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First Step Recovery hopes to partner with community, safe lives
By Kalea Hall
WARREN
“Hope begins here.”
That sentiment will welcome future patients at First Step Recovery, 2737 Youngstown Road SE, Warren.
“I can’t think of a bigger need than this,” said Tom Dailey, co-owner of the new alcohol and drug detox center, which opened Monday.
In less than a year, First Step Recovery went from an idea to a 16-bed facility with extended-stay housing, outpatient services and other treatment options.
“It’s surreal,” Dailey said.
Last fall, Dailey brought the idea to co-owner David Kapp, and the two worked quickly to find the people they needed, the space and support from community leaders.
On Monday, the pair greeted those supporting their efforts at their first open house. Those in attendance included U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, and Warren Mayor Doug Franklin.
“We truly want to be a partner in the community,” Dailey said.
The facility already has a waiting list with about 45 patients, and five patients are scheduled to go into rehab today.
“A lot of people are doing drugs, and they want to get off, and if you cannot capture them at that moment, it is easy for them to relapse,” said Ryan, who is co-chairman of the addiction treatment and recovery caucus.
Ryan said combatting the heroin epidemic includes “making sure those who are looking to recover have proper facilities, like this one, to have time to dry out and detox and get their life back together.”
The new treatment center is designed to feel more like home for the patients. Kapp said he did not want the facility to feel like a hospital.
“I feel proud,” Kapp said. The facility is “exactly how I envisioned it.”
Two beds are in each of the eight rooms, with a television and some decor. Dailey said stays on the detox side will last a minimum of five days.
The patients are monitored daily by Dr. Joseph Lydon, the medical director at the new facility, and a nurse.
“Everyone can recover. Everyone can,” Dr. Lydon said. “At the end of the day, either they recover or they die.”
After detox, patients can move on to extended-stay housing for a few weeks, and then outpatient care continues.
An extended-stay housing facility will be constructed in the next 90 days, Dailey said. Simultaneously, construction on a community and outpatient center will be in progress across the street.
“We hope to be able to have more beds,” Dailey said. “I don’t see us stopping anytime soon to continue to stop this problem.”
Medicaid, private insurance and self-made payments will be accepted at the center.
For more information on First Step Recovery of Warren, call 330-369-8022.