Downtown Moscow has seen many new storefronts open up in the past year, but the Latah Recovery Center aims to have a unique impact on local citizens.
The Latah Recovery Center opened Sept. 1, but Program Director Darrell Keim said the creation of the center was about a year in the making.
The center is funded for the year by a state grant that also funds three other recovery centers throughout Idaho. Keim, who has been involved from day one, credits former County Commissioner Tom Stroschein as a big reason why Moscow was chosen for a recovery center.
“He had such a passion for it,” Keim said. “And that was a huge factor.”
The center opened as a resource for locals who struggle with mental disabilities or addiction, he said.
This, opposed to the alternative of potentially ending up in jail or the emergency room, offers people a chance to recover in a safer and cheaper way.
“Going into the ER is going to cost you like $2,000 just to walk into the ER,” Keim said. “Doesn”t cost very much at all to walk in here.”
The center also offers a list of resources in Moscow and Pullman – something Keim said is helpful to people in the center.
Among the services the center offers are over-the-phone or face-to-face mentorship and classes that teach life skills such as positive affirmation, budgeting and crocheting.
The center also offers people in recovery volunteer opportunities, as oftentimes they feel the need to give back in some way, Keim said.
In their first month of operation, the center counted 179 total volunteer hours, and so far this month they”ve accrued 170.
“My volunteers will tell you that they are furthering their own recovery by volunteering here,” Keim said.
Despite their positive impact, the future of the Latah Recovery Center remains unclear. Keim said if the center does accumulate about $100,000 in funding by next year they will not be able to continue their work.
Yet, he said the reason he took the job of program director was because of the opportunities it allowed him to help other people.
“I found it exciting to try and start something from scratch and build it,” Keim said. “And I”ve always tried to take jobs that make a difference in people”s lives.”
Erin Bamer can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @ErinBamer