Secretary of state’s drug and alcohol program visits Gaiser Center, Ellen’s House
Butler Eagle - August 20, 2026
Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs Secretary Secretary Latika Davis-Jones tours a children's playroom at Ellen’s House, a sober living home in Butler, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs Secretary Latika Davis-Jones visited the Ellen O’Brien Gaiser Center and Ellen’s House in Butler on Wednesday, Aug. 19, as a stop on her statewide tour of licensed recovery houses.
Davis-Jones and her staff spent about a half hour at the Gaiser Center, which opened 55 years ago, before going to Ellen’s House, which opened two years ago as a sober living home for women transitioning back to independent living following treatment in a residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation program.
She echoed Joseph Mahoney, Gaiser Center executive director, in saying people going through substance abuse recovery are just like everyone else and need the same kind of support that other people need.