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Safe Haven REC

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This is what addiction does: it leaves families broken, saddened and the worst of all - alone. This is Waylon. He is the son of Dakota Stout who lost his life to a heroin overdose in February 2018. Now, Waylon's memories of his daddy are solely dependent on stories from others. Waylon is just one of many children left without a parent due to addiction. Help us stop this disease from taking the lives of others. Help us restore broken families. Help us prevent family, friends and children not to end up like Waylon. We are losing way too many lives to addiction - and this is why we do what we do.

Here's our story:

A board of eight Orange County community members are in the process of starting Safe Haven Recovery Engagement Center (REC). The REC will be resource to anyone who is struggling with addiction – whether you are a family member, friend or you yourself are affected by addiction. We are here to help. Those struggling with substance use disorder must change everything about themselves and it’s extremely difficult when they don’t know how. Recovery is possible for everyone, but without the appropriate resources, it makes it almost impossible. That’s where Safe Haven comes into place.

Our Mission:

• Provide a clearinghouse of resources for those in recovery or newly in recovery. Safe Haven will connect people to social services available in our county and/or surrounding area: food, transportation, employment, housing or anything else that is needed to strengthen recovery. 
• Provide a centralized location to host recovery, peer-based meetings. Safe Haven will provide a space to host a variety of meetings including, but not limited to, AA, NA, SMART, Celebrate Recovery and faith-based meetings.  
• Provide a safe, sober spot. A person in recovery must change their people, places and things. Safe Haven will offer that one safe space for those in recovery. Read a book, attend a meeting, grab a cup of coffee and surround yourself with a new social circle that is healthy for you and your new lifestyle.

Change is difficult for anybody, but is made easier with community support. Safe Haven is meant to be a low barrier, community-ran center. It succeeds as much as the community supports it. So here is where we need your help! We need funds to assist us in opening an actual facility. These funds may be used towards purchasing a building, fundraising/awareness events, operational costs, legal fees and the like.

It has been our hope to use a building at 202 Cherry Street in Paoli, formerly the Jubilee Clinic. We are currently in the process of appealing a denial by the zoning board for a use variance on this building. Because it is currently zoned residential, we are required to have a use variance to operate in this space. This building was gifted to us by Southern Indiana Community Health Care (SICHC), making it possible for us to start up nearly immediately upon approval. It is connected to the community garden, which is a fantastic therapy option for people struggling with substance use disorder. Given it was previously a medical clinic, the building’s blueprint is perfectly set up for our needs. The building provides a lobby, two bathrooms, a kitchen for cooking classes, four separate rooms upstairs to be used for meetings and an open floor plan downstairs to house our safe space.  

Safe Haven REC is a non-profit organization, currently seeking 501c3 funding to be able to apply for local, state and federal grants to continue operation. We are governed by an eight-person board, all of whom are residents of Orange County and have been affected by addiction in one way or another. We, as a board of Safe Haven, offer our own stories, experience, strength and hope so we may help just one person fight this disease. We are here for those struggling – whether one day sober or 10 years sober – as well as the family members and children who are affected by this disease. There is hope – Let Safe Haven be that resource of hope for our community.

Thank you for your continued support for recovery options in Orange County, Indiana!


Organizer

Safe Haven
Organizer
Paoli, IN

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