Next Step celebrates opening of new building

Jul. 28—On Friday, Next Step Foundation celebrated the opening of a new, 4,000 square-foot building that enables it to expand and improve services for those recovering from substance use disorder.

Next Step is a residential recovery community in the Farrington's Grove neighborhood.

Located just south of the Recovery Cafe at Sixth Street and Washington Avenue, the $1 million client services building adds offices and multiple private meeting spaces for mental health and substance use disorder counseling as well as peer recovery coaching.

It provides more group meeting space and can accommodate additional counselors.

"What it gives us is the ability to service the clients in a way they deserve, which is a nice, beautiful professional building" where they have one-on-one privacy, said Dana Simons, Next Step Foundation executive director.

The organization conducted an open house and gave tours Friday.

Next Step ran out of space several years ago, Simons said. "It's been a joy to walk through these hallways, hear the laughter and see the vision come to reality," she said.

The new facility was built to compliment the historic neighborhood and existing building; it is brick and windows also blend in architecturally.

Stained glass will be placed in the semi-circular window above the front entrance to blend in with the Recovery Cafe, a former church, next door.

When the organization first proposed the project, it involved a rezoning battle and concerns raised by some of the neighbors.

Next Step had to convince them "it would not be an albatross. It would preserve the historic nature of the neighborhood" and blend in with existing architecture, she said.

"We're pretty excited. We're hoping our Farrington's Grove neighborhood is excited — that we were true to our word. We said we would build something you would be proud to see," Simons said.

The facility, constructed by Keymark, also features landscaping.

It has been financed through a building gifted to Next Step by Thompson Thrift, and the nonprofit used the equity as a down payment. Also, the Hometown Savings Bank "worked with us to give us a construction loan," Simons said.

Next Step has become accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, which enabled it to apply for Medicaid to become a residential treatment provider. The revenue will assist with mortgage payments.

Next Step, which now includes its new client services building, "is a place of healing," Simons said. "At groundbreaking, we said lives will be transformed on this space. Now, we're at the point where we can actually start to see that happen."

Next Step board member Diann Ringo said the completion of the new facility "is amazing. It's awesome."

Under Simons' leadership, "We're able to provide so much more and so many more services to residents," she said.

Among the clients benefiting from Next Step is William Houldieson, 43. "For me, there is nothing else like it," he said. Other facilities he's used deal strictly with addiction.

Next Step is helping him "get to the root of the problem," he said. He's in a grief class, co-dependency class and therapy. "I've only been here three weeks and I've learned probably more than in any past facility I've been in."

He added, "It's very helpful to have that one-on-one therapy, and even the classes are smaller."

Haylee Blackwell, also a new Next Step client, said she has been in treatment several times "This one, I feel it in my soul ... They work one-on one with you." She also likes that it is faith-based.

For more about the services provided by Next Step, visit their website at www.nextsteptoday.org

Sue Loughlin can be reached at 812-231-4235 or at sue.loughlin@tribstar.com Follow Sue on Twitter @TribStarSue