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For almost 100 years the Salvation Army has been changing lives at their adult rehabilitation center in a building near the foot of the Burnside Bridge. Last month, after 10 years of planning, they moved into a brand new facility on 82nd Avenue near the airport
AMBER MCKENNA
THE MID-COUNTY MEMO
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| According to Salvation Army Director of Rehabilitation and Qualified Mental Health Practitioner Doug Topness, The Adult Rehabilitation Center is a “lively place.” In a typical year Topness counsels hundreds of men. MEMO PHOTOS TIM CURRAN |
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| Capt. Eric Wilkerson stands in the newly-built deli area where the beneficiaries can buy snacks and treats in their free time. MEMEO PHOTO: AMBER MCKENNA |
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| Only a few trees were cut down making room for the new Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center and warehouse distribution center on Northeast 82nd Avenue. One of the tress cut was used to make a cross now hanging at the front of the center's new chapel. MEMO PHOTO TIM CURRAN |
The Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center building isn't exactly eye-catching. And though it appears run-down and barren, it has never been without life.
For the countless men who learn, work and recover here in the ARC building it is where a new life free of drugs and alcohol begins -- no matter what their age.
“We've never not had life here,” Doug Topness, director of rehabilitation, says. “This is a lively place.”
Now a recently completed $25 million state-of-the-art facility located at 6655 N.E. 82nd Ave is bringing renewed life to a program that has served so many, so well. It is, says Capt. Eric Wilkerson, head of the center, something completely unprecedented for the Portland program.
Outdated, overcrowded
The building at 139 S.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. had been used by the organization for 92 years. The bas relief Salvation Army logo is still faintly visible in the side of the building.
Offices here are comprised of furniture from decades past, as well as out-dated electronics.
“Here, you put a hole in the wall, you put a picture over it,” says Topness.
As for the dormitory-style sleeping quarters for recovering men, or beneficiaries (as they are called in the program), beds are ten to a room. And though not unbearable, it makes for a tight squeeze.
Wilkerson says the organization is walking away from all of it - the “furniture, the computers, the pots and pans,” as spanking new appliances, electronics and decor are ready for them at the new facility.
Shiny and new
The administrators spent July moving into the Northeast 82nd Avenue location, and the beneficiaries followed. The 10-acre campus, which was in various stages of planning for the past ten years. is more than double the three lot space that made up the original program. Along with stabilizing the soil and clearing the land, separate buildings were constructed to house administrative offices, the warehouse distribution center, the chapel and residence.
| A Beneficiary's tale A recent 28-year old graduate of the six-month program, who requested anonymity for the interview, and who we'll call Mike, had this to say about his experience in the program: “I was a heroin addict for eight years - still am - and an alcoholic. But I don't use. I got into the program after Hooper. “I tried to stop many times before going through the Sally (beneficiaries' nickname for the program). I'm not particularly religious, but I wanted to stop. I had heard some things about the program, knew it was religious and work based, and it was. But I knew I needed structure and discipline if I was going to get sober. I knew this would be the best way. When they gave me a list at Hooper of treatment programs and I saw the Salvation Army's was two blocks away... “If I was willing to work - both physically and spiritually - all my other needs were provided for and it was a great opportunity. It was hard. My hardest day at Sally was nowhere near my hardest day using, nowhere near. Even though I'm not religious, I could relate to Captain Wilkerson's sermons on the level that he was talking about doing right action and doing good. And talking about God's will, which is a part of the AA program: believing a power greater than ourselves can restore us to sanity. You don't have to define what that power is, yet it's about getting out of yourself, because the root of the disease of alcoholism and drug addiction is extreme self-centeredness, activated by the mental and physical addiction/craving for the drugs and alcohol. You wouldn't necessarily be that self-centred if you weren't drunk or high but when you get sober, that's one thing you're always working on - trying not to be so selfish. Self-will.” Considering the number and variety of people that go through the program, Mike says the ARC staff is fair, compassionate and gives no one special treatment. “They are no-nonsense bunch that have finely tuned BS detectors. If you demonstrate that you warrant help, and are willing to do what it takes to stay sober, they'll do anything in their power to help you.” Mike estimates 20-30% of beneficiaries made it through the six-month program while he was there. After graduation, Mike stayed at the ARC for about a month while looked for and found a job and saved money for rent. Like all beneficiaries when they first arrive and for months afterward, Mike worked in the Salvation Army main warehouse learning every facet of the operation. For some beneficiaries after graduation, the work leads to full-time employment within the large and far flung Salvation Army system. Mike would like the public to know donations help the Salvation Army continue to do the good work they do. “They (Salvation Army) give people the opportunity to change their lives. It's up to the individual, but considering the cost of treatment in general, it's a beautiful opportunity for people who really want to change their lives who have no money. They can just walk in the door like I did and begin the work.” |
Previously enrollment in the rehabilitation program was capped at 76. Wilkerson says the program will now be able to accommodate up to 120 men at any given time - with only three to a room.
