Road to recovery: Pre-treatment beds coming to Mankato – Mankato Free Press

For people first setting out on the road to recovery from substance use disorders, waiting for space to open up in treatment can be a prohibitive barrier.

They might have no other choice than to wait it out in the same unhealthy environments they were in before. And the delay can be long, said Brandy Brink, founder and director of WEcovery, a local recovery nonprofit.

We have a wonderful state that offers many different treatment programs, but sometimes people are waiting a day, sometimes six weeks, and Ive heard of people waiting for up to three months, she said.

Brink hopes the addition of 13 pre-treatment beds in WEcoverys new Chestnut Street building will help bridge that gap for people until treatment.

The window of willingness is so small, she said. Thats why my hope in creating all of this is to get someone in a safe place surrounded by people who support the choice theyre making to make some changes in their life.

Alongside the pre-treatment support, the renovated building at 314 Chestnut St. is also about providing a continuum of care for people in recovery. One side of the building will have the pre-treatment housing for men and women, while the other side will serve as a recovery community center where people can go for meetings, peer recovery support and other events.

The new location replaces WEcoverys previous community center on Front Street. Having pre-treatment on one side and the center on the other means WEcovery could continue to provide support to people before and after treatment all in one building.

Theyll know somewhere to go once theyre out of treatment, Brink said. Our hope with all the things we do is were with them in the beginning, throughout and ongoing.

Transforming the building into its current use took about three months. APX Construction owns the building and renovated it, while Office Space Design donated furniture.

APX acquired the building after constructing new office space for Region V Computer Services on Excel Drive. Brink and APX Project Manager Joey Barr, whove known each other for years after going to school together, first started discussing the Chestnut Street buildings potential about seven or eight months ago.

At the time the building was still a big, windowless space with a bunch of offices. Brink appreciated the opportunity to walk through it but wasnt sure it would work as is for what she was envisioning.

So they started brainstorming what would be needed to make it work. Brink told them about her idea for a center on one side and pre-treatment housing on the other, and the designs were drawn up.

With many organizations moving into new buildings rather than into existing ones, APX has plenty of experience repurposing office space. Renovating can get expensive, Barr said, but cutting in windows in each room, adding showers and bathrooms, and knocking down walls to create kitchen and commons space worked out well.

The project also hit close to home for Barr and others at APX. Barr said experiences with family members showed him how needed the pre-treatment beds are.

I personally and some of the other people in our office have backgrounds and dealt with some of the things that Brandy is out there trying to help people out with, he said. Thats why its been a special project for us.

Once people see the proof of concept, he could see similar projects popping up elsewhere in the state to meet the need. Pre-treatment beds are currently a rare commodity.

Karen Klabunde, facility director at the Wellcome Manor inpatient treatment center for women in Garden City, called the pre-treatment beds a unique idea that could bring great value to the region. Many times, she said, clients are waiting for space to open up or for funding authorization to go through before entering treatment.

Theres a lag time between the time they call and when they arrive at our doorstep, she said. Its an extremely high-risk time and some of our clients get scared right up to the last minute.

Studies show being on a waitlist is one of the most common barriers for people seeking treatment. One 2006 analysis in the Journal of Drug Issues found substance users reported long wait times led some to give up on treatment or viewed their sobriety during the wait time as proof they no longer needed treatment.

Having a safe and sober place to go until treatment starts could help, Klabunde said. She also pointed out the good timing of the project during the pandemic, as concerns about substance use are ramped up with so many people struggling financially and mentally.

The pre-treatment beds are on track to be available in December, Brink said. An opening date will be announced later, with Brink planning virtual information sessions and open houses to alert agencies to the new resource.

She wouldnt be surprised if the beds are filled within a week of opening. The need is that great, she said.

Its very evident with us getting this close to the end that this program will be utilized and is needed, she said.

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Road to recovery: Pre-treatment beds coming to Mankato - Mankato Free Press