BREWER – After years of living in an emergency shelter with a bag of clothes as her only possession, Rhonda Deshane finally has a home to call her own, thanks to the newly opened Chalila House.

And for the first time in years, she can have her children over for a visit and has pets – Smig and Smudge – a pair of twin white kittens.

“It feels so good to say, ‘This is my home,'” Deshane, 41, said last week at a small cottage on North Main Street.

The cottage is one part of the Chalila House, which provides eight, one-bedroom apartments for people who struggle with both mental illness and homelessness.

The apartments are operated by OHI, a local nonprofit social service organization, and are named in honor of MaryAnne Chalila, former director of the Bangor Department of Health and Welfare and a tireless advocate for people who are disenfranchised.

Deshane, shy at first, sat at a small table wearing a red, fuzzy sweater and rings on each of her fingers, while she described how she spent the last two years in the Acadia Recovery Community’s Bridge Program, which operates an emergency shelter for people abusing drugs and alcohol.

The biggest advantage of having a place to call home is that her children can visit.

“They come to see me every weekend or every other weekend,” she said. “They would never be able to visit” at the Bridge Program.

“I love it and they love it here, too,” Deshane said.

Now that she has housing, maintaining her treatment is her “No. 1 plan,” she said, adding that she has weekly and monthly therapy meetings.

The Chalila House opened its doors to its first tenant on Nov. 30 and Deshane moved in during December. The apartment home is located on North Main Street and is on the bus route so tenants can continue to get mental health and other medical care, Vyvyenne Ritchie, OHI employee, said recently.

Tenants must have been homeless for two years, have a mental illness and qualify under Section 8 housing rules.

“With stable housing, people with disabilities will also be able to improve their skills and income opportunities,” Victoria Blanchette, OHI development manager, said recently. “It’s tough for someone without an address to land even a minimum wage job. Without a job, it’s nearly impossible to obtain housing – a classic catch 22.”

A recent study of housing in the Bangor area showed a lack of apartments for low-income residents, said Bonnie Brooks, chief executive officer for OHI.

“We tried to meet that unmet need,” she said recently.

Another advantage for tenants is that the landlord – OHI – comprehends the challenges that tenants face.

“A lot of the time, landlords don’t understand the issues,” Brenda Leavitt, director of child, adult and family services for OHI, said recently. “If we can at least stabilize their housing, we can work with them to stabilize their mental health.

“The stigmatism that still exists with mental health issues does have an effect” with finding housing, she added.

OHI applied for and was awarded a grant from the state’s Housing and Urban Development department and got a no-interest loan from the Maine State Housing Authority to renovate the house into apartments.

Referrals to the apartments come from the Department of Health and Human Services, OHI clients, and other local service agencies.

While her kittens jumped all around, Deshane explained how in her new apartment she can now do simple things that most people take for granted, such as preparing a meal, which was impossible at the shelter.

“I love to cook,” she said. “I cook a lot of chowders, home cooked meals and Portuguese food.”

And, just like many people moving into apartments, she cooked a frozen pizza as her first meal.

A group of volunteers and OHI employees are gathering 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday to do landscaping at Chalila House, 130 North Main St., and volunteers are still needed to help plant flowers and shrubs. Those who have perennials, gloves and other gardening supplies to donate or who are interested in lending a hand, are invited to drop by on Saturday.