A new peer support center for people recovering from drug and alcohol addictions will open soon in Cape Girardeau, possibly later this fall, thanks to a grant from the state Department of Mental Health.

The program, to be known as the We Do Recover Recovery Community Center (RCC), will be staffed and managed by recovering addicts at a yet-to-be-determined location.

Planning for the facility kicked into high gear last week shortly after the Cape Girardeau-based Gibson Recovery Center received word its substance abuse block grant application was one of four approved by the state for RCC funding. Funding is also being provided for RCCs in St. Louis, Columbia and Jefferson City.

The two-year grant is for $250,000 a year.

"Then we can renew and ask for continuing funds after that," said Scott Moyers, director of clinical support services at Gibson Center.

He said the We Do Recover RCC will open as soon as a suitable location can be identified and furnished and a manager and staff can be hired.

Moyers said the location will ideally be a building or storefront, possibly in Cape Girardeau's downtown area.

"We have our eyes on a few potential locations," he said.

Supportive environment

A recovering addict himself who has been in recovery seven years, Moyers said the We Do Recovery RCC will provide a "mutually supportive" environment because services will staffed by people who have recovered from substance use disorder (SUD) and know what it's like to maintain their sobriety on a daily basis.

"Those of us who provide treatment services are always telling our clients they need to change and that they can't hang around with the people they used to," he said. "They ask, 'Who can we hang around with then?' and now we can tell them they can go to the recovery community center."

Services offered through the RCC will include group and peer support, advocacy training, employment assistance and an overall "social atmosphere" for recovering addicts.

The facility, Moyers said, will host everything from 12-step program meetings to alcohol-free themed parties.

"We also want to provide recreational activities and maybe an open mic night with live music performed by musicians in recovery," Moyers said. "I look at this as a sanctuary for Southeast Missouri's recovery community. We're really wanting to combat the addiction crisis and help end the stigma that's surrounding addiction and recovery."

Virtual forums

Gibson Center will host a pair of virtual forums, via Zoom, to answer questions and provide additional information about the RCC. The forums are scheduled for 10 a.m. Sept. 15 and 6 p.m. Sept. 16. Anyone interested in participating in the forum, as well as those who would simply like to listen in, should contact Moyers, (573) 979-3287 or smoyers@gibsonrecovery.org, for a link.

Ryan Essex, chief operating officer at Gibson Center, said the concept for recovery community centers began a few years ago when the state Department of Mental Health funded a handful of pilot programs to see what impact they might have on SUD recovery efforts. The pilot program, he said, was successful.

"The state was then able to secure funds to expand the program into other areas and Southeast Missouri was chosen as one of those areas of need," Essex said.

"The opportunity came along and we couldn't pass it up," he continued. "The recovering community is going to benefit so much from it. To my knowledge, there hasn't been anything like this in the area."

The We Do Recover RCC will primarily serve the needs of recovering addicts from Cape Girardeau, Scott, Stoddard and Butler counties, but its services won't be geographically limited. "It will be a place that's open to the community and that could mean anyone passing through as well," Essex said and estimated the RCC could see several thousand clients annually. "We would hope to have three or four thousand contacts a year."

As the agency that secured funding for the RCC, Essex said the Gibson Center will provide financial oversight for the program. "The advisory board of the recovery community center will report directly to our agency and Gibson's leadership, just to keep us apprised, but our objective is to keep it as separate as possible, allowing those that are in recovery to operate and have their own space."

Growing problem

Substance use disorder is a growing issue in Missouri and in the nation overall. According to the American Medical Association, more than 40 states, including Missouri, saw significant increases in opioid-related mortality in 2020 compared to 2019 due, in part, to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that as of June 2020, 13% of Americans reported starting or increasing substance abuse as a way of coping with the stress of the pandemic. The CDC also reported an 18% increase in drug overdoses during the first few months of the pandemic compared to the same period in 2019.

The behavioral health division of the Missouri Department of Mental Health said that in 2020, Missouri's four existing RCCs served more than 18,000 individuals and about half of those were dealing with opioid abuse.

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