Bridge Street Recovery opened its doors in Bennington on Tuesday. The recovery facility is intended to serve patients in their final stages of recovery from substance use disorders before transitioning to a halfway house or sober home.
“We’ve had tremendous support,” from the local community and state, co-founder John Christian said on Friday. “Without the support, we couldn’t do this, and we are excited to serve a very needy population.”
The facility is fully staffed, Christian said. They expected to take in their first clients on Tuesday, gradually scaling up to full capacity at the 40-bed facility over the coming months, he said. “This is a pretty intensive treatment program,” he said. Staff are on site 24 hours a day, with clinicians on duty six days a week, he said. Visitors won’t be allowed, and most clients are expected to stay for two to four weeks, he said.
Most clients are expected to come from New Hampshire, Christian said, although it wouldn’t be unusual to attract some from Massachusetts and Maine. To be eligible, clients need to have gone through five to six days of detox and an equally long stabilization period, co-founder Steve Bryan said. Most are expected to be referred from existing detox programs, or through an agency or advocate. Bridge Street Recovery accepts any form of insurance, including Medicaid, Bryan said.
The Bennington facility also includes an eight-bed transitional housing program where tenants might stay for up to two years, as previously reported. Those beds are reserved for Granite Staters, Christian said.
Bridge Street Recovery expects to break ground this fall on a 64-bed facility in Peterborough designed to accommodate patients in the first stages of treatment.
To contact Bridge Street Recovery, call 255-7070 or visit newhampshiretreatmentcenter.com.