BERLIN – State and local officials gathered in Berlin last Thursday to celebrate the opening of a new recovery campus.
On July 7, the connections of Hope4Recovery held a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the construction of a new 2,500-square-foot facility at the site of the H4R Recovery Campus, located across from Atlantic General Hospital in Berlin.
Tish Ottey, the nonprofit’s founder, said the facility is expected to complement the property’s existing residential treatment facility by offering behavioral health, counseling, job search and educational services.
“Everybody is lacking mental health and addiction services, so to bring another entity to Worcester County is huge,” she said.
In 2018, Hope4Recovery – a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating clean, safe and sober homes for those in recovery – opened its first facility on Old Ocean City Boulevard in Berlin. And in 2021, the organization announced plans to build a 2,500-square-foot recovery center toward the back of the property, where the Grace Center for Maternal and Women’s Health operated for years.
“Shortly after opening we realized there was a strong vision to expand services for the recovery community in our county,” she said. “We thought having one location for all things recovery – a one-stop shop, if you will – was really important.”
With funding from the National Council on Agricultural Life and Labor Research, work soon began to expand the existing building. Today, the new facility features enough space to accommodate the Grace Center, Worcester Goes Purple and Cove Recovery, among other things.
“In 2022 the dream came true, and the H4R Recovery Campus became a reality,” Ottey said. “We now have an over 2,500-square-foot facility comprised of the Grace Center, Cove Recovery, Worcester Goes Purple, a H4R resource center for job search and computer use and a meeting space for AA, NA and educational classes.”
During last week’s ribbon cutting ceremony, Sen. Mary Beth Carozza applauded the nonprofit’s efforts to develop a recovery campus and resource center.
“I look at this and I realize you all are serving those who need these services, but in a dignified way, in a way that is welcoming,” she said.
Carozza added that resources found at the recovery campus were vital to the community.
“Before COVID, we were all focused on the opioid crisis,” she said. “Then COVID hit and because of the isolation and other related issues, we – unfortunately – in Maryland and across the county saw those numbers spite. It’s even more of a reason for what we are doing today.”
Ottey said more information on the new recovery center and its hours of operation will be announced in the coming weeks.
