Ground Broken On Recovery Campus In Berlin

Ground Broken On Recovery Campus In Berlin
Local elected officials and representatives joined Hope4Recovery founder Tish Ottey in breaking ground on a new recovery campus. Photo by Bethany Hooper

BERLIN – The connections of a local nonprofit broke ground last week on a 2,500-square-foot recovery campus in Berlin.

On Thursday, elected leaders and representatives from various local agencies joined Hope4Recovery board members for a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of a future recovery campus.

Hope4Recovery founder Tish Ottey said the facility will complement the organization’s recovery house with behavioral health, counseling, job search and educational services.

“Our vision for this property is to make it a one-stop shop for those in Worcester County who are in recovery, or trying to be in recovery from substance use disorder,” she said.

In 2018, Hope4Recovery – a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating clean, safe sober homes for those in recovery – opened its first facility on Old Ocean City Boulevard in Berlin.

Ottey said the roughly 2,500-square-foot recovery center will be located behind the recovery house, where the Grace Center for Maternal and Women’s Health currently operates.

The existing building, she noted, will be expanded to accommodate the Grace Center, Worcester Goes Purple and behavioral health services, as well as a research room to search for jobs and obtain vital documents.

“We’ll also have a meeting space where we can host AA, NA or any other self-help group meeting,” she said, “and also have training and educational classes.”

Hope4Recovery board member Sarah Hooper said the construction of the recovery center would not be possible without the support of several agencies. She thanked the National Council on Agricultural Life and Labor Research Fund Inc., the Worcester County Commissioners, Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore, the Humphreys Foundation, Perdue and the Ocean City Lions Club for making the organization’s vision a reality.

Thursday’s groundbreaking ceremony also included comments from elected officials and various organization leaders. County Commissioner Diana Purnell thanked Hope4Recovery board members for the work they do in the community.

“Thank you for what you are doing because we need the help,” she said.

Berlin Councilwoman Shaneka Nichols agreed.

“Being able to reach them where they are means a great deal,” she said.

Ottey noted the Hope4Recovery house has provided a home for more than 109 men since its opening in 2018. She added the recovery center would provide a central location for recovery services.

“We thought it would be really easy and convenient and would knock out any barriers there had been before …,” she said. “It all came together really nicely.”

Officials say construction on the recovery center is expected to begin this fall.

About The Author: Bethany Hooper

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Bethany Hooper has been with The Dispatch since 2016. She currently covers various general stories. Hooper graduated from Stephen Decatur High School in 2012 and the University of Maryland in 2016, where she completed double majors in journalism and economics.