambassadors have all personally experienced drug addiction and have gone through rebuilding their lives after addiction.

Gaston: I came to Sadam’s House in January 2023 after 90 days of residential addiction recovery. A month later, I was asked to help with harm reduction in the community. I kept going almost every Monday. Then, I became an ambassador.

An ambassador goes out into the community and sets up a table with the harm reduction materials. People who stop by come from all walks of life. We talk about drug addiction including overdoses. We explain our harm drug addiction services. We distribute fentanyl test strips and also Narcan, a nasal spray that will prevent a fatal overdose. We also do Narcan training. Because I have been a substance abuser, I think people tend to listen. We even have a “black balloon day” to honor girls lost to overdosing. Ambassadors provide empathy and compassion. Ambassador work keeps me grounded and solidifies my foundation to recovery. 

Malik: We want our women to know there is a way out, but if and only if they choose. If they are not ready, we let them know they can check all their drugs for one day. Keep in mind, most people take drugs to escape their reality. Our ambassadors use their street smarts and lived experiences to teach others about harm reduction. They save lives. They address the overdose crisis that has devastated Black families and communities in Milwaukee.

Caroline, you battled a 30-year drug addiction habit. Give me your story from the beginning of your addiction as a teenager to the day you found sobriety.

Gaston: For about 35 years, I battled substance abuse. I am now 60. I was 19 when I started using drugs. That’s when I met a man who courted me with gifts and attention. He became my boyfriend. Not long after I discovered he was a drug dealer. We got married, and I found myself doing cocaine on the sly. We had two children. Over time, I developed a full-blown addiction to alcohol and crack cocaine. Throughout all this time, I’d been in and out of jail for retail theft and resisting arrest. I needed cash to buy drugs. At times, I was even homeless, ignoring my family. 

At some point, I believe you did prison time, do I have that right?

Gaston: Yes, I did a 12-year prison sentence for a string of robberies … I was in and out of jail. Finally, I went through treatment at Meta House and stayed clean for seven years. I made it back to my career as an executive chef at St Mary’s Hospital, and I maintained my own house.

So, you stayed off drugs?

Gaston: For a while, I did. One night in January 2015, it was 28 below zero, and I slipped on black ice between my garage and home. I was unable to move. It was 37 minutes before a neighbor found me. I got frostbite in my fingers and suffered back injuries. My fingers were so damaged that at the St Mary’s hospital emergency room, the wound care specialist and surgeon waited to see if my fingers would fall off. I also shattered my right knee. I was in the hospital for 30 days. I ended up having a knee replacement. For a time, a nurse had to help me get dressed every day. I couldn’t go back to work, and I started isolating. Not long, I was back on alcohol and crack cocaine. I was dependent on a walker, and I’d visit stores and steal things. I gave up my house. This pattern went on for about seven years. 

How did you finally kick the habit?

Gaston: One day, I went to the Potawatomi Casino with $50 and left with $1,700 in winnings. That evening, I used drugs and alcohol at a friend’s apartment. Outside the next morning, I still had $1,300 in my pocket, and I was gonna buy more liquor. I looked up at the sky and said, “You know what, Lord, I’m tired of drugs.” I walked several blocks, eventually finding myself outside First Step, a detox center. I threw away my cigarettes, lighter, and drug paraphernalia, gave First Step the $1,300 and checked in. A week later, I was discharged, but I had no home. I went to a respite center for 10 days, then spent 90 days at 2nd Century Residential Treatment in West Allis. The drug rehab was working, but I wanted more. One day, Ms. T (Tahira Malik) came by and said, “You are coming to my house.” That was January of 2023. Now, I am pursuing a degree in psychology at Alverno College.

If a woman drug user comes to Samad’s House and says she wants to go into recovery, what do you do?

Malik: First, I ask, “What is your substance of choice and how often do you use?” because that will determine the treatment. If the drug is alcohol, she needs to be medically monitored and go through detox at a detox center. I take her to Dewey Center or Rogers Behavioral Health. 

After she makes it through detox, what happens to the addict?

Malik:  After five to seven days in detox, she goes to a residence center like 2nd Century, Howard House, or Meta House for 45 days or more. After that, she would come to Samad’s House.

I would think it would help a woman in treatment to know that you and Caroline have gone through these treatments yourselves.

Malik: Yes, that gives us credibility in telling her how to rebuild her life after addiction. Our ambassadors use their street smarts and lived experiences to teach others about harm reduction. They save lives. They deal with the overdose crisis that has devastated Black families and communities in Milwaukee.

How is Samad’s House funded?

Malik: We are funded by CARS, Milwaukee County’s Comprehensive Access to Recovery. CARS pays for the women to be here. We do receive grants for our outpatients, but it is a hassle dealing with insurance companies. They don’t like to reimburse. By 2027, our women who are on Medicaid will need a waver to receive health benefits. We do get other grants for our harm reduction services, mainly funded through Vital Strategies. But we are at risk of running out of our harm reduction programs because Vital Strategies support will end September of 2026.