An organization helping Portage-area residents recover from addiction hopes to get a major boost with its expansion plans.
Jake Monhaut with the Portage Recovery Association says discussions are underway about having a large building donated by the end of the year. "Northwest Health is really working with us, and we're going to grow by like eight times the size of what we have right now, with the ultimate goal of being 24 hours within five, six years for anyone seeking that asylum," Monhaut told the Portage City Council last week.
He added that the organization serves about 400 to 600 people a week, with 12-step meetings, recovery-based activities and a nonalcoholic Next Chapter Cafe. "We're really moving in the right direction," Monhaut said.
The Portage Recovery Association is currently in the middle of a three-year agreement, to receive about $109,000 from the city's share of opioid settlement money, to reimburse the cost of rent and utilities. With the potential of owning its own building, the organization wants to redirect some of that from rent to renovation costs and get more of that money up front, rather than waiting for a reimbursement.
"So, if we were to get the reimbursement a few weeks early, it would give us the opportunity to set a budget," Monhaut explained. "That way, when we start getting in there, we would know exactly what we have to work with."
Now, it's up to the Portage Board of Works to decide whether to amend the city's agreement with the Portage Recovery Association. Its next meeting is Tuesday. Meanwhile, the city council is expected to appropriate this year's portion of the payment on October 29.
Northwest Health says it plans to provide more information once the deal is finalized.
