New men's recovery location opens

HURON TWP. — Two new men's recovery homes are opening in Erie County, meeting a long-time local need for dealing with substance abuse disorders. The two homes are next to each other at Milan (U.S. 250) and Fox roads in Huron Township and are operated by Road to Hope House, Inc., which has become a regional powerhouse for recovery housing and has two other sites in Erie County. Jeff Kamms, Road to Hope's founder and executive director, said the facility has 16 beds in the two houses that are being opened gradually. The smaller home had its first resident by Wednesday and will be taking in additional residents, filling up in a few days. The larger home is still having work done on it but should be able to begin taking in residents by April 26, Kamms said. "I anticipate by the middle of May, we'll be full," Kamms said. Priority will be given to Erie and Ottawa County residents. Five employees will work at the homes, Kamms said. Road to Hope paid $400,000 for the two homes and spent additional money stocking them with furniture and appliances and getting them ready, bringing the final cost to about $475,000. Getting men's recovery housing for Erie County has been a goal for the Mental Health and Recovery Board of Erie and Ottawa Counties, and the board helped the project by providing much of the funding. The board worked with state officials to redirect $200,000 that had previously been allocated for a never-completed Light House Sober Living men's recovery housing project in Sandusky. The $200,000 is a forgivable loan that doesn't have to be repaid if the property is used for its intended purpose. Each year Road to Hope continues its operations, more of the debt will be forgiven. In addition, the mental health board also put in $100,000 of its own money. The two homes were built in 2004 as model homes and later used for rental housing by the owner who sold them to Road to Hope, Kamms said. The larger home will be a Level 3 home for men early in recovery, while the other will be a Level 2 home for men who have gone further down the road to recovery. Road to Hope also runs Becky's House, the women's recovery housing unit across the street from the Erie County Health Department. It also runs Genesis by the Lake in Vermilion, for women in recovery and their children. Genesis had been a struggling operation until Road to Hope was brought in as new management. In all, Road to Hope currently has nine recovery housing locations in Lorain and Erie counties. Kamms has run recovery housing operations in the area for about 15 years.