By Shannon Wright
“Living at Phillip’s Cottage has been a big relief knowing I can live on my own, which is something I’ve never been able to do until now.”
For Haley Guyer, those words signal a new beginning.
Guyer and her three-year-old son are the first family to live at Phillip’s Cottage, a transitional home created to help women with children rebuild their lives after graduating from the Louisiana Teen Challenge program.
After years of planning, fundraising and hard work behind the scenes, the house is no longer just an idea. It’s now a place where healing and hope are taking root.
“I’m definitely in good hands with Sara, her staff and with Teen Challenge,” Guyer said. “I feel safe here, plus I have a lot of support along with accountability.”
Phillip’s Cottage was founded by Sara McDaniel as a tribute to her father, Phillip Carroll, who passed away suddenly in 2023. McDaniel said her father, a healthy man, had been preparing to go for his morning run when he died unexpectedly. A reminder, she said, that life is fragile and we should love people well.
She often says her father had a gift for loving people well, and it’s that spirit that became the driving force behind the mission of Phillip’s Cottage.
Today, that mission is being fulfilled but the journey to reach this point has not been easy.
Before McDaniel purchased the house, it had been sitting vacant and in disrepair. She said she was told drugs had once been run in and out of the property. Inside, the copper had been stripped from the walls and the toilets and sinks had been smashed.
But what once looked like ruin has been transformed.
The irony isn’t lost.
“I think it’s a beautiful picture of redemption,” McDaniel said. “Now we have girls who have been addicted living in the house.”
Another mother with two children moved into the home last month, bringing the number of families currently living there to two. For McDaniel and those who helped bring the project to life, seeing the home filled with mothers and children makes every fundraiser and every hour of work worthwhile.
Phillip’s Cottage is more than just a house. It is a place where lives are being rebuilt, much like the home itself.
“This house is a catalyst for breaking generational curses and helping women rebuild their lives,” McDaniel said.
Community members who want to support the mission will have an opportunity to do so soon. The second annual Phillip’s Cottage 5K and Fun Run will take place Saturday, April 25. The event serves as one of the organization’s key fundraisers and helps support the continued work of the cottage.
Participants can join the race or just donate, and local businesses also have the opportunity to sponsor the event.
For McDaniel, Phillip’s Cottage is only the beginning.
“This is just the first of many things we will do,” she said. “There are no other plans right now, but I’ve got big goals and big dreams.”