As part of its ongoing effort to combat drug and alcohol abuse and the local effects of the national opiate addiction crisis, the Cumberland County Board of Chosen Freeholders held a dedication ceremony for the “Capital Recovery Center” on October 28. The recovery center is located at 72 North Pearl Street in Bridgeton and will be operated under the direction of Cumberland County’s Department of Human Services’ Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

In describing the recovery center, Clinical Director Melissa Niles stated, “The Capital Recovery Center will provide a place for where the Cumberland County Department of Human Services can focus the local community’s recovery support services.” Recovery capital is described as an individual’s resources and assets including family, friends, and social/community engagement.

According to Niles, the Capital Recovery Center is not a treatment facility and will not duplicate existing resources; rather it will provide volunteer peer to peer services in a recovery oriented sanctuary: “The Center’s Peer Recovery Specialists will receive referrals from existing programs, such as Cumberland C.A.R.E.S, upon the discharge of people from detoxification admissions, residential treatment, jails, hospitals and other institutions,” explained Niles. The Recovery Center will maintain a structured schedule and calendar of events featuring recovery related workshops, training sessions, meetings, services and social events.

Statistically, only an average of five percent of people who complete stand-alone detoxification services (withdrawal management) will sustain abstinence. Alcohol and Substance Use Disorders are chronic, progressive, incurable and fatal if left untreated. “Without on-going support, a person experiences more frequent relapses,” stated Niles.

The Capital Recovery Center is anticipated to open in Spring of 2020. For more information, contact Cumberland County Department of Human Services, Ashleigh Huff at 856-459-3082.