[Vision2020] Recovery Center on track to open by Aug. 1

[Moscow Cares]

Courtesy of today's (May 28, 2015) Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

--------------------------------------
Recovery Center on track to open by Aug. 1
Latah commissioners expect to provide some additional money
Organizers are working to open the Latah Community Recovery Center in downtown Moscow by Aug. 1, they told the County Commissioners on Wednesday.
Its main focus will be to help residents from across the county deal with matters linked to recovery from mental health challenges and substance abuse through peer support, said President Darrell Keim.
A board of directors with nine members was elected earlier this month, and the group completed its business plan for review by the commissioners a couple of weeks ago, he said.
The group is close to securing an 1,800-square-foot site for $1,000 monthly rent, he said. They need to put down a $1,000 deposit and sign a letter of intent. Money for its first year of operation, $125,000 from a Millennium Fund request, is expected to arrive July 1.
The center is partnering with Sojourners' Alliance, a Moscow 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, as it establishes itself. This allows the fledgling group to have access to Sojourners' established safety, insurance and other aspects of its organizational structure during the center's first year or, perhaps, longer, he said.
The nonprofit status will allow the center more fundraising opportunities so it could operate independently in the near future.
"I hear a lot of positive input from the community," said Commission Chairman Dick Walser.
He asked Keim and several other group leaders whether they've encountered any negativity.
The major stumbling block has been finding a place from which to operate because some property owners have been apprehensive about renting their spaces for this type of activity.
"Our intent is to maintain a clean professional atmosphere," Keim told the commissioners. "Not a hangout."
A draft version of a leaflet explaining the center's functions includes tobacco cessation, providing help with coping skills, building self-esteem, and a variety of other programs and materials to improve the chances of long-term recovery success.
The commissioners anticipate providing the center with $24,000 to cover the three-month period after the Millennium Grant runs out at the beginning of summer 2016. This would put them on the same funding cycle as the county itself.
They also asked whether it would help to provide some of the money soon so the center could open its doors a bit earlier, maybe mid-July.
The group will see whether it could, but must check on whether it would affect the acceptance of the Millennium money.
Scheduled hours of operation would be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, with some evening group meetings.
--------------------------------------

Note to Darrell Keim:  Once you've determined, would you please advise me as to the opening date and time of the Latah County Recovery Center.  Moscow Cares would like to attend its opening and snap a few photos for publication on the Moscow Cares website (if you would be so kind as to permit us).  And one other thing . . . "Thanks for caring."

Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .

"Moscow Cares"
http://www.MoscowCares.com
  
Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho
 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20150528/a240c612/attachment-0001.html>