- November 23, 2024
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Years of preparation are coming together for the Open Door Re-entry and Recovery Ministry in Bunnell as the ministry celebrates the opening of its Women’s Recovery House with assistance from the Rotary Club of Palm Coast, which has organized a virtual housewarming and housewarming registry.
The new recovery house opened on Aug. 6 on South Church Street to serve court-ordered drug and alcohol offenders, and will follow the same faith-based, 12-step-based model as the existing recovery house for men on East Booe Street.
"It's basically building a family, building a community, within the house."
— PASTOR CHARLES SILANO
“It’s basically building a family, building a community, within the house,” said Grace Tabernacle Pastor Charles Silano, who heads the program in Flagler County. “There’s a lot of meetings; there’s one-on-one visitation with counselors with sponsors.”
The men’s program had its seventh anniversary in March and graduates about 14 people a year, Silano said. The program lasts up to a year, but people tend to stay for about six to nine months. Once residents reach the second phase of the four-phase program, they are expected to hold a job and pay rent. The women’s program will be similar, and now has its first resident.
“We’re going to go slow because of COVID, so I’m not going to go full capacity, which would be six; I’ll go as high as three,” Silano said.
Would-be residents will need to compete a series of interviews to enter the program, and neither the men’s nor the women’s recovery house accept violent offenders or sexual offenders.
“Typically if a person wants recovery they’ve been using, so I need for them to go to detox, and they’ll let us know if they’re really serious or not,” Silano said. “I want them calmed down and getting it out of their system, whatever they were using, so they’re somewhat clearheaded.”
The Rotary Club’s virtual housewarming for the furnished home runs through Aug. 16, and the registry features items ranging from mops to baking pans to bookshelves and can be viewed at tgt.gifts/recoveryhouseregistry.
Because of the pandemic, they are shipped directly to the address in the registry. Gift cards are also welcomed, according to a Rotary Club press release.
The Rotary Club’s support is especially helpful during the pandemic, Silano said. Open Door would usually be holding an annual, in-person fall gala with $100 per seat tickets, but COVID has made that impossible.
Instead, there will be a virtual gala — details will be announced shortly, Silano said, and a number of restaurants have provided $50 gift cards for attendees.
Silano said he’s grateful for all of the area Rotary Clubs.
“They all participate and they’re just a blessing to have,” he said.
For more information on Open Door Re-Entry and Recovery, go to http://opendoorrecovery.org.
