A local recovery group has a new location for its drop-off center.
A ribbon cutting was held for the new Lighthouse Recovery Community Center, which moved from a building on Park Street to a new location on State Street yesterday.
Board members, supporters, volunteers, and those who’ve received help showed up for a meet and greet and tour of the brand-new facility.
Board of Directors President Kristen Odell say moving to the new building came up about a year and a half ago when the building became for sale.
Now there are a lot of changes including a bigger meeting area.
“We can have easily up to 40 people in that space downstairs at any time, and it doesn’t feel like it,” she described. “The other thing is, we have more space for meetings here and different activities here. And then our corporate team also sits here, so our office is here. We’ve never had that before.”
New Lighthouse Executive Director Jason Latva also says while there’s more space, it still feels like a home.
“It doesn’t feel clinical, it doesn’t feel institutional,” he said. “An important part was it feeling homey. We don’t want it to feel like it’s part of a system.”
Lighthouse Founder Christma Rusch says she knew that the organization would grow beyond their Park Street home, which is being renovated into a safe space for women with children or who are pregnant.
She also credits the volunteers for their continued work.
“They grow with us, and they help us to do our work,” she exclaimed. “Really, we teach them self-efficacy the minute they walk through the door. Them answering the phone or welcoming somebody when they walk through the door is lifesaving. Meanwhile, it allows us to continue to work with people.”
Odell says partnering with help from the West Foundation allowed them to hire Hamman Construction to remodel the inside of the building.
The recovery center’s main goal is to continue to work on helping anyone struggling with addiction while also trying to reduce the stigma surrounding it.
The drop-in center is open Monday-Friday from 10:00 to 4:00 p.m.
