The Portage Recovery Association, which helps people recover from addictions, now has a permanent home.
Northwest Health Porter donated a 14,000-square-foot facility on Lute Road to the nonprofit. Assistant CEO Derrick Naegler handed the keys to PRA President Jake Monhaut on Saturday morning.
Monhaut plans to open the building at 5 p.m. on New Year’s Eve after volunteers do some work on the building, which had been vacant for two years. A grand opening, complete with ribbon cutting, is planned for April.
Tim Compton is leading the teams working on the building. “This place is pretty much move-in-ready,” he said.
But there’s still work to be done. Ace Hardware cut the group a “wonderful deal” on 110 gallons of paint. The vapor barrier in the ceiling needs to be replaced. Cabinets need to be moved and a water line installed to set up a coffee maker.
A kitchen needs to be set up to operate the Recovery Café there. But there’s plenty of space to do so, with maybe a second kitchen eventually as well.
Carpeting will be replaced with tile. “We’re going to have AA meetings in there, and people are going to go in and slop coffee,” Compton said.
After Saturday’s ceremony to officially hand over the building, Compton and others checked for holes outside the building that needed to be plugged so mice couldn’t get in.
Northwest Health Porter was glad to donate the excess building.
“This was most recently a sleep center,” marketing director Kelly Credit said. The Portage facility wasn’t needed when the operation was moved into a building in Valparaiso.
Physical therapy was done there as well. Some of the physical therapy equipment was left behind. Monhaut hopes to set up a small gym for people to exercise.
“We do a lot of work to make sure we can take care of our communities,” Northwest Health Porter Chief Operating Officer Sarah Hunter said.
“What we do every day, we really see the impact on the community,” Naegler said. He praised the PRA’s work. “This group has just been amazing for us.”
Monhaut said the facility won’t be limited to Portage residents. “Any part of the region, any community, bring your family, bring your kids. We’re a safe space for everybody,” he said.
The PRA is 32 years old. For the past six years, the group has been housed in rented space on McCasland Road just west of Willowcreek Road. The Lute Road site is the group’s ninth location but the first one it has owned.
“I’ve noticed over the last couple of years that I’ve been involved that the stigma is going down,” Monhaut said, with people realizing addiction is an illness.
It’s not just substance abuse, either. People addicted to sex can find a safe space at the PRA facility.
Portage Economic Development Corp. Executive Director Andy Maletta helped bring Northwest Health Porter and the PRA together. Naegler, a member of the Portage EDC board of directors, called Maletta to say he had a building available in Portage and was prepared to sell it or even donate it if the city wanted it. Maletta had just heard of the PRA’s search for a new building.
“It’s really handy having a guy like Andy on your team,” Mayor Austin Bonta said, to bring connections together like this.
Bonta likes the new location. “It’s much more walkable than their previous location,” he said. The building is just east of Willowcreek Road.
Monhaut said he was interested in an old school with its gymnasium and plenty of space for meetings. Bringing the building up to snuff, though, could have taken millions of dollars. The mayor convinced Monhaut to watch the 1945 movie, “The Bells of St. Mary’s,” in which a priest and nun attempt to save a school from being shut down. Just like in that movie, a new facility has become the answer to prayer.
Monhaut walked through the facility afterward to discuss plans for it. There will be meeting areas, a pool table, foosball, small tables for games and conversations, the Recovery Café that now operates in the McCasland Road location, a small room for private one-on-one conversations and more.
There’s even space that could be rented for office space for professionals. Planning and Development Director Tom Cherry said a co-working space might be a possible use. Two offices have private restrooms, which Monhaut said might be appropriate for a masseuse who needs to wash hands frequently or a tattoo artist who needs lots of water.
Out back, there’s a shed and space for a fire pit, volleyball court, basketball goal, playground and more. Monhaut hopes to invite the community for events when the outdoor area is ready. “It’s community meets recovery,” he said.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
