(11/2018) After a nine-month application process Adams County has finally been approved to receive $654,428 towards the construction of a new substance abuse recovery center in Gettysburg. The project will involve renovating a county owned building in downtown Gettysburg. The Mercy House building had been a convent for the sisters of Charity, who in 1863 helped care for wounded soldiers and for generations taught students at the St Francis Xavier grade school. We are proud to announce that this history of caring for others will continue at this location. When completed in 2019, the building with be rented to the RASE project (RASE stands for Recovery Advocacy Service Empowerment), a regional non-profit specializing in substance abuse recovery services.

The RASE project anticipates a walk-in center for residents and families seeking information, individual and group counseling rooms, case management offices, and four apartments for clients in recovery. Last month the board of commissioners toured a Lancaster city RASE Project recovery house to see first hand how services were delivered to clients. As a board we have prioritized increasing drug and alcohol services throughout our departments. We have improved treatment and services in our prison and at the Human Services Building. This facility will add one more tool in our toolbox to fight substance abuse and the growing opioid epidemic in our community.

The idea of converting the Mercy House into a recovery center started as an offshoot of the county’s 2017/18 building study. In 2017 I led a team of employees and a professional architect in determining the most efficient uses the existing county owned Gettysburg properties. The Saint Francis properties had been purchased by a previous board in 2011, which consisted of two small residences (Mercy House and Xavier House), a large parking lot, and the Saint Francis grade school. Specifically, the substance abuse recovery center will be located in the Mercy House, a three story structure originally used as a convent by the Sisters of Charity. This property was targeted, due to the multiple challenges in using this property as county office space.

First, the building team could not identify any offices, which could physically fit in the building, did not require adjacency to other county offices, or did not require security. Second, the lack of handicap accessibility to the second and third floor made the cost of renovations prohibitively expensive. Once it was determined that this building did not suit any county offices, the team turned their attention to lease options. Knowing that York County had developed successful recovery centers, I asked our partners at Health Choices and the RASE Project to consider this property for a future project. To say that they were excited is an understatement. It took one walk through to ascertain that this building was perfectly suited and ideally located for their Adams County clients. Currently, their clients must drive to Hanover for services. In essence we killed two birds with one stone. We found a utilization for a vacant county property and we will bring in a new service to our county.

The Mercy House will consist of a two pronged approach to assist clients in substance abuse recovery. The RASE project currently operates multiple recovery centers in York and Lancaster County. Recovery Centers have become the latest evidence based model for providing recovery services. This project will be a combination recovery center and recovery house. The center will consist of a community room, administrative offices, individual counseling rooms, and group meeting rooms. The Mercy House will become a one-stop-shop for recovery service. Clients will be able to drop in for services and counseling or set up scheduled times for one-on-one case management. There will also be scheduled group counseling, such as Alcoholics or Narcotics Anonymous meetings. All daytime services will be monitored by experienced staff and clients unwilling to follow their recovery plan will not be able to use services. Recovery takes willing professionals working with clients committed to improving their lives.

The upper levels of the Mercy House will consist of offices and the recovery house. The recovery house is projected to consist of four apartment units for six men in recovery. One of the residents will be a paid RASE project housing manager, thus maintaining 24 hour supervision in the property. They will all share a common kitchen, bathrooms, and living room. Each will be expected to maintain their sobriety, continue to work on their recovery plan, and pay rent to the RASE Project. This is not a free ride. This is perhaps the most exciting aspect of this project. One of the hardest challenges for someone in recovery is finding a safe place to live as they put their life back together. This home will have a built in support system as each member works their recovery plan. During the day they will work at their regular job and at night they will attend meetings to help maintain their sobriety. This is a proven model, where personal accountability and proximity to services work hand in hand.

On October 22nd all three County Commissioners toured a RASE Project recovery center in Lancaster to learn more about how services are delivered to clients. In Lancaster the RASE Project provides recovery coaching, recovery support groups, Buprenorphine Care Coordination (a medically assisted treatment for opioid addiction), annual events, and all day drop-in services. The people using these services live and work in the community. In fact a condition of living in the recovery house is that you must maintain full time employment.

There was a long list of rules that residents and walk in clients must adhere to, in order to receive services. Having the center downtown, helps to reduce transportation and service coordination barriers, which can result in relapses. I was very surprised at how unobtrusive this center was. It was professionally run and blended well with the surrounding neighborhood. It was in an historic four story townhouse close to churches and professional office buildings. After this tour it is safe to say that the board of commissioners still had some questions, butt that we were very comfortable with these services coming to Adams County.

The Mercy House Recovery Center will be a huge step forward for our community in helping others through the recovery process. As we work through the process in renovating the Mercy House and promoting these services, please contact me if you have any questions. I remain available at martyqually@gmail.com and 717-339-6514.