Anonymous no more, Harbor Hall is expanding to include workforce apartments
PETOSKEY — While meth addiction has seen a recent rise in northern Michigan, addiction has always been a hidden struggle among the population.
Harbor Hall, a drug and alcohol treatment center near downtown, and with locations in Cheboygan and East Jordan, has been treating addiction for 50 years. Now, the organization is expanding to accommodate even more patients.
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The expansion project was split into two phases. The first included executive offices and a women’s treatment center, which has treated over 100 patients since opening a year ago.
The second phase is ongoing and will include Harbor Hall Apartments, which will hold an additional 32 beds and include community space for patients to spend time in.
“It's basically workforce housing, but it's a transitional living environment,” said Interim Director and Chief Clinical Officer Peter Bucci.
Patients are required to have a job to live in the apartments, which Harbor Hall will help them find, if needed. The building has four hallways, two on each floor, and each hallway has two “pods” with two bedrooms. Each bedroom has two beds, so that patients build relationships with each other.
Due to material costs and the labor crisis, construction is slow-going. Bucci said they're hoping to have the building done by October, but construction could last until December.
For the majority of the time Harbor Hall has existed, it has only serviced men. The recent expansion has been a long-time goal of the board of trustees.
“It's been a passion of the board to service women in the community and we’ve finally seen that to (fruition) a year ago with (the women’s treatment) building and now the transition living, we finally get to take care of women in need,” said Board President Larry Rochon.
Harbor Hall helps patients find employment and build a community of support. Even when patients complete their treatment and move on, they return to share their success stories, stay involved in the community and use Harbor Hall’s other services, such as the primary care facility, which offers services to all of Petoskey, not just those seeking treatment for addiction.
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“The recovering community here in Petoskey and Emmet County and the greater area is much, much larger than people are aware of,” Bucci said.
“That's just the ones in recovery. Those that are in need are even larger. So, to have the ability to have a safe, secure environment for those that are looking to transition back into society and transition back into the workforce, I mean, that's one of the number one reasons to remain sober.”
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In Emmet County, alcohol remains the biggest source of addiction. But, due to tightening of restrictions on opioid prescriptions, meth addiction has begun to rise.
Addiction has been a long-time issue in the community. The expansion of Harbor Hall doesn’t reflect an increase in the need for treatment, but rather acknowledgement of the issue. With the expansion, Harbor Hall will be able to shorten its waiting list and send more people back into the community and workforce.
“This place has been anonymous for too long,” Bucci said.
“Harbor Hall has been here for 50 years, and for 49 years has struggled to be accepted in the community,” Rochon said. “I think the city and the community in general realize what Harbor Hall is and what it does for this community.
"They have two jewels in the community. One is McLaren Hospital, and I believe the other one is Harbor Hall. Not a lot of people are aware of the service that we give here to keep people out of that hospital and out of the cemeteries.”
Contact reporter Tess Ware at tware@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter, @Tess_Petoskey.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Harbor Hall expanding offers amid rising meth addiction in Michigan
