Recovery center needs helping hand in Shawano

The Shawano-Menominee Recovery Center exists to help people battle alcohol, drug and other issues, but the program is in need of a helping hand, as well.

Dozens of people gathered at the center Feb. 21 to discuss short- and long-term plans for its future, and it was revealed that the center was originally slated to close its current location at 710 E. Green Bay St. in Shawano on March 1 but will instead keep the current site open until the end of April.

For over a year, the center has had two operational directors who have been available at the center to assist those who are seeking help to fight back their addictions, according to Leann Gueths, the recovery center’s board chairwoman. However, those coaches are moving their offices to the Shawano County Job Center in March, she said, leaving the recovery center without people to work there and help someone who comes in off the streets seeking help.

“The center was not conducive to their new roles, and because of that, they’re moving to the job center March 1,” Gueths said.

After learning about the directors leaving in early February, the board met to look at what could be done next to transition the program, and that’s when the initial decision to close the center March 1 was made, Gueths said. However, that decision generated a lot of response, she said, which led the board to keep the center open for another couple of months.

In the interim, the center is hoping that volunteers will help to man the center in March and April, which prompted discussion on when to keep the center open. Normally, the help desk is manned from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, but attendees were concerned that later times would be more conducive to helping those in need, especially those who work during the day.

Meetings for Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous are already being relocated to Zion Lutheran Church and First Presbyterian Church, both in Shawano. However, the fate of the recovery center after April is still up in the air, although a committee was formed to look into the matter and see if there is another place that could be used.

“We will have to come up with a plan for the future,” Gueths said, noting that the existing facility requires paying $1,900 monthly in rent and the group has not yet received its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status yet.

Community officials reiterated that the recovery center is needed. Pastor Uriah Williams with Peace United Church of Christ said the place is a resource for local people that wasn’t here a couple of years ago, and it needed to continue to exist.

“It’s been phenomenal having this place open, because we’re one of the few churches that has a compassion fund,” Williams said. “Since this place has opened, I’ve seen a lot fewer people coming to the church looking for resources, I think because they’re coming here.”

Williams pointed out he and the staff at his church aren’t trained and certified to provide recovery assistance, so having the recovery center in Shawano provides a better chance that addicts who need help can get it.

“To have a central location to be able to refer people is phenomenal, from the clergy perspective and from the church perspective,” Williams said.

Shannon Wilber, human services director for Menominee County, expressed how bad the situation could get without a local recovery program to help people who can’t shake the pills or alcohol.

“I’m a Menominee tribal member, and I’m a resident and community member here, and I know a lot of our community members come down (to Shawano) and utilize this facility,” Wilber said. “It was important to me that we work through a process and that we come together and we don’t drop this recovery support housing because it’s needed.”

Wilber knows from experience that help can be a slower process than getting drunk or high, but the process would slow down considerably without a local facility to help.

“It’s always been known to me that a person can go out and get high or get drunk than to get into some recovery services,” Wilber said. “That’s very disheartening to me, but what I’m hearing is that there is some interest in keeping something going.”

Wilber noted that the Menominee tribe has its Maehnowesekiyah Wellness Center on the reservation, but it is very difficult for tribal members to get into. That makes the local recovery center essential, she said, because it is community-based.

“We need it in our community, and we definitely know you need it here in your community,” Wilber said. “I don’t want to see you fail, and I’m willing to do what I can to help the process.”

For information on the recovery center, call 715-201-0367 or email smrc72023@gmail.com.

lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com