The smell of freshly-installed flooring, fresh paint and sheetrock is immediately noticeable, and the old-growth trees that stand tall next to the crisp building provide a sense of the outdoors, something sorely lacking at the old facility.
Careful planning meant only a few trees were cut down in the process of the new construction. Those trees were then made into a large cross that now hangs in front of the center's new chapel. “Welcome to my new home,” says Wilkerson, who finds the view from his pulpit an exciting one indeed. In addition to the new chapel, which can accommodate 250 worshippers, a state-of-the-art kitchen, dining facilities, workout room and basketball court are things beneficiaries have been anticipating for a long time.
“The men love recreation. The new facilities will be great for them,” says Topness.
A TV lounge area for use during the beneficiaries' free time includes a deli where the men can purchase snacks and soda. Wilkerson says he is developing some of his own concoctions to be served at snack area, such as Captain's Killer Tacos.
Changes for all
Though the new location means innumerable positive changes for the program, there are some unavoidable drawbacks. Topness explains that with the center at Southeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, the beneficiaries were “recovering in the face of it,” with a high rate of drug use, transients and crime in the area just outside the ARC's former doors. Recent years even saw a shooting a few blocks from the center, an event witnessed by some of the beneficiaries.
But with the rough neighborhood came some conveniences. “This is a homeless, drug-addicted part of the city. Because of that, there are many free clinics and 12-step meetings nearby,” says Topness. Central City Concern's Hooper Detoxification Center was also just down the street from the old facility. After the four to seven day detoxification process, men and women could walk to the Salvation Army ARC, enrolling in the six-month program.
While the isolation of the Northeast 82nd Avenue campus could be conducive to a less-distracting recovery process, it will take planning to bus beneficiaries to services and work locations. Additionally, the lack of public transportation options near the new location will make extra work for employees to commute, says Wilkerson.
Topness adds Salvation Army may have to be more proactive about collecting donations at the new, less visible facility. He also hopes attendance at beneficiary alumni meetings does not wane because of the location change.
Great new path ahead
For now, the excitement and contentment that comes with a new facility will keep everyone happy.
Wilkerson says the old building will continue to be used for storage until it is sold, and that local and neighboring Salvation Army groups are lining up to use the new facility for events.
If one thing is clear, it is the mindset of everyone at the center is of renewal and fresh life - a perfect fit for those working to recover.
Wilder says the new facility allows the organization to better help those in need, which is all that matters.
“The beauty of what we get to provide and do is pretty overwhelming,” she adds.
Program with a purpose
The Salvation Army was started by William and Catherine Booth in the later part of the nineteenth century on the premise of bringing salvation to those in need, with the hope that the people they served would continue to do the same.
While the intentions have not changed, Topness says the original slogan for the organization of “soup, soap and salvation” is no longer adequate to describe what they do at the rehabilitation center.
The six-month residential alcohol and drug treatment program includes work therapy, counselling, education, 12-step meetings, and re-entry support and chapel services. Some beneficiaries can extend their treatment time beyond the required six months. The Portland ARC is one of the Salvation Army's largest.
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