Phoenix Houses Brooklyn Community Recovery Center Welcomes New Facilities That Increase Access to Recovery

BROOKLYN, NY (04/01/2022) (readMedia)-- Today, Phoenix Houses of NY/LI's Brooklyn Community Recovery Center (BKCRC) is holding a ribbon cutting event for its new telehealth and training centers. After the deadliest year in U.S. history for overdose deaths, these new spaces will help increase access to recovery by expanding telehealth access, and expanding capacity for peer recovery.

COVID combined with the rising prevalence of fentanyl led to over 100,000 Americans losing their lives to drug overdoses from May 2020 to April 2021, up almost 30% from the previous year. The addiction crisis has become one of the most pressing issues of our time, made more so by the shrinking addiction treatment workforce. But innovations in Recovery and the Recovery community, such as Brooklyn Community Recovery Center's new facilities, offer a bright spot.

After telehealth appointments rose in prominence amid the COVID-19 pandemic, BKCRC recognized the need to provide safe, confidential, and private spaces for people without regular internet access or private space at home to access telehealth appointments. The new telehealth booths provide that space, and can be booked for an hour or more at brooklynrecovery.org. BKCRC staff can also help connect people with medical and mental health treatment professionals and provide technical assistance.

Similarly, the new training center space will help to expand the peer recovery community. Peer recovery is one of the most effective tools in fighting Substance Use Disorder, and the new center will enable BKCRC to expand its programs and make them more flexible, accessible, appealing, and effective. As a Narcan Distribution Center, BKCRC will utilize this space to continue and increase the community's access to Narcan and other Opioid Overdose Prevention tools.

"The pandemic has been an extremely challenging time to provide addiction treatment and to be a person in recovery, with increased isolation, too many unnecessary overdoses and rising numbers of substance use. This is doubly true for people without reliable internet access at home, or no private space for telehealth appointments. Our new telehealth booths will increase accessibility to care, and the new peer recovery training center will increase accessibility to connection, which is the opposite of addiction. While there may be many dark times in this work, helping people to Recover, helping to make Recovery more accessible, building community, and decreasing stigma is the light in the safe harbor that guides us with hopeful optimism," said Shaun Willis, Director of Recovery Services and Community Outreach at Brooklyn Community Recovery Center.

"The Recovery Community is why we do what we do. It's a challenging time to provide addiction treatment – dealing with a global pandemic for the past 23 months, none of us are exempt from the struggles of anxiety, depression, and isolation. As addiction treatment providers, we must focus on integrating addiction and mental health treatment, in addition to innovating how we provide treatment and imagining what better treatment can look like - which is exactly what is happening at the new Brooklyn Community Recovery Center. If we do these things, the better our chances are of saving lives," said Ann Marie Foster, president and CEO of Phoenix Houses of NY/LI.

"Following two of the most deadly years for overdoses in recent history, we have the responsibility to radically shift how we treat people who use drugs, and lead with care and compassion. We must provide community-based mental health services as part of a holistic approach to addressing addiction that includes access to culturally competent healthcare, supportive housing, and good jobs with living wages. Phoenix Houses Brooklyn Community Recovery Center's latest project doesn't just increase access to the critical services people need, it also fosters the deep sense of community that is conducive to ensuring a successful, comprehensive recovery for our neighbors," said City Council Member Crystal Hudson.

"The Recovery Center is a special organization, offering support and prioritizing dignity for our neighbors experiencing addiction. We all share an obligation to eliminate the stigma surrounding Substance Use Disorders, and we move in that direction by extending a warm welcome to the Center. Our neighborhood is lucky to have a new location opening and for its services to expand," said City Council Member Chi Ossé.

About Phoenix House

Since 1967, Phoenix House New York has helped thousands of people overcome substance and alcohol use in order to lead healthy, productive, and rewarding lives. Phoenix House New York offers short-term and long-term residential, intensive outpatient, and general outpatient treatment. Phoenix House also offers treatment for co-occurring mental health disorders, medical, psychiatric, and dental services, and impaired driver programs. These services are designed to meet the individual needs of adults at various stages of recovery, including military personnel, and veterans. In addition, Phoenix House provides educational and supportive services to family members, friends, significant others, and the community.